Thunder match Blazers' four-year offer sheet for Enes Kanter

The Oklahoma City Thunder have reportedly matched the Portland Trail Blazers' four-year, $70 million offer for big man Enes Kanter.

The Oklahoma City Thunder have matched the Portland Trail Blazers’ four-year, $70 million offer sheet for Enes Kanter, Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports. Oklahoma City confirmed the move later Sunday night.

TNT's David Aldridge reported earlier Sunday that the Thunder would, as had widely been expected, keep the restricted free-agent big man on the roster by matching the Blazers’ offer. Kanter signed the offer sheet on Thursday, with Sunday the deadline for OKC to match.

Thunder general manager Sam Presti had publicly spoken about his intentions to keep Kanter, who the Thunder acquired in a multi-team deal at the trade deadline last season. Kanter, 23, averaged 15.5 points and 8.9 rebounds last season with the Thunder and Utah Jazz.

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Wojnarowski reported earlier Sunday afternoon that the Thunder had yet to inform the Trail Blazers about their intentions to match the offer. As Grantland's Zach Lowe noted last week, retaining Kanter on a max contract would be a significant investment for the Thunder, and push them well over the salary cap.

$70 million a big number for Kanter, but OKC had no choice. Success this season is critical. Kanter is a true post presence--and a good one.

— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) July 13, 2015

- Jeremy Woo