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Kings talking deal that sends Knicks’ Enes Kanter to Sacramento; update on Nerlens Noel

The Sacramento WIldcats may get another former Wildcat, while another is recovering from a scary injury.

NBA: Dallas Mavericks at New York Knicks Brad Penner-USA TODAY Sports

The Sacramento Kings already have four former Kentucky Wildcats in Wenyen Gabriel, Skal Labissiere, Willie Cauley-Stein, and of course, rising star De’Aaron Fox.

Might they add a fifth Wildcat?

According to Woj, the Kings and New York Knicks are discussing a deal that involves Enes Kanter landing in Sacramento:

Kanter has averaged a little over 14 points per game to go with 11 rebounds over the last two seasons in New York. He’s been frustrated with his diminishing role, however, as he had a recent three-game stretch in which he played in 20 minutes or less in each contest. He’s also been playing with point guards who haven’t come close to doing what Fox is in Sacramento, as he’s averaging 7.3 assists per game to go with 18 ppg.

Elsewhere, another former Kentucky big man is recovering from a scary injury. On Tuesday, Oklahoma City Thunder center Nerlens Noel suffered a concussion on a very hard hit that also saw saw his head bounce off of the court.

Thankfully, it looked worse than it was, as Noel only suffered a concussion but no damage to the head and neck area. Still, concussions are a tricky injury to overcome, and he won’t play in another game until he clears the NBA’s concussion protocol.

Noel is averaging 5.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game this season, good for a 21.56 PER, which would be the highest of his five-year career after he missed all of 2013-14 while recovering from a torn ACL.