Eerily so. Especially when Kanter was in his second year, the analytics are nearly identical. Moreover, Lauvergne's offensive game - and more specifically his shooting - is a positive from the exact same spots on the floor. I am actually writing an article about it now that I'll post in here tomorrow.
He's a terrible defender right now. But one area that both Denver and OKC like - no insider info here on Denver, just basing off of comments I've seen - is his defensive potential. He hasn't learned how to use his size whatsoever, but when he does, I think his potential is about Mozgov-level. But nonetheless, right now he is atrocious on that side of the floor. Potentially worse than Kanter.
Due to my day job as a Middle East analyst I don't love speculating on this stuff... But I ultimately don't think that is the area of concern. Kanter's contract is awful when he isn't your best big. Kanter is a great offensive big, and he's learning to spread the floor, but Adams showed this postseason that he is just a better big because of his combo of offense and defense.
Also, I think the Thunder's offense with KD made Kanter a better player because he was almost always guaranteed single coverage, and many times he was open. With their current squad, Kanter will almost never get single-coverage, and may end up in double if Oladipo is off the court.
With all of that said, it's absolutely possible OKC is sensitive to the political climate both in the US and Turkey and do not want to upset the powers that be, so to speak. But, my view of it - again, as an academic and an analyst - is that Kanter's support for Gulen is not unique or extreme enough to be a decision-maker.
