Ever since reports surfaced that Metta World Peace would be amnestied by the Los Angeles Lakers, his name has been tied to one team that has shown the greatest interest in attaining the forward: the New York Knicks.
Although World Peace expressed interest in the idea of playing overseas in China for a while, he received an offer worth staying for from the Knicks and has agreed to join them on Monday. ESPN has details:
“World Peace said Monday that he was joining the New York Knicks because he wants to win. “I don’t care if I’m starting, or sweeping the floors. You hear me? I want to win,” he said. The Knicks said the contract has not been signed but an agreement has been reached. The two came to terms on a two-year deal with the first year guaranteed, a league source told ESPNNewYork.com’s Ian Begley.”
World Peace said his reasons for joining the team included Woodson, Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire. “Melo, Stoudemire, Coach … that’s all it’s about right now,” he said. “It has nothing to do with New York the city. Only as important as those players I’ll be joining.”
Although he will turn 34 by next season, Metta is coming off the most productive season of his career as a Laker, with averages of 12.4 points and five rebounds. The numbers are a bit deceiving, given that he was playing in Mike D’Antoni’s offense and was asked to do a lot more than he probably should have been asked to do, due to a variety of injuries the team had suffered throughout the season. Still, the simple presence of Metta is advantageous for the Knicks, as he will provide another defensive option at the wing and lineup flexibility for Mike Woodson.
The acquisition of Metta, though, was not the biggest news the Knicks had to offer on Monday. Seemingly out of nowhere, it was reported that J.R. Smith had surgery on his patellar tendon and will miss 3-4 months. Apparently, the injury he had on it was chronic. More from Jared Zwerling of ESPN:
“The New York Knicks have announced that Sixth Man Award winner J.R. Smith has had patellar tendon surgery and an arthroscopy for a tear in the lateral meniscus of his left knee. The Knicks said Smith’s injuries, which were treated at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City by team orthopedist Dr. Answorth Allen, were chronic and gradually worsened. His recovery time is approximately 3 to 4 months, which could make him available between Oct. 15 and Nov. 15 — near the start of the 2013-14 season. A league source told ESPNNewYork.com that the Knicks were aware that Smith would likely need surgery for his left knee, which started bothering him during the playoffs.”
This was, of course, shocking news. No one expected Smith to be so seriously injured – especially after the guard scored a multi-year deal with the team. It’s strange that they would withhold the information until after the surgery was done, and even stranger that they would sign him to such a contract knowing that he would require surgery on what they’re calling a “chronic and gradually worsening” injury of the patella. But then again, we’ve seen this kind of “secretive” behavior from this organization before so perhaps we shouldn’t be too surprised. For more on why this whole situation seems so off, check out what the opinionated Frank Isola had to say.
Onto other news from around the league:
Rest assured, Knicks fans. Mike Woodson says he will have no trouble coaching MWP, or anyone else for that matter: “I know his name has been surfacing out there,” Woodson said in Las Vegas, where New York has a summer league team competing. “I can coach any player. I coached guys from 18-, 19-, 20-year-old young men, and built a team in Atlanta, and that’s tough for a first-time coach. So I experienced that, and I don’t think there’s a player I can’t coach if he’s willing to be coached. … If anybody comes to this team, they’ve got to understand it’s all about team, man. It’s not about individuals here, it’s not about me as a coach. It’s about the New York franchise trying to win an NBA title. If you understand that, then we’ve got a chance.”
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