Metta World Peace regrets not having the chance to play for his hometown team, the New York Knicks, in his prime.
“If you really wanna play with time, imagine if we could move that prime Metta to the Knicks,” World Peace said on the September 14 episode of “The Hoop Chat with Emily Austin.” “I wish I could reverse time; I would put myself in a Knicks jersey.”
The Queens native played briefly for the Knicks towards the tail end of his career during the 2013-14 season after getting waived by the Los Angeles Lakers. But he only lasted 29 games in New York and continued his basketball career in China after the Knicks bought out his contract.
Formerly known as Ron Artest, Peace was the 16th overall pick by the Chicago Bulls in the 1999 NBA Draft. After spending his first three seasons with the Bulls, he was traded to the Indiana Pacers, where he flourished and became an NBA All-Star and the Defensive Player of the Year in 2004.
However, his success was short-lived. His participation in the infamous “Malice at the Palace” derailed his burgeoning career as he became an NBA journeyman. He won a championship with the Lakers in 2010, hitting a buzzer-beating winning shot in Game 5 for his brightest moment in the league.
Following his detour in China and Italy, the St. John product resuscitated his NBA career for the last time with a second go-round with the Lakers in 2015. It lasted two seasons, enabling him to surpass Ron Harper in the all-time steals leaders list at No. 24.
Knicks Target Giannis Antetokounmpo Keeps Pressuring Bucks
The Knicks and the rest of the league keenly await how the new season unfolds for the Milwaukee Bucks after their franchise cornerstone, Giannis Antetokounmpo, doubled down on his ultimatum.
“I’m a Milwaukee Buck, but most importantly, I’m a winner. I want to win and I have to do whatever it takes for me to win and if there’s a better situation for me to win the Larry O’Brien [trophy], I have to take that better situation,” Antetokoumnpo said on the “48 Minutes” podcast on Bleav.
Antetokounmpo has been on the Knicks’ radar for quite some time. The whispers grew louder in May when ESPN’s NBA insider Brian Windhorst reported that the Knicks have been monitoring his situation in Milwaukee following a coaching change in the aftermath of a first-round exit.
Brian Windhorst says the Knicks are monitoring Giannis Antetokounmpo’s situation in Milwaukee
“The New York Knicks, for example, they got 97 percent of their attention on the Miami Heat, three percent of their attention on Milwaukee.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Defers Judgment on Knicks Lawsuit vs Raptors
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver deflected the question regarding the lawsuit filed by the Knicks against the Toronto Raptors involving a former employee who they claimed to have stolen proprietary information.
“On that dispute, I don’t know more than what I read in the complaint that was filed in federal court, and so I don’t have a sense yet of how egregious it is, and I haven’t had an opportunity to see what the Raptors response is,” Silver told reporters. “This ultimately may end up in front of me, so I think it’s appropriate to withhold judgment.”
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Metta World Peace Not at Peace With Short-Lived Knicks Stint