It wasn’t going to take long for someone to go out and try to sign Metta World Peace, and it seems like the New York Knicks will be the first team to try and add him to their roster, if the Los Angeles Lakers go ahead with their amnesty clause decision.
If it does go through (and the Lakers have until July 16 to renounce Metta World Peace), he’s put on the waivers, and only teams with salary cap room can try and claim him. Right now, it’s more than likely that none of those teams will make an effort to sign him, not to mention Metta World Peace considering retirement if a “bad team” does claim him off the waivers.
If he does clear waivers, it’s an free buffet, and the Knicks would like to offer him the only thing they can – a minimum contract, which is something World Peace can live with considering he’s going to be paid his $7.7 million from the Los Angeles Lakers anyway.
The 33-year old was born in Queens, New York, played high school in the La Salle academy and went to College at St. John’s. According to his father, World Peace wants to retire in New York, and the Knicks, by adding him, can give him a chance to do it on a team that on paper and according to their own expectations should be making a run for the Eastern Conference Final, hoping to have what it takes to get past the Miami Heat or the Indiana Pacers.
He had somewhat of a rebound season for the Lakers last year, although clearly, both his offense and defense have regressed drastically over the last couple of years. There are still days when his upper body strength and on-court intelligence carry him to impressive performances, but it’s more or less about him hitting open shots from beyond the arc most nights, averaging 12.1 points per game on 34.2% from beyond the arc.
The 2004 defensive player of the year, Metta World Peace will be entering his 15th NBA season if he gets picked up by another team, and will likely spend most of his time on the court as Carmelo Anthony’s backup, although with the Knicks loving to run through small lineups and Tyson Chandler, we might see both of them playing together at some stages during games.