LaMarcus Aldridge, the premier NBA free agent this year, went on the Russillo Show to talk about his free agency and particularly his dealings with the New York Knicks, who suck.
Aldridge said on the Russillo Show on ESPN Radio that Phil Jackson and the Knicks wanted him to “strictly” play center. Aldridge didn’t want to solely play center. Thus, Aldridge and the Knicks agreed to cancel their scheduled meeting in free agency, Aldridge said.
“They didn’t want to meet with me,” Aldridge said. “Some people said it was me. But it was both parties agreeing that we shouldn’t meet.”
Phil Jackson thought he should call off his meeting with the best free agent available so he could focus on the center position. This is incredible bullshit. For one, he was also meeting with Greg Monroe, whom Jackson also intended to offer the max. Was Phil trying to make Greg Monroe play nothing but center, too? (Don’t answer that.) So either Aldridge is lying here—possible, but to what end?—or the Knicks are once again guilty of mistaking fidelity of system for roster solvency.
Aldridge eventually signed with San Antonio for four years, $80 million, and the Knicks got his old frontcourt partner Robin Lopez for four years and a little north of $54 million—the not-baddest signing of their quite bad offseason. (Yes, shit-for-brains, it’s still a very bad offseason if the goal was revolutionary success and the outcome was, eh, haven’t-fucked-it-up-yet-I-guess.) He probably wouldn’t have signed with New York anyhow, but that isn’t the point, exactly. Just like how the Raptors gained some league cachet by getting their meeting with LaMarcus, thereby implying they’re one of the key players in the league, the Knicks somehow lose even more face than the moron Lakers and their double redo-over meeting.
The Knicks are dumb as shit.
[ESPN]