Metta World Peace is coming home. Photo Credit: Bridget Samuels, Flickr.com
It’s been a tumultuous offseason for the New York Knicks. After watching their shiny new city co-tenants load up for a title run, general manager Glen Grunwald panicked; giving up a first-round draft pick to acquire a player no team in the NBA wanted in Andrea Bargnani. The rest of the East had gotten better and the Knicks were stuck in cap hell with nowhere to turn as they watched Chris Copeland sign with the Indiana Pacers, the team that exposed them in round 2 of the 2013 postseason. In danger of falling behind the curve and with the market drying up as we progress through this offseason, the Knicks appeared to be heading in the wrong direction. But the signing of the recently amnestied Metta World Peace at an incredibly reasonable two-year deal worth $1.6 million per season may have righted the ship for the Knickerbockers.
In World Peace, the Knicks aren’t getting an All-Star. The artist formerly known as Ron Artest is a few years removed from that level of play. But what they are getting is a guy who can effectively defend 3s and 4s on a nightly basis. A guy that, by all accounts, despite how insane he appears (check out his Twitter feed), is a great teammate who leaves it all on the floor every single time he suits up. A guy who can post up guards in a half-court set and a player who connects on more than 40 percent of his corner 3-pointers, a shot many consider the most important in today’s NBA.
A Metta World Peace-Iman Shumpert combination on the perimeter makes for a formidable defensive duo and with Tyson Chandler still in the fold as one of the league’s best help defenders, the Knicks’ defense has a chance to be elite in 2013-14. The versatility both World Peace and Shumpert provide on that end will allow the Knicks to hide Carmelo Anthony on weaker offensive players, enabling him to focus most of his energy on doing what he does best, scoring. Anthony ran out of gas getting pounded by 4s all of last year and the addition of Metta now gives the Knicks a major bullet in trying to defend against the NBA’s bruisers.
Offensively, Metta World Peace thrived in Los Angeles as a floor spacer in an offense built around a big-time scorer in Kobe Bryant. In New York, he’ll be asked to play a similar role, floating around the 3-point line looking for a kick out when his man leaves to double Carmelo Anthony on the block. He’s also sneaky good at getting out on the break and finishing after a turnover (often one he creates), something the Knicks were terrible at last season (finishing dead last in the NBA in fast-break points per game). The Knicks, of course, set an NBA record for 3-pointers made and lost three key shooters in Jason Kidd, Steve Novak and Chris Copeland. The additions of Bargnani, rookie Tim Hardaway Jr. and now World Peace should offset that pretty nicely, at least on paper.
Most importantly for New York, Metta World Peace is a champion who adds toughness and big-game experience to a Knick roster desperately trying to stay in contention in what is becoming a loaded top half of the Eastern Conference. The Knicks folded like origami when they ran into the Pacers last postseason, getting battered by a middling center in Roy Hibbert and a solid but unspectacular power forward in David West. It’s hard to imagine something like that happening with World Peace in the fold. It seems weird to say (because Metta is such a maniac), but his veteran presence and tireless work ethic in the locker room may make him a pseudo-leader by example on this team.
Again, World Peace isn’t an All-Star anymore. He isn’t the All-NBA level defensive player he once was. But he will still be paid the $7.7 million that was owed to him by the Lakers and the Knicks are only on the hook for $1.6 million. That isn’t a bad price for a player who can space the floor for Anthony, finish on the fast break and defend multiple positions at a pretty high level. Without question, there is reason to be excited about this signing. The New York Knicks are a better team with Metta World Peace in the fold.