Worst free agency signings in NBA history: 30. Jared Jeffries, New York Knicks
Jared Jeffries is one of a couple New York Knicks players to grace this list. If you’re sensing the trend, well, you’re probably correct in the thinking. The free agent market has been one of the worst places for the Knicks to find potential success.
Jeffries was coming off his fourth season with the Washington Wizards in 2006 when it came time for him to hit the free agent market. He had just averaged 6.4 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game in their starting rotation. Jeffries was also coming off a competitive playoff series against the Cleveland Cavaliers that went six games and a 4-2 series loss for Washington.
The Knicks didn’t hesitate to toss Jeffries a five-year, $30 million deal after that. They were desperate to sign players and bring the Knicks back into playoff contention. It didn’t matter Jeffries was coming from a team that went 42-40 a year earlier.
Jeffries’ signing didn’t quite pan out as planned. He put up just 4.1 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game during his first year. By his second season, he was mostly used as a reserve, appearing in 73 contests off the bench with 19 starts. He averaged just 5.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game during the 2009-10 NBA season before the team had seen enough.
They traded Jeffries to the Houston Rockets prior to the 2010 NBA trade deadline during the fourth year of his deal. When he was waived by the Rockets in February 2011, he ironically re-signed with the Knicks on a cheaper deal during the 2011 NBA offseason. They traded him again to the Portland Trail Blazers. By April 2013, Portland waived him off the team.