New York Knicks Rumors: All-Star Free Agent Not Interested In Knicks After All?
New York Knicks rumors in regard to David West were just contradicted in a big way. The Knicks were linked to West in previous rumors that indicated he was opting out of his deal with the Indiana Pacers in order to head to New York. Now, West is setting the record straight, calling the original stories about that decision “ridiculous” in a Wednesday evening (July 1) report from CBS Sports.
It was Jared Zerling at Bleacher Report who was saying he had a league source on the matter. Zerling stated that, “David West is very likely to sign with the Knicks come FA. He knew that before he chose not to opt in with the Pacers.” Those Knicks rumors spread pretty quickly, especially because it linked an All-Star power forward to a team that really needed one. Now it seems that there may not have been much truth to that story.
David West spoke at length with WTHR about what the future might hold for him. Among the things he noted were that he wanted to play for a contending team and that he felt the Knicks didn’t really fit into that category. His honest response might frustrate some Knicks fans, but this past NBA season was nothing for the team to crow about.
“At this point in my career, I just want to win. I’m just not sure the Pacers are in title contention right now. I’m going into my 13th season. I’ll be 35 soon. When I got to Indiana, there was hope of getting there and we played at a really high level for a couple of years. But I just don’t know if the team is in the position to win right now and I didn’t know if I’d have that opportunity to win a title if I’d stayed with the Pacers.”
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Carmelo Anthony has been working hard trying to convince free agents to come to New York. That includes having chats with DeAndre Jordan, Greg Monroe, and even LaMarcus Aldridge. In none of those rumors did it ever come up that he had spoken with David West, which in hindsight should have been a huge hint that there wasn’t mutual interest going on. After proving his value with the Indiana Pacers the last few NBA seasons, West certainly seems to have his choice of contending teams to sign with.
There are going to be a lot of additional New York Knicks rumors over the next week, but it appears time to retire any stories about West signing with the team. There are still a lot of top-tier free agents on the market, though, so the Knicks haven’t struck out just yet.
[Image Source: Maddie Meyer/Getty Images]
