With the 10th anniversary of perhaps the most infamous moment in NBA history this Wednesday, the immortal Metta World Peace is promoting his new book, “The Untold Story of the Malice at the Palace”.
MWP continues to hoop in China, and hopes to ink a deal with an NBA title contender come Playoff time.
Ron-Ron thinks his “direct” approach when dealing with lazy teammates is the reason the New York Knicks didn’t bring him back this season.
Per the NY Post:
“I don’t understand why they didn’t [sign] me,’’ World Peace said. “But then again, I’m very direct. I think I was too direct in the locker room, too direct to J.R. Smith. It wasn’t from a bad place. I’m older, been on great teams in Sacramento and L.A.
“If someone is not playing defense or not giving effort, that’s my speciality. I don’t hold back on my words. Nobody wants to talk direct to them. We don’t give it to them straight. […] I said some things directly to J.R. Smith in the locker room and he challenged me back, said some direct things to me. But he understood where we came from.”
According to World Peace, on one occasion, owner James Dolan walked into the film room for a bull session. World Peace said he was the only player to speak up about why the team was in disarray. […] “You don’t hold nothing back when things are going wrong,” World Peace said. “You have to tell Melo [Carmelo Anthony] when he’s being lazy. You have to speak about these things, so when the playoffs come, everyone knows where everybody stands.”
“Actually it feels like [The Malice in the Palace] never happened, only the footage keeps me affiliated, ” World Peace said. “Mentally I’ve moved on from it. One of the things I wanted to do was in the book was go through the years before the incident and my mentality that night and the night before. And my relationships with my father, mother, things I couldn’t let go as a kid.”
