Like Carmelo Anthony before him, Metta World Peace has finally come home.
After spending nearly a decade and a half elsewhere, World Peace has joined the New York Knicks, the team that passed over him in the 1999 NBA draft in favor of Frederic Weis.
Long past his prime, World Peace is also far removed from his days as villain, the one whose claim to infamy came when he stormed the stands and battled fans in Detroit almost 10 years ago.
Now he just wants to win. Never mind the crap he’s waded through in the past—the fights, self-imposed eccentricity and numerous teams he’s played for. More than anything, he wants to hoist that Larry O’Brien Trophy above his head for a second time. For one last time.
And he doesn’t care how he does it.
“Doesn’t matter,” World Peace said when asked if he thought he’d start for his new team, according to Zach Harper of CBS Sports. “I don’t care if I’m starting; I don’t care if I’m sweeping the floors. You hear me? I want to win.”
We’d be wrong to accuse Metta of not wanting to win in the past, but there’s something different about his claims this time around, now that he’s come back to New York, where it all started.
Most scoffed at World Peace when he said he would consider playing in China or every other team that pretty much had an open roster spot. It was Metta being Metta, a perennial contrarian who acted without a rhyme or reason. Ever.
Some knew the real reason, though World Peace himself may never admit it. He wanted to come home. Contemplating China and every other contender out there was just a way to scare off teams below the salary cap, to give him control of his own destiny.
Inevitably, he got it, and before a full day could pass, he joined the Knicks.
Coincidence? I don’t believe in happenstances with Metta when it comes to basketball decisions. Despite the public oddity he has become, I maintain his movements are calculated, both on and off the court.
Telling us he was able to return from an injury less than two weeks after going under the knife because he was “too sexy for his cat” isn’t him being an organic idiot devoid of common sense. That’s just Metta, screwing with you. With me. With all of us.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wKXJvpTCzu4
Does he make the Knicks legitimate title contenders? In an Eastern Conference that is headlined by the reigning champion Miami Heat, the bourgeoning Indiana Pacers, a presumably Derrick Rose-led Chicago Bulls and a restocked version of the Brooklyn Nets, that remains up for debate.
But he helps. A lot. And the Knicks are going to contend. Believe that. Not solely because of him, but because of him still.
New York finally has a bruising defender in its midst, someone who feeds off raw desire and fuels collective intensity. Think of him as one part Iman Shumpert after a steal and subsequent dunk, and one part Tyson Chandler after a block—on crack.
That’s World Peace. That’s who the Knicks are getting. It’s who they so desperately needed.
And now mercifully have.
“But then you get back to that orange and blue, and you know that orange-and-blue blood,” he said. “You’ve got to come back home. You’ve got to come back home.”
Metta’s home, the Knicks are thrilled and this all just feels right. All that’s left for Metta and New York is to win.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com. Follow @danfavale on Twitter for his latest posts and all things NBA.
