Jose Calderon holds no ill will toward the New York Knicks after being traded for Derrick Rose.
Even though he probably should.
Calderon recently spoke with the New York Post‘s Marc Berman about his time in New York. The entire thing is worth a read, but we’re here to give you the greatest hits.
First, Calderon pretty much sympathized with Knicks fans who didn’t want him starting or playing a boatload of minutes:
“It’s something they needed,’’ Calderon told The Post. “Like I said, I was ready for a different role and I was ready for a different role the last couple of years. Maybe there wasn’t the player to put ahead of me.
“I always said I wasn’t the one putting me in the starting role or playing me 35 minutes. It could’ve been a guy like a Derrick Rose and I would’ve been the backup point guard. It’s a tough position to play. You have to know your strengths and weaknesses. I’ve been in the league 12 years and I know what I do best or not do as well. It’s nothing personal. It’s what the team needed. Hopefully it will work better.’’
This is definitely accurate, and something everyone who fired off anti-Jose tweets, including yours truly, forgot to consider. The Knicks put themselves in a position where Calderon needed to be their lead guard. That’s not on him.
That didn’t stop Carmelo Anthony from lobbying for an upgrade at point guard, though:
According to Jackson, Anthony, in his exit interview, lobbied for a new starting point guard. Calderon holds no grudges.
“I heard from Carmelo the next day — he’s a good friend, been my teammate for two years,’’ Calderon said. “I wish everything will be better. Because the first year we all know what happened [17 wins] and last year we expected something different but it didn’t happen.
This is something that’s always puzzled me. Melo didn’t do anything wrong by asking for another starting point guard. The Knicks needed one. No matter how awesome Calderon is as a person, that’s just a fact.
But if you’re friends with the dude, you have to feel pretty crappy about making such a request, no? Like, Melo had to have some idea that any upgrade would come at the expense of Calderon, and yet he asked for one anyway. That’s not wrong, assuming he didn’t trash Calderon behind the scenes. It’s just…weird.
No matter, though. Calderon is happy for both Anthony and his boy Kristaps Porzingis:
“They can make the playoffs. They got great players — let’s see how they play together. I’d be real happy for Melo and [Kristaps Porzingis].’’
Sweet mother of everything’s that holy. If it wasn’t clear before, Calderon is a class act. And he was most definitely unfairly treated by fans and pundits and serial tweeters—again, a crowd that includes myself.
The only thing I can is that Calderon should have opened up like this a long time ago, particularly during the middle of last season. He would have been viewed as a gosh darn superhero had he talked about the realities of his situation in New York.
Maybe the Knicks wouldn’t let him. Or maybe this is something he’s only just accepting. Whatever the case, he’s with the Los Angeles Lakers now, another bad team, but one that won’t ask him to assume a role for which he is not suited.
