Knicks news: Metta World Peace wishes New York drafted him

Metta World Peace, formerly known as Ron Artest, had a chance to be drafted by the Knicks in 1999. However, he blew it up.

The New York Knicks have long been one of the laughing stocks in the NBA. They have not won a championship in what feels like forever, and most of the time when they have one of the top picks in the draft, they end up making the wrong choices.

One of their mistakes came in the 1999 NBA Draft when they had the 15th overall pick, but chose to pass on Metta World Peace — known back then as Ron Artest. Instead, the Knicks selected Frederic Weis, the guy who was on the wrong end of a Vince Carter poster in the Olympics.

Weis never played a single minute in the NBA. Metta, meanwhile, was selected 16th overall by the Chicago Bulls.

However, it wasn't really entirely the Knicks' fault for not drafting World Peace, who told Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News that he skipped the team's workout.

“Honestly, I caused that. Because I was getting in trouble. I didn’t show up to my first Knick tryout. I was partying the night before in New York. I was f–ked up. I had my Knicks tryout the next day. I got drunk in Westchester, in the hotel, like, ‘Yo I can’t make it out the bed.'”

World Peace didn't have a Hall of Fame career, but he did become an All-Star, a Defensive Player of the Year, and an NBA champion. He would've helped the team become more competitive if only he was given another shot.

World Peace, who spent a significant amount of his life in Queens, New York, admitted that he really wanted to end up playing for the hometown team.

“I wish I could’ve gone to the Knicks. That’s where I wanted to go. They would’ve traded me in two years. But maybe I would’ve had more support. I mean, I’m from New York. Who knows? I was hoping I was going to New York. That would’ve been huge, man. It would’ve worked out good.”

MWP ended up playing for the Knicks during the 2013-14 season, but he was already at the tail-end of his career.

Overall, Metta had a 17-year journey in the NBA. He may have failed to play for the team that he wanted to play for during the best years of his careers, but based on how everything turned out, things worked in his favor.