Former NBA veteran Richard Jefferson had a surprising revelation on Sunday during YES Network's coverage of a crosstown clash between the New York Knicks and Brooklyn Nets.
Jefferson told his fellow commentators that the Knicks offered to sign him when he announced his intention to resume his playing career this past summer, but Jefferson instead elected to remain retired when they ended up being his only offer.
Via @apooch — Richard Jefferson saying he retired instead of playing for the Knicks pic.twitter.com/p2ffWk8JKA
— Stefan Bondy (@SBondyNYDN) November 24, 2019
Jefferson played for eight different organizations in his 17 years in the league, with the majority of those coming as a member of the then-New Jersey Nets.
The Knicks troll party continues.
New York's management were chastised for failing to sign a marquee free agent after trading Kristaps Porzingis in order to open up a second max slot. Instead, the Knickerbockers used that money to sign journeymen players like Taj Gibson, Wayne Ellington, Elfrid Payton and Bobby Portis in addition to Julius Randle.
Once hailed as “The Mecca” of basketball, New York's premier team has instead become the butt of the joke in the eyes of executives around the league. The Knicks have not had a winning season since 2013, which is also the last time that they made the playoffs.
New York is 4-12 to start the year, and they created more drama in the media when reports surfaced that president Steve Mills was laying the groundwork for the firing of head coach David Fizdale.
Considering that this is the same franchise that forcibly removed former Knicks legend Charles Oakley from Madison Square Garden, Jefferson can hardly be blamed for choosing retirement over dysfunction.
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