Ready to Send Off 2 Players, Knicks Let Game Get Away
ATLANTA - The Knicks on Saturday were in the process of buying out the contracts of Beno Udrih and Metta World Peace, according to a person in the N.B.A. familiar with the discussions. Udrih and World Peace, who are represented by the agent Marc Cornstein, had fallen out of the rotation and out of favor with Coach Mike Woodson.
Once their buyouts (or outright releases) are complete, the two players will be free to sign with other teams. The Knicks, an injury-prone team that already lacked much discernible depth ahead of Saturday night's game here against the Atlanta Hawks, will have two vacant spots on their roster. Although the Knicks were inactive at Thursday's trade deadline, they still need help pretty much everywhere.
Udrih, 31, and World Peace, 34, signed one-year deals with the Knicks over the off-season, each player confident that he would be able to contribute. Instead, they have languished on the bench. Udrih has played just 11 minutes over the team's last 16 games. World Peace, a former defensive player of the year who has battled chronic knee injuries, has averaged 4.8 points in 29 games.
Despite having the league's second-highest payroll at $87 million, the Knicks tumbled to 21-34 on Friday, losing in double overtime to the Orlando Magic. Udrih, whose deal is worth $1.3 million, did not play for the 12th consecutive game. World Peace, who signed over the summer for $1.6 million with a player option for a second year, played just seven minutes.
After the game, World Peace posted a message on Twitter in which he joked that he was going to fire his agent and sign with Creative Artists Agency so he could secure more playing time. C.A.A. represents several people in the organization, including Woodson and Carmelo Anthony, and its tentacles reach deep inside Madison Square Garden.
Less than 18 hours after posting that message, World Peace was back on Twitter to break the news of his impending buyout. A native of Queens, he thanked his fans. 'No disrespect to the city,' he wrote.
Shortly after he signed with the Knicks, Udrih said he was lured by the prospect of being the team's third point guard alongside Raymond Felton and Pablo Prigioni. Last season, Woodson had a great deal of success with a smaller lineup that often featured three guards, and Udrih said he hoped a similar dynamic would play out this season.
It has not, and Udrih and Woodson have squabbled, with Udrih accusing Woodson of making him the scapegoat for several late-game calamities. One came against the Washington Wizards on Dec. 16, when Bradley Beal drove past Udrih for the game-winning layup. Udrih was expecting help-side defense that never materialized. Woodson said Udrih had erred by not fouling Beal.
Less than three weeks later, after J. R. Smith made the stupefying decision to launch a 3-pointer with about 20 seconds left in a tie game against the Houston Rockets, Woodson blamed Udrih for passing the ball to Smith in the first place. The Knicks could have held for the final shot.
'Did Beno have to throw him the ball? You got to look at that,' Woodson said afterward.
In short order, 'Blame Beno' became a popular meme on social media among fans who were growing disenchanted with Woodson.
In any case, these were public criticisms that Udrih neither appreciated nor understood, and he requested a trade as he began to collect dust at the end of the bench. Several teams appeared to be interested in him at the trade deadline, but the Knicks were either unable or unwilling to move him.
Before Friday's game against the Magic, Udrih said he hoped he might regain a spot in the rotation with Iman Shumpert sidelined for the next two weeks because of a sprained knee ligament. Instead, Udrih went another game without shedding his warm-ups.
'I'm a basketball player,' Udrih said. 'I'm here to play basketball. So that's all I can control: stay in shape and do the best I can when I get on the court.'
An aspiring coach, Udrih said he was keeping a notebook this season so he could jot down things for future referenced. He was asked what he had learned about coaching from his time with the Knicks.
'No comment,' he said. 'Listen, I call myself a sponge. Every team I go to, I'm trying to learn as much as I can. Every aspect of the game - defense, offense, on the court, all this stuff.'
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