Metta Sandiford-Artest — who went by both Ron Artest and Metta World Peace at different points throughout his 17-year NBA career — was a New York Knick for a brief spell. He joined the organization as a free agent prior to the 2013-14 season, played in 29 games, and was waived in February. For the Queens native who attended La Salle Academy and dominated at St. John's, it wasn't exactly the memorable stay that he wanted in his hometown.
Sandiford-Artest had aspirations to join the Knicks much, much earlier, though. In fact, that was his dream destination as he declared for the 1999 NBA Draft. And, in hindsight, it certainly would have been the ideal pick for the Knicks as well, who opted to select Frederic Weis at No. 15. But the St. Johns product got in his own way.
"I was telling my agent, I want to go to the Knicks," Sandiford-Artest said on the "All the Smoke" podcast, available on RADIO.COM. "But I was a kid, I didn't know how to express that. But this is what happened with the Knicks.
"By this time, I'm partying hard because I know I'm about to run into some cash... so I'm out, I got f---ed up at Flamingo. Got twisted, go back in the hotel, so I'm drunk and I'm like, I can't make it to the practice, to the (Knicks) workout. I tell these dudes, 'yo, I can't make it, can I please come next time? Can you just have me back?' "
But those efforts were of no avail. It didn't sway his confidence that the team would end up selecting him, though.
"In my mind, I'm thinking I'm going to the Knicks," Sandiford-Artest explained. "It don't matter what I do. I'm going to the Knicks, right? Then I went 16th pick, I was a Chicago Bull. But I was like, wow, I always pictured myself in a Knicks jersey...
"Chicago was an amazing experience, (but) I had the Knicks shorts under my suit, and the shirt!"
Sandiford-Artest played for the struggling Bulls team that drafted him — simultaneously working a part-time shift at Circuit City — while the Knicks made the playoffs but lost in the Eastern Conference Finals. Their first-round selection, the aforementioned Weis, never played a game that year or in his NBA career as a whole. Had Sandiford-Artest been a part of their roster, they almost certainly would have been a stronger unit.
"I thought we would've been playoff contenders that year in New York," Sandiford-Artest said. "1999... I thought I could have backed up (Latrell) Sprewell, play some defense, (and) get the hell out of the game.
"But I don't want to look down on the Knicks. I love the Knicks. People talk about Dolan, whatever the case may be, (but) I'm a Knicks fan... so I want to see them do well. Always, even in the years I wasn't there."
Sandiford-Artest earned his first and only All-Star nomination in the 2003-04 season. That same season was the last time the Knicks would make the playoffs — even though they had a losing record — for a six-year span.
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