Metta World Peace wants bigger offensive role with New York Knicks

When Metta World Peace signed with the New York Knicks, he knew there was a good chance he’d be coming off the bench. He was fine with that and apparently still is fine with that, however, that doesn’t mean he wants the ball in his hands any less. In fact, Peace, who was a third or fourth option in Los Angeles, depending who was on the court says he wants to be involved in the Knicks’ offense more than he was with the Lakers.

Gulp.

"On the court, World Peace envisions a greater offensive role in his first season in New York. Whether or not he’s starting—he said he’s fine with coming off the bench—he’s ready to prove that his statistical decreases since 2009 are not a sign of wear and tear.“With me, it’s pretty simple,” he said. “When I left Houston (in ’09), I was averaging (17.1) points. The year I got to LA, I was averaging 11 points. I won a championship, which I was happy about. And the next year, I was averaging (more than eight) and then (more than) 12. I was playing with a great team and I deferred and sacrificed.“I’m still going to defer and sacrifice, but I think I might have more of a breakout season. People forgot that before I got to L.A., I was a 20-point scorer a night. I’ll remind people,” he said, smiling."

World Peace was oddly effective (at least from a scoring standpoint) last season, something that hasn’t always been the case. We’ll see if he can continue that trend this season.