Knicks Canceled Meeting With LaMarcus Aldridge Because He Wouldn’t Play Center

Prior to a scheduled sitdown earlier this month with free agent All-Star forward LaMarcus Aldridge, the geniuses who run the New York Knicks insisted on the big fella “strictly” playing center should he re-locate to Gotham.

Aldridge wasn’t trying to hear any of that, and both parties decided it was best if they didn’t meet at all.

With suitors like the San Antonio Spurs competing for Aldridge’s services, it was an extremely long shot for the Knicks to land him, but failing to even meet with the big guy is another amazing chapter in the franchise’s long history of failure.

Per ESPN:

Aldridge said that Phil Jackson and the Knicks wanted him to “strictly” play center. Aldridge didn’t want to solely play center. Thus, Aldridge and the Knicks agreed to cancel their scheduled meeting in free agency, Aldridge said.

 

“They didn’t want to meet with me,” Aldridge said. “Some people said it was me. But it was both parties agreeing that we shouldn’t meet.”

 

League sources say Jackson decided it was best for the Knicks to cancel the meeting with Aldridge because the team prioritized the center position in free agency and Aldridge made it clear that he didn’t want to play center exclusively. The Knicks had already missed out on Greg Monroe, a top free-agent target, and decided to focus their efforts on free agent centers DeAndre Jordan and Robin Lopez, sources say.