Now that Kyle O’Quinn is no longer a member of the New York Knicks, they are fair game for mockery.
The veteran big man agreed to a one-year deal with the Indiana Pacers last week and took a shot at his old team while addressing reporters Monday for the first time as a Pacer. O’Quinn said that he turned down an offer to return to the Knicks and added that he was looking forward to playing for something other than next year’s draft, per Charlie Clifford of WISH-TV in Indianapolis.
Kyle O'Quinn joins the #Pacers bench mob. Passed on an offer to return to hometown #Knicks "I wanted to play for something more than next year's draft." @WISH_TV pic.twitter.com/usqbometm8
— Charlie Clifford (@cliffWISH8) July 9, 2018
Indeed, the Knicks never won more than 32 games during O’Quinn’s three-year tenure with them. The Pacers, meanwhile, posted a record of 48-34 last season and battled the Cleveland Cavaliers to a tightly-contested seven-game series in the first round. They may now have a chance to go even farther next season with the additions of O’Quinn, Tyreke Evans, Doug McDermott, and rookie Aaron Holiday and with LeBron James leaving the Eastern Conference.
For the Knicks, it should be another rebuilding year on deck with Kristaps Porzingis nursing a torn ACL and their new coach not yet inspiring much confidence. If O’Quinn wants to compete, he definitely made the right choice.
