The final moments of the Knicks’ 104-85 victory over the Blazers on Tuesday were marred by a minor spat between Jimmer Fredette and Meyers Leonard. Instead of dribbling out the closing seconds of the blowout, Fredette, who was on the last day of a 10-day contract with New York, teed up a jumper. Leonard did not take kindly to this perceived lack of sportsmanship and committed a foul as Fredette was rising up, then proceeded to jaw at him.
Soon after the game, however, cooler heads prevailed as Leonard reached out to Fredette on Twitter to apologize:
Hey @jimmerfredette my bad. I can raise my hand as a man and admit when I'm wrong. Heard nothing but good things about you. Bad play by me
— Meyers Leonard (@MeyersLeonard11) March 2, 2016
Fredette replied back almost immediately, telling Leonard not to worry because it’s all love:
No worries at all bro! Appreciate that but it's all in the moment. Good luck the rest of the year. https://t.co/1uQEup4sbB
— Jimmer Fredette (@jimmerfredette) March 2, 2016
You certainly can’t blame Fredette for wanting to make the most of his opportunity. He only saw five total minutes over the duration of his 10-day contract, making his only official field goal attempt, a three-pointer. As cruel fate would have it, Fredette will not be offered a second deal by the Knicks, according to ESPN’s Ian Begley on Wednesday.
The Knicks will not sign Jimmer Fredette to another 10-day contract, league sources told ESPN.
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) March 2, 2016
For a guy who doesn’t know when his next opportunity in the NBA might be, if it even comes at all, Fredette oughta be cut some slack. Sure, there are some unwritten rules that frown on that kind of freewheeling behavior in the last seconds of a blowout. But I think the sheer principle of Jimmermania supersedes all of them. After all, even Leonard himself acknowledged being in the wrong for breaking one of the cardinal rules of basketball: let Jimmer shoot. Always.
H/T Bleacher Report
