World Peace clears waivers, could land in New York
Metta World Peace cleared waivers late Sunday afternoon, and according to ESPN, the New York Knicks already have reached out to the 14-year NBA veteran to gauge his interest in playing in his hometown.
World Peace has indicated he wants to play for the Knicks, but he also talked to Yao Ming on Sunday about playing in China. The former Los Angeles Laker also has shown some interest in remaining in Los Angeles to play for the Clippers.
"I know his name has been surfacing out there," Knicks coach Mike Woodson told ESPN while in Las Vegas, where New York has a summer league team competing. "I like his skill sets a lot. I think a lot of teams have liked his skill sets over the years. He does a little bit of everything."
After being waived on Thursday, World Peace expressed no desire to play in his hometown of New York. In fact, he was hoping not to be claimed.
"I don't really want to play for anybody," World Peace said. "I don't want to go anywhere. I want to go to China, or coach or play arena football."
---Based on what Houston general manager Daryl Morey said over the weekend, guard Jeremy Lin and center Omer Asik should plan on playing in Houston next season.
In the aftermath of signing free agent Dwight Howard, there has been plenty of speculation that Asik wanted out because he did not want to be Howard's backup. And there was talk Lin would not be a good fit.
Over the weekend, Morey discussed Asik's value coming off the bench and Lin's ability to be a good fit with Howard. Morey cited another important factor for the Houston faithful.
"The reality is James (Harden) and Dwight (Howard) want to play with Jeremy and Omer," Morey told the Houston Chronicle. "I've been kicked down to assistant GM. They're going to be here."
---The Los Angeles Lakers agreed to a one-year deal for the league-minimum $1 million with swingman Wesley Johnson, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Johnson was selected No. 4 overall in the 2010 draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. Last season, he averaged 8.0 points and 2.8 rebounds in 19.1 minutes over 50 games for the Phoenix Suns.
