The Knicks‘ decision to switch him to a reserve role isn’t sitting well with Arron Afflalo, who now appears all but assured to opt out of his deal for 2016/17 and become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Afflalo took to his personal Instagram account to voice his displeasure, writing, “Two years of just control what you can control right?… while making years of growth appears as if it has just stopped. Yeah, OK. 10th year coming up and this time around that [expletive] won’t be forgotten.’’
When asked by reporters to explain the Instagram post, Afflalo said, “It didn’t mean much, to be honest. Just a statement to myself. That’s about it. I plan on growing next year. Frustration ain’t the word,’’ Afflalo added. “It is what it is. People can have their opinion of what they feel you bring to a team. That’s their opinion. My opinion may be different. For now it’s about the team, being professional and doing your job. ‘’
Here’s more from the Eastern Conference:
- Afflalo refutes Knicks interim coach Kurt Rambis‘ account that the two had a discussion about the benching, emphatically stating that there was no miscommunication between the pair and that no conversation occurred, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. “There’s no breakdown in communication,” Afflalo said. “We never had the communication. …I don’t know why he would say there was a conversation.”
- Power forward Josh Powell, whom the Bucks waived this preseason, has signed with Indios de Mayaguez of Puerto Rico, the team announced (translation via Orazio Cauchi of Sportando). Powell spent the earlier part of this season with San Lorenzo in Argentina.
- One of the positives that came out of Al Jefferson missing six weeks due to a knee injury this season was that it proved to the Hornets that Cody Zeller is a legitimate NBA center, writes Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. The 23-year-old is averaging 9.0 points and 6.3 rebounds in 24.7 minutes per game and could provide Charlotte with a fallback if Jefferson were to depart as an unrestricted free agent this summer.
Afflalo can downplay it all he wants, but it’s clear what he meant.
Excellent, whether or not the Knicks did this on purpose to try to get Afflalos 8 mil off the books it’s good news none the less. If his 8 mil is off the books and they stretch Calderon they will have an extra 13 mil and have over 30 mil to spend
The problem in today’s professional sports is you have the inmates running the jail. By this I mean you have spoiled very wealthy players dictating to management when and if they will play. In days gone by if you bought a ticket to the game you were assured that you were going to see a star player compete. When Michael Jordan came to town you were going to get 35 minutes of MJ. Today these players take one or two days a week off. The latest is Carmelo Anthony telling the Knicks management that he will sit out more. Really? Tell your son or daughter who wants to see Melo that he isn’t playing because he wants the day off to rest. Does it matter that to take a family of four to the game costs a Kings ransom. Now a scrub like Affalo who should have been benched months ago takes to Instagram to voice his displeasure. In the real world if any of us did this we’d be fired. My advice don’t let the door hit you on the way out! He’s been awful all year.
Let’s see… A 31 year old superstar with a knee injury… Why not play fewer minutes in the 7 remaining games when the team you play for is eliminated for playoff contention? Now, if he keeps playing and gets injured and has to miss the next season, what would you say?
You entirely miss the point! Would you as a fan spend $500 for tickets to watch the scrubs play? Of course not! So Dolan has your money! Melo has Dolan’s money and YOU the fan get screwed. This has been happening all season. Not just with Melo and the Knicks but all over the league. If you buy a ticket to see Tom Hanks on Broadway and he misses the performance management offers refunds. That’s the way Broadway works. In pro sports with these mega guaranteed contracts now a days you have the inmates running the asylum. Athletes used to play on one year contracts. Have a good year get a pay increase. Have a bad year you had your salary cut. That’s the way it works for you and me in the real world. For you to even justify Melo’s position because the team is having a bad season is ludicrous. Obviously you don’t buy tickets so for you to comment costs you zip. Spend $500 to see stars and get scrubs and you would be the first to yell refund! Melo isn’t injured. He just wants his $25 million but doesn’t want to play for a team that sucks!
It only works like that for “you and me in the real world” because we are not at the top of our careers! Athletes get paid what they are worth there’s no law that says Melo has to get 25 mil guaranteed, he earned it. No one at the top of their job has it like normal people it’s not just pro athletes. You think the best lawyer/scientist/CEO is getting one year deals? Not a chance!!