Knicks Sign Metta World Peace

TUESDAY, 3:57pm: The Knicks have officially signed World Peace, the team confirmed today (via Twitter).

MONDAY, 3:07pm: World Peace confirmed on NBA TV that he has agreed to sign with the Knicks, tweets Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News.

2:46pm: In spite of World Peace's denial, new reports on the agreement continue to trickle in, and Ron Artest Sr. has essentially confirmed the deal with multiple outlets, so it looks to me like it'll get done.

2:28pm: Despite multiple outlets reporting the agreement, World Peace has texted Sam Amick of USA Today to say it's not a done deal, and that he's "still talking to other people" (Twitter link).

2:14pm: Newsday's Al Iannazzone reports (via Twitter) that World Peace will receive the rest of the Knicks' mini MLE and will have a second-year player option, as I speculated below.

2:04pm: The Knicks and Metta World Peace have reached an agreement in principle on a two-year deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter). Sam Amick of USA Today reported earlier this afternoon that World Peace had met with the Knicks in Las Vegas and planned to sit down with other teams, but it appears as if those additional meetings won't be necessary.

We heard nearly a week ago that the Knicks would top World Peace's wish list if the Lakers were to amnesty him. Since then, the Lakers made the move official, and many more rumors about World Peace's preferred destinations surfaced. Various reports over the last week, including many that quoted MWP himself, indicated that he might sit out the 2013/14 season, end up on the Clippers, or play with a Chinese team.

Ultimately, it seems as if many of those quotes from World Peace were intended to ensure that he cleared waivers and was able to choose his own destiny. It's not clear yet whether the ex-Laker will receive the rest of the Knicks' mini mid-level exception, or if he'll sign for the minimum. Either way, he'll still earn more than the $7.73MM salary that the Lakers cleared from their cap. It wouldn't surprise me if the second year of his deal with the Knicks is a player option, giving him some security while allowing him to hit the open market next summer if he so chooses.

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