Richard Jefferson elected to retire rather than play for Knicks

Former Nets standout Richard Jefferson didn’t hold back with his criticism of the New York Knicks when they hosted Brooklyn on Saturday.

The New York Knicks have been living off past success for years, yet they’ve remained a major brand in the game because they were New York’s only basketball team.

They’ve received criticism, but the conversation has changed a bit since Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant decided to play for the Brooklyn Nets over the Knicks this past summer. Now it seems everyone is more than happy to join in and criticize James Dolan and his franchise.

Add former Nets forward and YES Network analyst Richard Jefferson to the list of individuals who don’t have a high opinion of the Knicks. During Sunday’s matchup between the Nets and Knicks at Madison Square Garden, Jefferson mentioned the Knicks offered him a contract at the end of his career.

Jefferson felt New York’s interest was a sign he needed to retire:

I refused to play for the Knicks. Like, Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin, they don’t really care. Me, I was the one person that said, ‘Knicks? No, I’ll retire.’ That’s why I retired, they were the one team that offered me a job and I decided to retire. … It’s true, I decied to retire instead of play for the Knicks. … I just knew it was time. When the Knicks were looking for me to play for them, I knew my time in this league was over.