Many thought it was Metta World Peace’s recurring knee injury that kept the Knicks from re-signing him but he believes there was another reason. Even when he was healthy, then Knicks coach Mike Woodson kept him on the sidelines and wouldn’t let him play. It was never clear what the issue was but now MWP is clearing the air.
In promoting “The Untold Story of the Malice at the Palace,’’ World Peace told The Post in an interview from China some malice that occurred in the Knicks’ locker room last season is possibly why he is not on the team this season, helping them run the triangle offense.
“I don’t understand why they didn’t [sign] me,’’ World Peace said. “But then again, I’m very direct. I think I was too direct in the locker room, too direct to J.R. Smith. It wasn’t from a bad place. I’m older, been on great teams in Sacramento and L.A.
“If someone is not playing defense or not giving effort, that’s my specialty. I don’t hold back on my words. Nobody wants to talk direct to them. We don’t give it to them straight.
“I said some things directly to J.R. Smith in the locker room and he challenged me back, said some direct things to me. But he understood where we came from.”
World Peace battled a swollen knee last season. Even when healthy, former Knicks coach Mike Woodson, who viewed Smith as the son he never had, kept World Peace in the doghouse. The Knicks waived World Peace after the trade deadline.
As an American playing in China, World Peace is allowed to play only two quarters, and is averaging 20 points per game.
