New York Knicks president Phil Jackson certainly wasn’t sad to see Andrea Bargnani sign a two-year contract with the Brooklyn Nets earlier this summer.
Jackson revealed in the latest instalment of ESPN’s The Phil Files that he wasn’t the biggest fan of the former Toronto Raptors centre.
“AB was and still is a big tease,” Jackson told Charley Rosen. “When he was injured he refused to do simple non-contact activities like dummy our offence in practice. He seemed to be a malingerer and this had a bad effect on the team, and also on the way the Knicks fans reacted to him.”
Bargnani, the No. 1 overall draft pick from 2006, spent two seasons in New York after being acquired in a 2013 trade with the Raptors. The 29-year-old Italian averaged 13.9 points, 4.9 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game in 71 total appearances with the Knicks. Overall, his stint with the Knicks was considered a bust.
“When he was on the court, he had a hard time staying intense, didn’t hustle back in offence-to-defence transition, wasn’t active enough in defending screen-rolls,” Jackson added. “Still, his offence is perfectly suited to the triangle because he really doesn’t have to work very hard to get shots. He’s another guy we renounced…AB will always be somewhat of an enigma.”
