New York Knicks interim coach Kurt Rambis and guard Arron Afflalo appeared to be at odds last week. Rambis took Afflalo out of the starting lineup, then told reporters that he'd had a conversation about it with the veteran. Afflalo flatly said that discussion never took place. Things got even weirder on Sunday when Rambis argued that the demotion would be better for Afflalo's value in free agency.
From the New York Post's Marc Berman:
Rambis was asked if Afflalo is starting to adjust to his bench role, and he went on a bizarre preamble that the demotion should raise his market value as a free agent. Afflalo doesn’t have to exercise his opt-out until June 22 but it’s expected — especially after the demotion — he would.
“Him coming off the bench adds nothing but value to him,’’ Rambis said. “Whereas some teams may not be looking at him if he decides to opt out of his contract, teams might have someone at his position and don’t think of him coming off the bench, well, they start to go to [think], OK, he has the right attitude and can add productivity. I just think the more versatile players are, the better they are around the league, the more things other teams can see the possibility for them.’’
This can easily be translated to something like, "Afflalo didn't take the demotion well, and teams are going to think that he is selfish." That's a not-so-subtle shot at Afflalo, and it's strange for an interim coach to do that with only four games left before Afflalo can become a free agent.
Rambis does sort of have a point, in that players generally will be viewed more favorably if they are willing to sacrifice their own minutes and stats in order to win games. That's not really what's happening here, though. The Knicks are awful, and Rambis has been starting Sasha Vujacic over Afflalo. This is not remotely the same as Afflalo coming off the bench behind Wesley Matthews last season with the Portland Trail Blazers.
Afflalo, 30, is still more than capable of starting, even though his numbers have dipped significantly since averaging 18.2 points and making 43 percent of his 3-pointers for the Orlando Magic in 2013-14. On some rosters, though, he'd make more sense as a sixth man. Teams already know this, though, and it's hard to imagine that coming off the bench for the 31-47 Knicks will make him appear more valuable.
Rambis said last week that he and Afflalo had a discussion after the back-and-forth in the media. The New York Post reported that it was an hour-long talk in Dallas. It still does not appear that the two are on the same page.
