LAS VEGAS – Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni said today the decision to amnesty Metta World Peace was purely financial and he wanted to keep the defensive small forward from Queensbridge.
The Knicks have targeted World Peace, who has to clear through amnesty waivers for the Knicks to have a shot at him. The 48-hour process began tonight at 5 p.m. as 11 under-the-cap teams are allowed to make bids.
“Obviously it’s a byproduct of the CBA,’’ D’Antoni told The Post today at the Las Vegas summer league at UNLV. “As a person and player, I couldn’t find anyone better. He’s great. I enjoyed coaching him. I hope he finds something great. He deserves it. It’s not the coaches. It’s management. They have to manage the cap.’’
D’Antoni, the ex-Knicks pilot, coached World Peace for one season. The Lakers, gearing for a 2014 free-agent windfall, saved $15M in luxury taxes by saying goodbye to Peace.
“He averaged 14 points,’’ D’Antoni said. “He can play. He came back from an injury (meniscus) in 10 days that no human can do and he shouldn’t have. He wanted to help the team.’’
The Lakers coach praised Glen Grunwald’s decision to trade for Italian center Andrea Bargnani, whom D’Antoni had tried to acquire when he was with the Knicks.
D’Antoni, former Italian League star coach and player, has always admired the Italian 7-footer and thought he’d be a good fit in the Knicks frontcourt. D’Antoni is close to former Toronto GM Bryant Colangelo, who drafted Bargnani No. 1 overall in 2006. D’Antoni and Colengelo worked together in Phoenix and think alike.
“I’ve known him for a while,’’ D’Antoni said. “I like what he can do. It’s a real good addition up front with Tyson (Chandler) and Melo, him spacing the floor. That’s his niche. It didn’t work out but we explored the possibility. It wasn’t possible at the time.’’
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The Knicks were beaten, 77-72, in their first summer-league game by New Orleans despite 13 points from rookie Tim Hardaway Jr.
Hardaway scored 8 of his points in the opening six minutes but cooled off in the second half, shooting 1 of 5. He finished 4 of 12 but looked comfortable and aggressive. Iman Shumpert, in an experimental start at point guard alongside Hardaway, notched just 2 points, missing all 5 of his shots. He had 4 assists and 4 turnovers.