Jeffries Brings Balance to Knicks

"I've wanted Jared since the first day I got here," said Thomas. "He was one of the players that, when I talked about the versatility I wanted in my guys, I always had my eye on. He, Channing Frye, Eddy Curry, David Lee, those type of athletes, those type of players, that type of personality are the guys you're moving forward with. Now, with Jeffries, you can kind of see where we're going with our team. Now you can see the type of players we have in place. His addition makes you see that -- and that's good for our fans, and that's good for our players and our team."

That reality in front of you is "not only 6-11, 6-11, 6-11," which in itself is important enough, "but it's really much more than that," added Thomas. "Jared is the type of player, and the type of personality, that just balances things out for us. It was true about us last year that the chemistry wasn't right. What Jared brings to us is chemistry, where he balances the locker room, balances the plane ride, he is the chemical piece that makes everything kind of work."

"In addition, his talents and his skills, they speak for themselves. But his intangibles... How do you find that person? He just balances the group and makes it work."

"It's not a matter of solving a problem," added Thomas. "It's a matter of tilting everything to make it all balance. He balances the team, both a person and as a player. We are extremely lucky to have him."

"You can plug in 15 (points) and 8 (rebounds) and it may not work. And you can plug in four and six and it works. Don't ask me why. That's chemistry."

"Jared had a growth spurt in high school, so he really started out as a guard," said Thomas. "So his ball-handling skills are pretty unique for a player his size. His passing ability is pretty unique as well. He is very comfortable on the perimeter but he also developed inside post moves. What he brings to us on the floor is that now every night you can mismatch your lineup. You can move him around to different places strategically that'll give you an advantage on that particular night."

Jeffries himself is no less exuberant. "I had a lot of choices," he smiled. "My agent and I, we looked at the different situations, and we were thrilled with the Knicks. I looked at the team, I looked at Isiah who is from Indiana, and I just got very excited. I felt that this was exactly what I needed to do for my career."

"When I was at Indiana, I was there for two weeks and they fired coach (Bob) Knight," added Jeffries. "Two years later I'm in the national title game. At D.C. Michael Jordan drafts me and he gets fired. Two years later we're in the playoffs and get to the second round. Here we have a situation where we have a lot of good young players. And I want to be a part of that, part of a foundation where we can grow together into something special."

"In addition, in D.C. I played a certain type of role -- a lot of defensive responsibility and being effective without the ball -- and I will always do that to help my team win. That's number one. But with the Knicks my game can grow as well. Hopefully, I can expand, maybe handle the ball more, get more assists, really get out and push the ball. Show all the skills I have, to go with my height."

A big part of Jeffries coming here was "that we have a similar philosophy about basketball," said Thomas. "We both played at Indiana and adopted Bob Knight's way of thinking the game. It really is a mental game. In high school, I never had a play called. When I played at Indiana, we never had a play, period -- it was all about thinking, reading, and reacting to what your opponent would do. Plus, a screen really was a screen. You don't just run to a spot -- you've got to get MEAT to set a screen."

Said Thomas: "It was a complex way of thinking basketball that really made you rise to a higher level of understanding the game. Jared and I, we talked about all of that and we have that in common. It's going to be a fun year."