Actions speak louder

Some people never learn.
Or, in this case, some organizations.
I had heard sometime during the weekend that Metta World Peace, which is what former Indiana Pacers forward Ron Artest now calls himself, wanted to sign with the New York Knicks.
But I thought to myself that the Knicks would know better. Surely the team in the country’s largest market wouldn’t be silly enough to sign a well-past-his-prime player with a sordid past to a team that already had stability issues. World Peace would have to settle for signing with a bad team as he closes out his career.
Sure enough though, the word came Monday that World Peace had signed a two-year deal with the Knickerbockers.
Those who repeat the past are doomed to fail. And this New York organization seems bound and determined to ignore past mistakes and keep stumbling over the same problems again and again.
The Knicks turned into an absolute mess shortly after losing to Indiana in the 2000 Eastern Conference Finals. They had a run of nine straight losing seasons.
Their struggles came sometimes because of injuries, but mostly because they kept bringing in overpriced and over-hyped players who were more style than substance.
They were counting on guys like Stephan Marbury, Steve Francis, Jamal Crawford, Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry to be their leaders, and it didn’t work out.
And though it’s true New York was a playoff team this year — the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, in fact — it is not constructed in a way that’s likely to ever bring a championship. A five-years-past-his-prime World Peace isn’t going to help.
The Knicks got bounced from the playoffs in the second round by the Pacers, losing in a series that was never really close. And despite being one of the hottest teams down the stretch, I don’t recall anyone ever really believing they were a title contender. Those that did were fooling themselves.
Watching what’s going on in New York should make Indiana fans appreciate the job Larry Bird and Donnie Walsh have done in finally rebuilding the team after being forced start from the ground up following the Artest-led Malice and the Palace.
While the Knicks have focused on glamour players with big names and, often, big mouths, the Pacers have tried to bring in athletes who let their efforts on the court do the talking.
In doing so, they’ve created a team that was within a heartbeat of beating the now two-time defending champion Miami Heat. And that happened without Danny Granger.
Indiana was a mess after the brawl in Detroit that left Artest, Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O’Neal with long suspensions. They traded Artest away to Sacramento, but still had plenty of problems with players over the course of the next five years.
The Pacers have character guys leading the way, with workhorse David West, all-star Paul George and hometown hero George Hill all playing key roles. They may not have a LeBron James or a Kevin Durant, but they’ve already proven themselves one of the best teams in the Eastern Conference.
­They’re one player (Granger?) or perhaps even just one year of experience away from an NBA championship.
They were self-aware enough to realize their mistakes and grow from them. Indiana fans should be thrilled about that.[[In-content Ad]]