The Knicks vs. Nets rivalry has been taken up a notch with the infusion of ex-Celtics Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. Both sides are sniping in the media, and the NBA is apparently concerned about it.
According to ProBasketballTalk.com, league officials recently called in top officials from both the Knicks and Nets organizations and instructed them to tone down some of the rhetoric they’ve been engaging in this summer.
Knicks point guard Raymond Felton and new Nets forward Paul Pierce recently waged a back-and-forth exchange where Felton admonished his Brooklyn neighbor: “Paul Pierce talking all this junk, each and every week. Saying something on some radio show or whatever…we still got “New York” on our chest. We’re still New York’s team, regardless of what Brooklyn do.”
Along with Pierce, the Nets added veterans Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry this offseason and, behind rookie coach Jason Kidd, are expected to be major players in the Eastern Conference.
Sensing things could get real competitive, real fast, ProBasketballTalk reports Commissioner David Stern also involved colorful owners James Dolan and Mikhail Prokhorov in the talks.
“There was such a meeting and the parties both said it was a very cordial and pleasant one,” a league source later told the website.
Team execs from both organizations have since agreed to share responsibilities for hosting the 2015 NBA All-Star game in NYC.
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