http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/story/_/id/7341514/new-york-knicks-add-point-guard-mike-bibby-re-sign-jared-jeffries
Knicks make flurry of moves
GREENBURGH, N.Y. -- The New York Knicks re-signed veteran forward-center Jared Jeffriesand signed free-agent point guard Mike Bibby, first-round pick Iman Shumpert and second-round pick Josh Harrellson, the team announced Sunday.
Bibby, 33, is a key acquisition because the Knicks amnestied starting point guard Chauncey Billups to clear cap space for the acquisition of Tyson Chandler.
"I feel good," Bibby said Saturday at the Knicks' practice facility. "I always wanted to play for [coach Mike] D'Antoni, and here's my chance."
Initially, the plan is for Bibby to back up Toney Douglas.
"I'm not worried about all that," Bibby said. "Everybody always says when you come in, it's a battle for who's going to go against who.
"We're all teammates, so anything I can do to help, that's what I'm going to do. If he needs for me to be in his ear -- I know he's young, so I'm going to help him as much as I can, even with Shumpert, too."
Douglas believes he can learn from Bibby.
"He's my teammate," he said. "He's been in the league for 13 years. Obviously, I'm always going to learn a lot from those older players, take the wisdom that he gives me."
The Knicks did not announce the details of Bibby's contract. On Saturday, his agent, David Falk, said it would be a one-year deal for the veteran minimum of $1.4 million.
"I've been trying for about six years to get him playing for D'Antoni, but at the time this guy named [Steve] Nash was blocking us," Falk told ESPN The Magazine's Chris Broussard. "I've always felt Mike would flourish in his offense."
Bibby finished last season with Miami, which lost to Dallas in the Finals. He has averaged 15.2 points and 5.7 assists per game in 13 NBA seasons. He enjoyed his greatest success during his 6½ seasons in Sacramento, when the Kings were Western Conference contenders.
He helped the Atlanta Hawks reach the playoffs for three straight seasons, from 2008-09 through 2010-11. Mike Woodson, currently a Knicks assistant, was the Hawks head coach.
"Mike Woodson coached him in Atlanta," D'Antoni said. "And his first words were, 'Whatever you need from him, he'll give you, from the bench, from the starter, from not playing. Whatever we ask, he would do, and he would do it professionally.'"
"We think he's still got some gas left in the tank, and obviously he's a very smart, good shooting point guard," D'Antoni added. "And there's not many guys that can come off the bench as good as him.
Jeffries, 30, has averaged 5.1 points and 4.3 rebounds in nine seasons. He returned to New York last season for his second stint with the Knicks and proved to be a solid defender.
The Knicks selected Shumpert, 21, with the 17th pick of the NBA draft. The 6-foot-5, 220-pound guard left Georgia Tech after his junior season.
Harrellson, 22, was selected in the second round by New Orleans, but the Knicks acquired his rights on June 23. The 6-foot-10, 275-pounder played for Kentucky.
Jared Zwerling is a regular contributor to ESPNNewYork.com.
