David West says the Knicks aren’t good enough to sign him

Remember when the Knicks thought they had a chance with Marc Gasol?

How the feeble have fallen.

Not even David West – who was reportedly headed to New York – will sign with the Knicks. He makes that darn clear.

Bob Kravitz of WTHR:

West said the rumors about him going to the Knicks are ridiculous; he wants to be with a contender; the Knicks don't qualify.

— Bob Kravitz (@bkravitz) July 2, 2015

This is the type of foresight Carmelo Anthony might lack. West doesn’t want to take a big payday and get stuck somewhere he doesn’t want to be.

West, via Kravitz:

“At this point in my career, it’s all about winning, and again, I don’t want to be in a position where we’re just fighting to make the playoffs, I want to be in a spot where we can legitimately taste the finals,” West said.

For what it’s worth, West also didn’t like the Pacers’ public case to convince Roy Hibbert to opt out. West, via Kravitz:

“That’s one thing where I wish they would have handled better was the situation with Roy,” West said. “I’ll be honest with you, that bothered me a little bit, and I told Roy that. I’m the type of guy who feels like we’re all in this fight together and I’m not designed in that way to put it all on one guy. That did rub me the wrong way. That threw me off. I started reading some of that stuff, I started thinking, ‘Whoaa.’ I just didn’t feel good about that. I told Roy that it bothered me, that he’s still my teammate.

Hibbert opted in, and West opted out.

Now, West is seeking greener pastures. He’s obviously serious about winning over money – he opted out of $12.6 million – and he should have his pick of teams. Anyone should want West on a minimum contract, and most contenders (at least the ones not over the apron) should like him on a bi-annual exception. Someone might even give him the mid-level exception.

The bigger challenge is finding a contender where West would play a reasonably large role.

Are the Raptors, with DeMarre Carroll in the fold, good enough? Would a minimum salary convince West to back up Blake Griffin on the Clippers? How about West signing for less than Marreese Speights and allowing the Warriors to trade Speights?

West will have options. The less money he’s willing to take, the more teams that will pursue him.