Imagine if Richard Jefferson played for the Knicks?

The former Net from 2001-08 joked that he knew his time in the NBA would be over if New York were to express interest.

Jefferson retired after the 2017-18 season with the Denver Nuggets, but revealed on the YES Network broadcast of Sunday's game at Madison Square Garden in New York between the Knicks and Brooklyn Nets that the former gave him a call before he decided to end his 17-year career.

Richard Jefferson says he chose retirement over playing for the Knicks

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- Knicks Videos (@sny_knicks) November 25, 2019

"I refused to play for the Knicks," Jefferson said with fewer than 12 minutes left in the second quarter as the Nets led the Knicks 29-25. "Like, Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin -- they don't really care. Me, I was the one person that said, 'Knicks? No, I'll retire.' That's why I retired. They were the one team that offered me a job. I decided to retire."

Kidd (2001-08) and Martin (2000-04) were known for their successes with the New Jersey Nets and later played for the Knicks, but Jefferson would not do the same.

"It's true," Jefferson said. "I decided to retire instead of play for the Knicks. It was true."

Jefferson, who averaged 12.6 points per game and was an NBA champ on the 2015-16 Cleveland Cavaliers, retired in October 2018.

"I just knew it was time," Jefferson said. "When the Knicks were looking for me to play for them, I knew my time in this league was over."

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