PORTLAND — Mario Hezonja desperately wanted to be back with the Knicks — he just never got the call to return.
When the Blazers gave him a take-it-or-leave-it offer on the second day of free agency this summer, Hezonja was told by his agent he should go with the Blazers, who also wanted him the summer before.
Hezonja was surprised that Knicks general manager Scott Perry, who helped draft him in Orlando, didn’t call during free agency after Mills told him he would.
Hezonja said he’s one of the few who absolutely embraced the aura of playing at the Garden as a Knick, and will face his old team Tuesday at Moda Center
“That free agency was ‘call me and I’m coming back (to the Knicks),'” Hezonja said after the Blazers lost to OKC Sunday night.