Darren Abate/Associated Press

Veteran center Kyle O'Quinn was blunt about his decision to sign with the Indiana Pacers and leave the New York Knicks after three seasons.

"I wanted to play for something more than next year's draft," O'Quinn said to reporters Monday, per Charlie Clifford of WISH-TV in Indianapolis.

The Knicks won 92 games over the previous three years, which tied for the sixth-fewest in the NBA during that time, per Basketball Reference. Before that, O'Quinn played for the Orlando Magic, who had a league-worst 68 wins over three seasons.

In short, it's not hard to see why O'Quinn wants to play for a playoff contender.

The Pacers finished fifth in the Eastern Conference in 2017-18, and like the rest of the conference, they won't have to deal with LeBron James after he agreed to a four-year deal with the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Knicks, on the other hand, are going nowhere for the time being. They had 29 wins this past year, and Kristaps Porzingis is recovering from a torn ACL.

Head coach David Fizdale seemed to indicate the team's priorities when he praised the front office for "lining it up so that we’re in a position next summer to make moves," per the New York Daily News' Stefan Bondy.

That's not exactly a great pitch when trying to sell veteran free agents on signing with the team this offseason.