According to league sources, The New York Knicks have agreed to a buyout with former All-Star center Amar’e Stoudemire.
The 32-year-old Stoudemire, who was in the final season of a five-year, $99.7 million contract, intends to sign with a team in playoff contention after clearing waivers on Wednesday at 5 p.m. He will be officially waived on Monday.
Stoudemire said last week that he would spend the All-Star break mulling over his future, which was mainly whether or not he would ask the fledgling Knicks for a buyout so that he could join a playoff contending team. He had previously said the decision to leave the Knicks would be difficult because of his loyalty to New York owner Jim Dolan. He had previously admitted in an interview on Feb. 6 with Yahoo! Sports that the constant losing had made it hard for him to maintain a high level of motivation.
“It’s not an easy decision to make,” Stoudemire said at the time. “Over time, we will see how things pan out. You give yourself a break during the All-Star break. You think about it with your family. … That will give me a good solid week on how to weigh out the rest of the season.”
“All possibilities at this point are still open, the door is still open for that. But at the same time, I am with the Knicks now. I got to stay optimistic about things and what we are doing here,” he said.
“I can’t really focus on the future, because it’s not here.”
Stoudemire is a six-time All-Star, and has averaged 12.0 points and 6.8 rebounds in 36 games for the Knicks this season while dealing with multiple injuries. He missed had previously missed 14 of 18 games with wrist, ankle, and knee injuries before returning on Feb. 6.
So who exactly is in the running to sign him?
The Dallas Mavericks are considered the favorites to sign Stoudemire, although the Los Angeles Clippers and his former team the Phoenix Suns have also shown interest in his services.
Dallas can only offer Stoudemire the veteran’s minimum salary of $1,448,490, but he would likely have a significant role off the bench at power forward and center behind Dirk Nowitzki and former Knicks teammate Tyson Chandler.
“He would fit in great because we play a lot of pick-and-roll,” Chandler said recently when asked about the possibility. “Coach Carlisle does an excellent job understanding scorers and how to get them the ball and putting them in a position to succeed. Not only that, we’ve got the best training staff in the league. That also helps.”
Chandler’s mention of the training staff makes sense, as he saw his former teammate miss 89 total games with various injuries when they were together from 2011-2014. Stoudemire averaged 25.3 points and 8.2 rebounds per game in 78 appearances prior to the 2011-12 season. He has struggled to match his previous level of production ever since while dealing with a combination of decreased playing time and sometimes inept teammates who didn’t fit together on the roster.
Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony was informed of Stoudemire’s exit shortly after the All-Star game concluded on Sunday night.
“One of the main reasons I’m a New York Knick today was because of him. To see him leave, to see the situation where it’s at today, I know what he wants and you have to respect that as an athlete as a competitor,” Anthony said. “Amar’e brought something back to New York that New York was kind of missing and needing for a long time. When he came, he brought back some excitement for the game of basketball here in New York. There was hope when he came back.”
“People started believing in the New York Knicks once again. He was the main reason for that belief and for that hope when he first got here in New York.”
Although many are quick to point out the fact that Stoudemire’s production has taken a significant dip since the 2010-2011 season, it is worth mentioning that his minutes have gone down as well, which has had an effect on his overall numbers.
Stoudemire has averaged 24.0 minutes this season in his 36 appearances, a slight increase from 22.6 last season. In those 36 games, he has averaged 18.0 points per 36 minutes played, which is actually not far off from his 2010-11 season average of 24.7 points per 36 minutes played. His current average of 10.2 rebounds per 36 minutes played is actually his best since the 2006-2007 season, when he averaged 10.5 rebounds per 36 minutes played.
It is because of this that Stoudemire will be an asset to whichever team he lands with. He also brings with him extensive playoff experience, and has been a mostly exemplary player while playing on a terrible Knicks team the last few seasons, and never had any complaints about his role or playing time.
While Stoudemire would be an excellent backup in Dallas, the Clippers are probably in a more immediate need of his services, with the recent injury to Black Griffin combined with their mediocre bench lineup.
Wherever he lands, he will provide better-than-solid post play and veteran leadership qualities, and his arrival will only further complicate the already cutthroat Western Conference playoff race.
