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Amar’e Stoudemire Buyout Completed With New York Knicks

By Kenneth Teape

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Amar’e Stoudemire Buyout Became Official Sunday Night

An era of sorts has come to an end for the New York Knicks, as they reached a buyout with power forward/center Amar’e Stoudemire on Sunday night. Seconds after the conclusion of the NBA All-Star Game at Madison Square Garden, it was announced by New York Daily News Frank Isola. The buyout between Stoudemire and the Knicks has been a hot topic recently in New York, as he really had the final say in if he wanted to leave or not.

Stoudemire signed a huge contract with the Knicks in the summer of 2010, as the Knicks were desperate to add a star caliber player to jumpstart their team. That man was Stoudemire, in the form of a five-year, $99.7 million contract. It was quite a feat of sorts for Stoudemire to still be on the team as long as he was, because had the Knicks not misused their amnesty clause on Chauncey Billups, Stoudemire more than likely would have been off the roster awhile ago.

It seems like ages ago that Stoudemire was being showered with MVP chants at Madison Square Garden, as in his first season in the Big Apple Stoudemire put up eye-popping stats, averaging 25.3 points per game to go with 8.2 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.9 blocks and 0.9 steals per game.

Sadly for the Knicks and Stoudemire, his effectiveness waned in seasons after as injuries began to hit him hard. The contract turned into the albatross many people believed it would turn into because the injury concerns Stoudemire came to New York with popped up continually the past three seasons, limiting the effectiveness of the six-time All-Star. Stoudemire revived New York in a way, but never fully realized what he had set out to accomplish when he signed with the Knicks in the summer of 2010, proclaiming that the Knicks were back.

This season Stoudemire was relegated to mostly spot duty, as the Knicks, under new management, wanted to limit Stoudemire’s minutes early on to keep him fresh as the season went on. That plan was altered as the Knicks season got off to a horrible start, and Stoudemire saw his minutes increase. He showed flashes of the old Stoudemire, but eventually he succumbed to his past injuries, as knee soreness forced him to miss a number of games. It has caused Stoudemire to appear in only nine of the past 25 Knicks games, something that has become too common of a theme recently for Stoudemire.

While he wasn’t able to get on the court often, when he did he performed. Stoudemire continued to be extremely efficient offensively, shooting 54.3 percent and averaging 12.0 points in only 24 minutes per game. That percentage should increase if Stoudemire can get his jump shot going, as he has been missing it for most of this season.

Another positive is the impact Stoudemire is having on the glass. He is rebounding as well as he has at any point in his career, averaging 6.8 per game. Some of that has to do with the new schemes that Derek Fisher has put in place, but it just show that even in limited minutes Stoudemire can still be effective.

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That is the kind of role that Stoudemire is capable of playing at this point in his career, and it would fit in perfectly with a contender. He won’t be asked to start or play heavy minutes, just fit in with a team and help them try and win a championship. Stoudemire has shown he is willing to do whatever it takes to win, even if it means coming off the bench as long as it is what is considered best for the team.

Stoudemire has said in the past this would be a difficult decision because of his loyalty to Knicks’ owner James Dolan, the only man who showed confidence in Stoudemire that summer he signed with the Knicks. While it may have been a tough decision, it is not every day that you have a chance to pick a contender to sign with. Asking for a buyout has given Stoudemire that opportunity, and no matter how loyal he feels to the Knicks, he made the right choice in leaving. Abandoning ship right now may look bad, but it is hard to fault Stoudemire for leaving when the Knicks’ season is down the drain and Carmelo Anthony looks about ready to call it a season as well.

Next: Where Will Amar'e Stoudemire End Up Signing?

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