The New York Knicks and Amar’e Stoudemire have reached a buyout agreement, according to a report from Tim McMahon and Marc Stein of ESPN.
“The Dallas Mavericks are considered the front-runners to sign Stoudemire, sources said last week. A source told ESPNDallas.com that the Los Angeles Clippers and Phoenix Suns have also expressed interest.”
It’s been reported for weeks now that the Mavs were very interested in the former Phoenix Sun, along with veteran big Jermaine O’Neal, so Dallas being mentioned as the “front-runners” to sign Stoudemire shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. When the Mavs traded away Brandan Wright in the deal for Rajon Rondo, it left a somewhat concerning hole in the Mavs’ big-guy depth.
“The Mavs can offer Stoudemire only the veteran’s minimum, but he would likely have a significant role off the bench as a candidate for minutes at power forward and center behind Dirk Nowitzki and Tyson Chandler.”
“He would fit in great because we play a lot of pick-and-roll,” Chandler, who played with Stoudemire in New York the past three seasons, said recently. “Coach [Rick 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.“
At 32 years old, and a shell of his former self, Stoudemire wouldn’t move the needle for a lot of the playoff contenders in the League right now, but he might for Dallas. Mavs’ head coach Rick Carlisle loves veterans, but more importantly, knows how to integrate them into his scheme with relative ease. Adding Amar’e, and possibly O’Neal too, could give Dirk Nowitski and Tyson Chandler more opportunities to rest to prepare for what should be a brutal Western Conference playoff schedule.
Amar’e isn’t as athletic or as defensively sound as Wright, but Stoudemire is averaging 18 points and 10.2 rebounds per 36 minutes. That’s a nice player to have coming off the bench for 14 minutes a night at the veteran’s minimum.
Still, Stoudemire-to-Dallas isn’t a sure thing, but it does make the most sense for both parties.
