Thank You, Amar’e Stoudemire

There was a period of time in which the New York Knicks had gone through almost a decade of turbulence and unmitigated bloodbaths. From Allan Houston’s contract extension to Jerome James’s onerous quick fix and a handful of other harrowing contracts and ultra high levels of incompetence. Then, in the 2010 offseason, the lightbulb above Donnie Walsh’s head turned on. After “The Decision,” Carlos Boozer’s signing with the Chicago Bulls and Joe Johnson’s “League’s Highest Paid Player” six-year deal with the Atlanta Hawks, Amar’e Stoudemire was the last resort.

Just imagine what fans would’ve felt like if the Knicks had failed on signing a “big name” that offseason. Hostility would’ve been at an all-time high, as if it weren’t already during that period of mediocrity. Knowing James Dolan’s line of thinking, Walsh and Mike D’Antoni would probably have gotten fired—we’ll never know that, but we can read Dolan better than a cheap novel.

When Amare Stoudemire proclaimed that, “The Knicks are back,” at his inaugural Knicks press conference, he really meant it.

For Knick fans, it seemed like yet another form of false hope that was going to fade into Knicks purgatory. But Amare backed it up.

Nine straight 30+ point games, a lethal mid-range jumper a la Luis Scola’s, an explosive drive that got him to the free throw line so many times, a 1-4 pick-and-roll synergy with Raymond Felton—it seems so long ago now—and the usual “MVP” chant treatment—although those are a nuisance. That was followed by luring Carmelo Anthony to New York—and no, Stoudemire was not ruined by ‘Melo—and single-handedly leading the Knicks to the playoffs for the first time in seven very long years.

That’s a lot of accolades in just the 2010-11 NBA season.

Although they were swept by the savant Boston Celtics in the first round, the Knicks were indeed back on the map. Stoudemire’s, “Knicks Are Back,” statement was held up, the general public was interested in Knicks basketball again, and, after all, there was some hope for the future to come.

But then, things started to tumble downhill.

The dive started when Stoudemire pulled his back in Game 2 pregame warmups. He ended up being ineffective throughout the remainder of the series.

The fire extinguisher incident is a section of Knicks folklore nobody wants to remember, but has become meme gold.

The Knicks’ 2012-13 success didn’t revolve around Stoudemire, but people need to give him credit for being an everyday team player. He gladly accepted his role as a sixth man, knowing that he wasn’t going to start over Tyson Chandler or Carmelo Anthony. He did whatever he could with his injury-plagued knees.

Mike Woodson could have given him minutes against the Pacers in the 2012-13 Eastern Conference Semifinals, but didn’t do it. It wouldn’t have hurt, especially with Tyson Chandler being outgunned by Roy Hibbert in the series.

Even this season, Stoudemire was a top three player on the roster for the first month-and-a-half. The post game that he had worked on with Hakeem Olajuwon a couple summers back was working out well. He was playing solid basketball for a 32-year-old with injury problems and was doing whatever he could to contribute.

Ultimately, Amar’e Stoudemire’s career in New York was a pump-and-dump stock that had short term breakouts, with the long-term investors only to lose all of their money betting their whole account value for the stock to blast off in the long term. Now, Stoudemire is a part of the Dallas Mavericks, where he’s hoping to contribute to Mark Cuban’s “win now” roster with a freakishly efficient offense that has a revitalized Monta Ellis, Rajon Rondo and grizzled Dirk Nowitzki. Stoudemire will reunite with his old teammate, Chandler.

He is “ring chasing,” if you will, but if that’s what it takes, then why not do it at 32 years old? Ray Allen hit one of the biggest shots of his career and in NBA history in Game 6 of the 2013 NBA Finals at 37 years old.

Sometimes, reward comes with experience; just ask the 2010-11 Mavericks.

Knicks fans talking about terrible contracts and, more so, losing, is an art. Five years later, fans are calling Stoudemire’s five-year, $100 million contract one of the worst deals in the history of basketball. But, of course, people are going to play the “hindsight is 20/20” game. As much as fans have a disdain for Stoudemire’s deal, I’m one of the few Knicks fans that doesn’t hate him for his contract.

For the lack of a better cliche, through thick and thin, Stoudemire was always my favorite Knick from the inception of his stint in New York to the end. He’s still a fantastic guy. He embraced—and still embraces—New York City culture to a high level. His called-off buzzer-beating three-pointer against the Celtics will forever be a Top 5 Knick moment for me, and although the Knicks were back briefly, July 5th, 2010 will forever be the day that basketball was reborn in New York CIty.

Best of luck to you, Amar’e. I’ll miss ya.

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