“I came to NY in 2010 to help revitalize this franchise and we did just that”, Stoudemire said.
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After all, almost all of STAT’s best years came with the Phoenix Suns, the organization that drafted him as a raw high school prospect in 2002.
Damn. The Suns really did Stoudemire like that, huh?
Amar’e Stoudemire, who signed a contract Tuesday with the New York Knicks to formally retire with them, says he had made overtures to do the same over the past two years with the Phoenix Suns but “wasn’t getting any positive response”. To which most basketball fans responded: Wait, the Knicks?
“For parts of six years, Amare Stoudemire was the face of the New York Knicks franchise because of his excellence on the court and his dedication to our community and our fans across the world”, Mills said.
Stoudemire played with the Suns from 2002-2010, pairing with Steve Nash and Shawn Marion to produce some of the most exciting basketball the NBA had seen in years.
Many people were surprised when Stoudemire announced his retirement as a member of the New York Knicks.
Stoudemire, 33, averaged 18.9 points and 7.8 rebounds in 846 career games over 14 seasons for Phoenix, New York, Dallas and Miami.
In a way, this whole retirement episode is a microcosm of Stoudemire’s entire Knicks career.
“They brought back Jared and Leandro, my boys”, Stoudemire said.
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Stoudemire is still holding out hope that he will be invited to Phoenix one day to join their Ring of Honor, saying, “I’m praying for that”, he said. Look at all these power forwards and centers on the roster (and remember that it wants to play Jared Dudley and P.J. Tucker as stretch 4s): Tyson Chandler, Alex Len, T.J. Warren, Dragan Bender, Marquese Chriss, Alan Williams. My best times are in Phoenix. He played fewer than 15 minutes per game for the Heat last season.
