The Knicks would not confirm the report Sunday, which cited a league source. Stoudemire had said before the All-Star break that he wasn't sure if he wanted to stay with the team, which has the NBA's worst record, knowing he didn't have much time left in his career to chase a championship.
Carmelo Anthony says it was hard for him to believe Stoudemire was leaving, but that if his friend wanted to play for a contender that ''nobody should hold that away from him.''
Anthony adds: ''One of the main reasons why I'm a New York Knick today was because of him. To see him leave, to see the situation where it's at right now, I know what he wants and you have to respect that.''
At this point, it's pretty clear that he's comfortable with a smaller role. If he's fine playing 24 minutes a game for the worst team in the league, I'm sure he's willing to sacrifice for the good of a team that's in contention. His numbers - while not something you'd want to pay in excess of $20 million for - are pretty respectable for the amount of minutes he's playing, and would be good value at the league minimum. I'm sure he'll draw interest from top teams; his ability to stay healthy is going to be a concern, but for that price, a team that feels it just needs one more piece in the frontcourt is going to take the risk.
