Yesterday Amar'e Stoudemire shook up the Free Agent landscape by being the first marquee player to jump ship and sign a max contract with another team. His move to the New York Knicks was so bold that when he announced it himself over the weekend, people were pretty sure he was lying.
Once Amar'e made his move, the world returned to status quo, waiting to hear from LeBron. I suppose in some universe King James would be okay with being the second guy to sign in New York, the one who followed Amar'e, but it seems unlikely. Assuming James does not go to the Knicks, Amar'e Stoudemire has just done the most brilliant thing in the history of Amar'e Stoudemire. He has stolen the throne.
This is not the Throne of the League we are talking about, but the Throne of the City. New York has proven itself so starved for a basketball savior that they will bow to even the biggest knucklehead. It is obvious that Stoudemire is not a true prime free agent. He has never once been mentioned among the Triumvirate of Bron, Bosh & Wade and for a million reasons, he does not under any circumstances deserve a max contract. Try telling that to Amar'e. This is a man who changed his jersey number to 1 after watching his teammate win a second straight MVP trophy, a man of outspoken taste and fashion, and a man who has just been unleashed, unchained, and let out of his cage.
We're about to enter a season without precedent, a season in which everything Amar'e Stoudemire says or thinks is published by the New York media. If what we've seen so far is any indication, there is no ceiling for what to expect. No man has embraced New York so giddily since Kevin McCallister.
Sure Amar'e has talked plenty about the players he would like to help recruit to join him, most obvious and curiously, Carmelo Anthony and Tony Parker, who will not be available until next season. While it seems obvious that he will need some help this season, perhaps Amar'e would like to be home alone for a season. After all, he's never had his own team, never been the alpha dog. He's never been able to berate his team while role players watch idly on.
Who knows, perhaps unlike past Knicks flameouts, Amar'e will use the Throne for good. We know he has played brilliantly in a D'Antoni system before. We know that at his core, he is an athlete of exceptional talent and skill, and we know that he hates defense more than mayonnaise. Most of all we know he wants nothing more than to prove that he is worthy of the attention. Welcome to New York, Amar'e. The mic is on. The spotlight is waiting.
I've always thought that Amare is one of the best possible teammates to play alongside Lebron. He can run, doesn't need to constantly have the ball to score, and can produce offense in games when the King doesn't bring it.
ReplyDeleteWith this move, I think the Knicks have a better chance now then they've had since this thing started to land James. Looks like a coin flip between NYC and Ohio.
Then again, any expert that states they know something is probably just lying because no one knows anything besides #6.