New York State Of Mind: Amar'e Embraces Challenge of Bringing NYK Back
“The Knicks are back” was what Amar’e Stoudemire said in his first interview as a New York Knickerbocker. He left a Phoenix Suns team pioneered by Steve Nash, that lost in the Western Conference Finals to the eventual NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers, for a team with young talents Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler, Toney Douglas, and Bill Walker, and an empty max contract slot. Many people anticipated that Lebron and Dwyane Wade were going to be the first to make their decisions, and that Amar’e and Chris Bosh would fellow one of the two. However, at the end of the day, it was Amar’e who stepped up to the plate to be the first one to accept the challenge of bringing the Knicks back to the glory days. Lebron on the other hand, was the follower joining Wade and Bosh in Miami, with Mario Chalmers, and not too much left over to fill out 8 roster spots. Maybe Lebron planned on playing with Wade and Bosh ever since he signed his contract to become a free agent in 2010? The fact is that Lebron clearly doesn’t care about his legacy by taking the route of a coward in hopes of that championship dream, while Amar’e of all people is embracing the challenge forthcoming.
In New York, champions are heroes, and players that come up short are ripped apart by fans and the media. Look at Eli Manning for example. He went from unpopular not playing to expectations 1st overall pick QB, to a hero overnight after he and the Giants pulled off one of the biggest upsets in sports history. An opposite example is Alex Rodriguez. When he was traded to the New York Yankees to pair with Jeter, it seemed like there was another dynasty in the Bronx. However, after repeated years of playoff failure (pre 2009 World Series victory), A-Rod was the subject of tons of criticism from the fans and media for not getting it done in October. This is the risk of being a franchise player in New York sports, however if you really area true superstar, the media and fans should never scare you, nor should the challenge of becoming a sports icon in the greatest market in the U.S.
Despite putting up 23 points and 9 rebounds a game last season, Stoudemire still isn’t seen as an elite player. He has played in Phoenix his whole career, but he has never been the man. Amar’e officially became a FA on July 1st, leaving him plenty of time to make a decision on his future. Shortly after reports came out that Amar’e wasn’t going back to Phoenix, Stoudemire made a commitment to New York, even though the status of where Lebron and Wade were playing was in doubt. Sure one reason that he decided to commit to New York, and risking the possibility of playing with another superstar could have easily been because they offered him the most money, but it seemed like that regardless, Amar’e wanted to come to New York. He made his own decision to come to the Mecca of Basketball. He loves the city of NY, he wants to throw down slam-dunks in Madison Square Garden, and most of all, he wants to be part of what could possibly be a huge turn around for the New York Knicks franchise. There were a ton of risks for Amar’e regarding his decision to sign with NYK. For one, there was no guarantee that Lebron or Wade was even coming. Nobody thought that anyone would sign with the Knicks without it being a package deal with another max player. Amar’e however proved those doubters wrong. Being the first all-star to commit before the “Lebron-dominoes” fell showed that he has tons of courage, which makes me embrace him 100% to the franchise as a fan. Unlike Bosh who simply just wanted to play wherever Wade and/or Lebron went, Amar’e WANTS to be in New York, and is here to play, and this certainly isn’t thes shortcut to an NBA title. But I’m sure he knows the reward in the long run, and that he is going to face incredible amounts of criticism from the NY media if he repeats some of his poor habits he had when he played for the Suns such as his lazy rebounding and defense. But a major factor playing into Amar’e Stoudemire’s decision was legacy, something Lebron James of all people completely ignored.
As a Knicks fan, I was confident for a while that Lebron James was going to become the King of New York. I thought it was the perfect marriage. His supporting class simply wasn’t getting it done, and the team didn’t have the cap flexibility or young talent to make a big splash to convince him to stay. I really thought that Lebron had the potential to surpass Michael Jordan as the greatest of all time. He simply has the talent to do so, however a big part of becoming the best is how you do so, which ultimately makes up your legacy as a player. From my theory, I felt that going to the Knicks would be the best situation for him. New York, Madison Square Garden, going to the biggest possible stage in the NBA. A team with decent young talent, and enough cap space to bring in Lebron and the “Robin” of his choice to help turn a franchise around that’s in the biggest market in the country, and that hasn’t had a winning season in 10 years seemed like the perfect marriage. Could you imagine what Lebron’s legacy would have been if he went to the Knicks, transforming them from a laughingstock to a dynasty winning multiple titles in New York City? This would easily put Lebron in competition with Jordan as the GOAT, and he would be the King of New York Sports, yes he would even be up there with Babe Ruth.
However, as proven by his decision, I was obviously wrong about my prediction. I do still feel that the Knicks would have been best for Lebron’s legacy, but it doesn’t seem like he really cares. Instead, he is going to Miami, and going with Chris Bosh to Dwyane Wade’s team. He is going to be a rich man’s version of Scottie Pippen to D-Wade. I am pretty sure that this Heat squad is going to win a few titles in the near future. However, Lebron will forever be remembered as always having one ring less than Dwyane Wade, and having to go to his team to win a ring, and he couldn’t get it done as the alpha dog in Cleveland, and was too much of a coward to accept the challenge of being the Batman in New York or Chicago, and handpicking his own personal Robin. Now try telling me he has the potential to be better historically than MJ, Kobe, or even Wade??
The Lebron decision as a Knicks fan has truly made me a big fan of Amar’e. He wants the biggest challenge. Coming here by himself to the Mecca, where champions are legends, and losers are subjects of the media, it seems that Amar’e just simply wants to be a Knick and play in New York City, not where his buddies are. Hopefully he gets the players around him one day that he becomes another New York sports hero. If so, his legacy will be the first all star in the 2010 FA class that stepped up to the plate by taking the risk of going to the New York Knicks, and being the first piece to a future championship puzzle.
