New York Knicks: Why Amar'e Stoudemire Is on Hook More Than Carmelo Anthony

Carmelo Anthony officially became a member of the New York Knicks this past February, sending most of New York into an optimistic frenzy—especially Amar'e Stoudemire.

Remember Stoudemire's reaction to the Anthony trade? Of course you do. You were all aflutter with feelings of elation despite hearing my desperate cries as I mourned the loss of Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler.

Anyway, we digress. Stoudemire completely backed the acquisition of his buddy Anthony, claiming that the Knicks now had a "one, one-A punch" and that they're both so "very versatile" it is impossible to guard them. 

One first-round playoff exit later, Stoudemire surely still stands by his proclamation. After all, Anthony and the rest of the team barely had any time to develop any cohesion last season. This assumption is fair, but come next season, whenever that may be, the Knicks are out of excuses. Stoudemire will be on the hook for how the team fares from there, more than many may realize.

Why Stoudemire and not Anthony? Isn't Anthony the one who has to adjust to the team's concept? Isn't Anthony the one who has to drop some weight and improve his conditioning? Isn't Anthony the one who needs to prove he was worth the steep price the Knicks paid to acquire him?

That is all true, but Stoudemire is the one who said it was all worth it, even before it happened. After all, who could prevent a duo of Stoudemire and Anthony from doing serious damage? The Boston Celtics, for one, but that's all in the past now. New York is at the dawn of tomorrow.

Again.

Just as the Knicks and their fanbase were last summer, this summer the entire city is engulfed in unprecedented feelings of optimism. We are led to believe that this team will come back as a more cohesive and unstoppable unit next season, ready to contend for a title.

For Stoudemire's sake, I sure hope so. He had a good thing going before Anthony came along. He was generating whispers, or screams if you were at the Garden, for the MVP award, he and Felton had become a formidable pick-and-roll duo, and Gallinari and Chandler were finally starting to come into their own.

But that wasn't good enough. The Knicks needed to get to the next level, and the Anthony trade proves they felt they couldn't get there with the current core. And Stoudemire supported it all.

From day one, James Dolan would have given the world for Anthony, yet Donnie Walsh was able to fend him off. However, once Stoudemire went public in the middle of negotiations and said how great of a combination he and Anthony would be, it gave Dolan the leverage he needed to go over Walsh's head.

Anthony can supposedly thrive under Mike D'Antoni's system, meaning that last season's disastrous display of a seven-seconds-or-less system with an iso-oriented twist is no indication of what's to come. Next season, it is up to Anthony to prove he is a versatile athlete capable of succeeding within this system.

If he doesn't? Well, then it's more Stoudemire's head he's gambling with, not his, anyway. Stoudemire endorsed a trade that decimated the Knicks roster. Stoudemire helped push through this deal even after a promising victory over the Atlanta Hawks that signified the previous team was headed in the right direction. Stoudemire went out on a limb and said this is what was best for the team.

And how did it all end last year? With New York barely securing the sixth seed in the playoffs, a positioning they could have obtained with their previous core.

But that's neither here nor there. This move was all about the immediate future, not last season, right Amar'e?

Whether he meant to or not, Stoudemire stuck his neck out on the line for Anthony, so he is on the hook should the small forward fail to propel the Knicks to the level New Yorkers were promised.

I am by no means dismissing the possibility that New York will succeed next year. It is very possible this trade turn out to be a great move. Anthony is a very capable player, who in all reality should be able to make the adjustment and excel while doing so.

However, currently everyone is shouldering the burden of the Knicks' success or failure on Anthony, mostly because Stoudemire has already proved his worth to the organization. But that's not entirely true.

Stoudemire proved he was not just a benefactor of Steve Nash's incredible court vision, but rather a star all his own. He has not proved that he knows what's best for this team in terms of roster changes though. Not yet anyway.

Could Stoudemire have been blinded by the fact that his desire to play alongside Anthony was stronger than anybody else's? Is it possible his judgment could have been clouded by his visions of a "big three" that would rival the Miami Heat's?

Of course it could have, but we have to give him the benefit of the doubt, for now. He agreed to lead this team when no one else would. He rose to the occasion prior to Anthony and helped revive a dying franchise. He brought swagger to a city that was void of all confidence

Hopefully it all pans out according to Stoudemire's master plan because if not, his future with the team will forever be marred by his endorsement of said deal as it becomes a bust of the past.