Another day, another chance for the New York Knicks to contradict themselves.
Team president Phil Jackson has already pillaged through the roster’s limited talent supply, trading Iman Shumpert and J.R. Smith for jack. It’s widely known he may not be done either, which, in layman’s terms, means Jose Calderon better not get too comfortable. It also means Andrea Bargnani, who did not travel with the Knicks to London, better forward his bi-weekly deliveries of hair mousse to any of his bachelor pads outside New York.
What, perhaps, we didn’t know is that the Knicks are willing to pay Stoudemire to go away.
From ESPN New York’s Ian Begley and Mark Woods:
Amar’e Stoudemire plans to return to the New York Knicks’ lineup Thursday on their British detour against the Milwaukee Bucks. How much longer he remains a Knick is now up for debate.
With only a few months left on his five-year, $100 million contract, the 32-year-old can expect that his days amid the NBA’s highest earners are coming to a close. …
But sources say they have discussed internally the possibility of buying out Stoudemire to let him play for a contender if he preferred that route. Stoudemire, of course, would have to agree to such a transaction.
It remains an outside possibility that — with team president Phil Jackson declaring any option is explorable for his ailing 5-35 team — Stoudemire could be waived after the forthcoming trade deadline.
That, in truth, would probably occur only if he demanded a quick departure, but the veteran has signaled his wish to mentor the inexperienced Knicks core, something of which Jackson would surely approve.
Not noted: This comes a day after Begley and colleague Marc Stein reported the Knicks were looking to move Bargnani, but not Stoudemire.
Ahem:
But sources maintain that the Knicks are not looking to move Stoudemire and, at least for now, intend to keep him for the rest of the season. That could lead to Stoudemire, who has relished his time with the Knicks despite the club’s struggles, re-signing with them over the summer at a reduced rate. The 32-year-old former All-Star, who has been plagued by knee injuries in recent years, is playing out the final year of his current contract worth $23.4 million.
So, um, yeah. This is confusing.
Trading Stoudemire isn’t an option. He’s on an expiring deal and there are surely contending teams that would love to add his instant scoring punch into their bench rotation, but his $23.4 million salary is too egregious. Making the salaries match would be impossible without the other party giving up something substantial in return. The only team with the cap space to absorb him outright would be the Philadelphia 76ers, who are more interested in, shall we say, not winning than acquiring potentially positive impact players.
Keeping him beyond this season also feels like a long shot. Stoudemire is overtly loyal, but unless he’s willing to take the veteran’s minimum, he’s not worth rolling the dice on for these Knicks.
Buying him out, though, feels unlikely because it also feels dumb. The Knicks would be paying him to go away, before watching him play for another team on their dime. That makes sense when you’re talking about Bargnani, who has drawn the ire of fans and is therefore a distraction. But Stoudemire has been with the Knicks through and through. Though his body has wavered, his allegiance has not.
It’s befitting that he end his five-year deal—the one he never should have received—with this team. Who knows, maybe retaining him leads to a veteran’s minimum steal over the offseason. Even if it’s doesn’t, buying him out—at his own request or otherwise—is too brash.
We know the Knicks are tanking.
They don’t need to plaster it on our faces with a rapid-fire nail gun by doing this.
