The first major free agent acquisition of the offseason has finally happened. Amar'e Stoudemire has agreed to a 5-year deal with the Knicks for nearly $100 million.The Breakdown
For years, Stoudemire was able to put up gaudy numbers in the Suns' 7-seconds-or-less offense and he should be able to continue putting up similar numbers in New York as he'll be reunited with former coach Mike D'Antoni. My main concern with Stoudemire in recent years has been his health, as he's dealt with a serious eye injury and microfracture surgery. He'll remain a solid top 20 fantasy player in New York. Aside from the injury history, what keeps Stoudemire out of the top 10 is his lack of rebounding and blocks. He's great for points and percentages, but he doesn't give you that additional category that pushes him into the top 10. Pau Gasol gives you great rebounding and block numbers, which are a lot rarer than scoring, to go with a solid scoring numbers and great percentages. Nowitzki gives you pretty similar numbers to Stoudemire, but he also boosts your 3s. Maybe with the Knicks he can push his rebounding and block numbers up, but I'm really doubtful as he couldn't do it last season in a contract year.
It will be interesting to see if the Knicks add another big name player to pair up with Stoudemire. If they don't, Amar'e will be the number 1 option and could put up bigger numbers than he did in Phoenix. Although some people felt that without Nash he wouldn't be able to get all the open looks he did in Phoenix, I think in New York it won't matter who's at the point as the fast paced offense will continue to allow Amar'e to put up at the very least the numbers we got from him the last few seasons.
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