Amar’e Stoudemire made 3 options for future, returning to NBA one of them
By Nam Tran
After a fulfilling a goal of winning a championship title in the Israeli Basketball League, Amar’e Stoudemire is considering making a return to the NBA.
Amar’e Stoudemire was one of the most popular players in the NBA, and when he decided to retire from the league to go play for Hapoel Jerusalem in the Israeli Basketball League, many fans shed some tears. But now, after fulfilling his dream of winning a championship in the Israeli league, Stoudemire has some decisions to make for next season.
Speaking to The New York Post’s Marc Berman, the six-time NBA All-Star said that he has come up with three options that he has been (and will continue to) ponder. One of them is making a return to the NBA. Stoudemire said he could return to the NBA and join a team that needs “quality veteran leadership.”
"“To play and win a championship my first year there, I could just call it quits and leave as a champion,” Stoudemire told The New York Post’s Marc Berman on Monday. “That could be an option. Another option is maybe to play with a team that needs quality veteran leadership here in the NBA. That could be an option. Or I could go back and defend the title for a back-to-back. I have time to think about it. Those are my three options.”"
If Stoudemire does decide to return to the league that groomed him, there is a chance that he rejoins the New York Knicks. Stoudemire has a good relationship with owner James Dolan and Carmelo Anthony, and this is the team that he finished his career with. Additionally, he has been following the Knicks’ season and was rooting for them to succeed.
“I’ve followed New York, always pulling for the Knicks to have success,’’ Stoudemire said. “I’ve been hearing the stories [about Carmelo Anthony]. I’m always rooting for the Knicks and Carmelo as well to have success. Unfortunately it wasn’t the case this year. I do have positive energy toward the team, and soon they’ll start succeeding.”
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Another option for Stoudemire is to pull a David West or Karl Malone and try to join a contending team and compete for a title in the NBA. This most likely won’t happen, but hey, not a lot people expected him to retire from the NBA to go play in Israel, but he did.