After four full seasons in New York, Amar’e Stoudemire and the Knicks agreed to a buyout about halfway through the 2014-15 NBA season. As soon as he cleared waivers, he signed a veteran’s minimum deal with the Dallas Mavericks so he could join a winning franchise and his old New York buddy, Tyson Chandler.
Throughout the rest of the season and into the playoffs, Stoudemire played a significant role off the bench by backing up Chandler and Dirk Nowitzki and filling in as the Mavs most notable reserve big man. He was brought in to replace Brandan Wright, who had been traded away in the Rajon Rondo deal.
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Stoudemire ended the season averaging 11.5 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game which was slightly better than Wright.
His most notable skills with the Mavs were his usual skills. His post game was very nice and he had decent luck from mid-range. On certain occasions, he was able to throw down some electrifying dunks which helped the Mavs build some energy. The video below illustrates a lot of his good post work in a game against the Cavs where the Mavs, as a team, did not play well.
He was able to work in the dirty areas against the likes of Kevin Love, Timofey Mozgov and Tristan Thompson and he had success by using his patience to wear them down.
This summer, Stoudemire will become an unrestricted free agent. The Mavs are definitely interested in bringing him back, but the level of interest will depend greatly on whether or not they are able to sign LaMarcus Aldridge or DeAndre Jordan.
If they are not able to reel in a big fish, they will most likely sign him back but if they do, they might not have enough money to fit him on the roster with the rest of their needs.
One good thing, however, is that Stoudemire is definitely interested in coming back to Dallas. He told the media after the season that he would love to be back in DFW next season and he recently opened up his options to Dallas, a return to Phoenix and even a return to New York.
Chatted w/ Amar'e Stoudemire today. For free agency, high on Dallas return. Even Phoenix. And won't be opposed to NY return. Loves Triangle.
— Jared Zwerling (@JaredZwerling) June 19, 2015
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I believe Stoudemire will be looking at his options this summer in terms of where he has the best shot of winning a championship. He is 32 years old but his knees have taken some major hits throughout the years, including microfracture surgery back in 2005.
Though he looks good on the court, you never know when his next major injury could come, so I’m sure he’s looking for a place to win a title.
Over the years, we’ve seen Stoudemire stay very loyal to the teams that he plays with. He cares deeply about the situation he is in and makes the best of every moment. When he joined the Mavericks last season, he sat out the first few games so he could “learn the offense,” which is something I haven’t seen many players do.
The case for the Mavs to re-sign Stoudemire is as simple as this: he played his heart out in Dallas and gave the Mavericks key depth off of the bench. As his chemistry with the team grew deeper, he got better and had his best stretch with the Mavs in April when his scoring was in the double digits in every game he played in.
During the Mavs’ playoff series with the Rockets, he got in the game and started getting aggressive towards Dwight Howard. Though Stoudemire didn’t play as well, his heart and hustle really showed and helped the Mavs make a few small runs in their away games. His veteran presence showed every time he stepped on the court and energized the team.
It’s hard to find a player who has as much experience as Stoudemire that can still compete at a high level.
It will all depend on how the field plays out this summer but Amar’e Stoudemire needs to be a player that the Mavs try to lock up. He is someone who is going to give it everything he has on any given night and is a very important role player. He fits in well with just about any system but really loved Dallas last season and the Mavericks have to find a way to bring him back.
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