Fresh off of winning the Israeli Premier League Championship with Hapoel Jerusalem, Former All-NBAer Amar’e Stoudemire is considering an NBA comeback, he tells Marc Berman of the New York Post:
Stoudemire will explore three options, and retirement is one of them. The 34-year-old still has pangs for one more go-round in the NBA.
“To play and win a championship my first year there, I could just call it quits and leave as a champion,’’ said Stoudemire, who never made it to the NBA Finals. “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.”
Stoudemire, who played for the Knicks for four-and-a-half seasons, could return to New York:
“Sure, I haven’t spoken to them yet about it, but that definitely could be an option,’’ Stoudemire said. “I have nothing but positive affirmations about the team and organization. That will be something I can think about.
“I’ve followed New York, always pulling for the Knicks to have success,’’ Stoudemire added. “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.”
Stoudemire, 34, is well past being an NBA starter. He could probably play some meaningful minutes off the bench as a scoring-minded big man, though.
