Amar'e Stoudemire is saying all of the right things in order to guarantee himself a roster spot next year. As Phil Jackson prepares to clean house in order to bring the Knicks back as championship contenders, Stoudemire is endorsing every move made. As the team continues their coaching search following the firing of Mike Woodson, Stoudemire believes any option Jackson chooses will convince Carmelo Anthony to re-sign.
Most members of the Knicks organization are saying the same thing, Anthony re-signs in free agency. With Anthony come other super stars. Without Anthony and Knicks might not get the players they want plus lose others on the roster already. He is considered the building block of New York, but Anthony has made it known that he wants to sign with a championship contender and while that may include the Knicks, it also might not.
Jackson is continuing the coaching search for Woodson's replacement and appears to have narrowed in on current NBA broadcaster Steve Kerr. According to ESPN.com, Stoudemire loves the idea of Kerr and believes that he has the resume and talents to keep Anthony in New York and bring wins to the Knicks.
"I like Steve Kerr. For one, when he was a GM he was always preaching about winning and winning a title and that's something that I adored about him," Stoudemire said, via ESPNNewYork.com. "And then also, secondly, he has a formula to win; he's been a winner in this league before. He wants to win. And he reminds me of somewhat of a player-coach that knows the game and knows what players go through as far as ups and downs throughout the year and that's going to help him."
While several teams including the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers prepare to make a run at Anthony in the offseason, Stoudemire is confident the guard stays in the Big Apple. He believes retaining Anthony is what is best for the team. However, the forward noted that he will not be doing any kid of recruiting pitchers to the guard unless Anthony asks for it.
"I try to let those guys handle what they do," Stoudemire said. "I try to stay out of it and I focus on what I can do to better the team and I just take it as that ... you don't want to have too many opinions floating around."
The issue for Stoudemire is that he could be getting the short end of the stick if Anthony stays. Jackson noted that the Knicks would really need Anthony to take a pay cut if they are going to improve the team in every aspect. If the guard refuses, someone like Stoudemire or Tyson Chandler could be traded to free up cap space.