The Knicks were one of the teams I said should not use their amnesty clause when the provision was put in place. At the time, I cited Amar'e Stoudemire as a "decent value at his current salary."
Delusional judgement there, Mr. Roberts.
Stoudemire is the clear-cut choice to be amnestied, but the problem is that they already exercised it on Chauncey Billups, who was owed $14.2 million. Billups could still serve a useful role for the Knicks in the backcourt, while they are struggling to find a role for Amar'e—who, make no mistake, is not a "decent value."
Stoudemire is the league's fifth highest paid player and is owed $21.6 million in 2013-14 and $23.4 million in 2014-15. Hindsight is 20/20, and the Knicks clearly felt the same as I did in 2011, expecting Amar'e to return to his Phoenix-level production and gel with Carmelo Anthony.
Anthony is thriving at the 4 spot, which leaves Amar'e out of the starting lineup. He's also now only supposed to play 20 minutes a game according to doctor's orders, so he's now receiving over $1 million per minute averaged.
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