This past summer, the Knicks offered Stoudemire to nearly every team in the league — “available for free,” as one rival executive put it. But they found no takers because of his diminished production, his health and his contract, which has three years and $65 million remaining (counting this season) and which is uninsured against a career-ending knee injury.
In February, the Knicks wanted to send Stoudemire to Toronto in a deal for Andrea Bargnani, a person briefed on the discussion said. But the proposal was vetoed by James L. Dolan, the Garden chairman, before it ever reached the Raptors (who would not have made the deal anyway, team officials there said).
Before that, the Knicks tried to package Stoudemire and Chandler in a bid to land Dwight Howard.
The implication is clear: for all his scoring prowess and star power, Stoudemire is no longer viewed as a critical piece. The reasons are obvious, too.
The Knicks have been inept with Anthony and Stoudemire in the lineup, going 30-36 over parts of two seasons and 1-7 in the playoffs. Advanced metrics show the Knicks are demonstrably worse — both offensively and defensively — when the two share the court.
