Amar’e Didn’t Want to Play With Old People in Phoenix Anymore

STAT tells the NY Daily News that he saw the writing on the wall for the Suns, and decided to bolt. He neglected to mention the $100 mil the Knicks threw at him, though: “But with the Knicks having enough salary cap flexibility to make a splash next summer in the free agent market and Carmelo Anthony sounding more and more like he wants out of Denver, Stoudemire is confident the decision to leave Phoenix was a wise one. ‘From my standpoint it’s longevity and being able to build a team for a championship-caliber team,’ Stoudemire said. ‘That was my goal in Phoenix.’ Stoudemire added that with Steve Nash and Grant Hill in the twilight of their careers and the Suns’ window closing, he needed to make a move sooner than later. ‘I wanted to make sure that we’re looking forward to the future and being able to bring in other star players to help win a championship,’ Stoudemire said. ‘I felt that wasn’t going to happen in that situation. I wanted to go to a team willing to build a championship quality team.'”