Amar'e Stoudemire on Knicks tenure: 'I gave it all'

Amar'e Stoudemire certainly sounds like a man who's made up his mind to move on. 

As he claims to be mulling his future with the New York Knicks, pondering whether to ask the team that's employed him the past four-plus seasons for a buyout, it seems telling that he's already talking about his time with the franchise in the past tense.  

"I gave it all, man - my heart, my body and my soul," Stoudemire said Tuesday, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. "I truly gave it all. I’m still giving, still dedicated to the game of basketball, still dedicated to New York State and the Knicks."

Stoudemire knows there are those who likely view his years in a Knicks uniform as a disappointment, given the outsize expectations heaped on him along with the $100-million deal he signed in 2010. In his mind, though, there's a lot to be proud of. 

"We never had a championship," he conceded, "but the excitement and hope is there. Before there was a void of hope and happiness around the Knicks. After I signed, the hope became greater, the happiness, the excitement came, the Garden was rocking. We did make a few playoff pushes through the years. The fans are still active and proud Knick fans."

Such goodwill has been stretched to its breaking point this season, with the Knicks suffering through one of the worst campaigns in franchise history under first-year coach Derek Fisher and first-year executive Phil Jackson. 

In spite of the oft-rocky road they've traversed together as teammates, Carmelo Anthony said he’d like to convince Stoudemire to finish out his contract in New York.

"Honestly, I’d love for him to stay and finish out in New York with me," Anthony said. "This is where we started. This is the place he wanted to come and be at. If he can stay, I welcome him with open arms."

"So the chemistry was always up and down," Stoudemire said of the duo's years with the Knicks. "I think for the most part we still showed pride and left our heart out there."