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Amar'e Stoudemire officially joins Mavericks, won't play until Sunday

Sam Sharpe / USA TODAY Sports

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The Dallas Mavericks have confirmed the inevitable, making their signing of recently-bought-out power forward Amar'e Stoudemire official.

Stoudemire secured his buyout from the New York Knicks on Sunday, and was added to the Mavericks roster Wednesday after they officially waived Ricky Ledo

"I'm excited to be part of a first-class organization," Stoudemire said in a brief statement. "To play alongside Dirk Nowitzki, Tyson Chandler and other great players, I think it's a tremendous opportunity for me to compete for a championship."

If there's one bit of disappointing news for Mavs fans, it's that they'll have to wait for Stoudemire's debut with the team. Dallas will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday and will host the rival Houston Rockets on Friday, but Stoudemire won't suit up until Sunday against the Charlotte Hornets at the earliest.

"It just takes a little time to get acclimated," Stoudemire said after Thursday's shootaround, as reported by ESPN's Tim McMahon. 'I want to make sure I'm sharp and ready to go from the start. I feel two days is always great to learn the offense, learn the defensive strategies and get more acclimated with the team and go from there."

Stoudemire averaged 12 points and 6.8 rebounds in 24 minutes with the Knicks, posting the team's second-best PER at 19.7. His prorated veteran's minimum salary with the Mavericks will pay him $485,670 for the remainder of the season, according to ESPN's Marc Stein.

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