Former New York Knick Amar’e Stoudamire made his return to Madison Square Garden over the weekend as a member of the Miami Heat. He did an extended media session, and was asked a few pointed questions about why he thought the team fell apart in his last season. While he never specifically mentions ‘Melo throughout the interview, it’s pretty clear who he’s referring to.
For example, when explaining the team’s failure before his contract buyout, Stoudamire says “I think maybe three-fourths of the team thought [the Triangle] was great. But if you don’t have a full team that buys into a system, it’s never going to pan out.” I wonder who was in the camp that didn’t buy into Phil Jackson’s famed motion-heavy offense?
Then, when asked about Jeremy Lin’s surprising departure from the team after “Linsanity” overtook the Knicks in 2012, the power forward says, “If he stayed, it would have been cool, but everyone wasn’t a fan of him being the new star, so he didn’t stay long.” Well, there was only one other star on the team during Lin’s tenure…
He also challenges the notion that we should feel sorry for the perpetually losing Carmelo, saying “You have to become a complete player in order to bring your team out of a rut. Everyone can’t do it. It’s not always easy.”
For what it’s worth, Anthony mostly ignored and brushed off questions about Stoudamire’s pre-game comments. However, his response was not the most convincing. “What happened last year was a blur to me, bro, to be honest with you,” is the specific phrase Carmelo used. That doesn’t really sound like taking ownership of anything to us.
While we're piling on poor Melo, let's watch a video of two Miami Heat players basking the glow of hearing "Let's Go Heat!" chanted at the New York Knicks home court.
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