After two years of "roster purging and payroll slashing, the Knicks got their first big payoff Monday" when F Amar'e Stoudemire agreed to a five-year, $99.7M contract, according to Howard Beck of the N.Y. TIMES. Stoudemire cannot officially sign the contract until after midnight tonight, but his verbal agreement was "enough for team officials to start a small celebration." He will be the "most talented player to wear a Knicks uniform in more than a decade, since Patrick Ewing’s decline," and team officials hope that he also brings the "ability to recruit elite free agents," specifically LeBron James. Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said, "This could help get the dominoes falling" ( N.Y. TIMES, 7/6 ). ESPN.com's Chris Sheridan cited sources as saying that the Knicks have been "assured the Stoudemire agreement will not be an impediment to their chances of signing" James. The sources contend that the Knicks "ultimately decided it might give them an advantage in the LeBron sweepstakes because James wanted the Cavs to acquire Stoudemire last February at the trading deadline" ( ESPN.com, 7/5 ). Stoudemire promised to "reach out to James, who lobbied in February for the Cavs to obtain him" ( NEWSDAY, 7/6 ). SOMETHING TO BUILD ON : In N.Y., George Willis noted if the Knicks had "waited for James to make a decision before committing to Stoudemire, they might have been shut out, something that was unthinkable considering all the emphasis placed on this signing period." Now they "at least have one player to build a marketing campaign around" ( N.Y. POST, 7/6 ). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Scott Cacciola wrote Stoudemire's imminent signing "at least guarantees the Knicks that they will not be left without a bona fide star" and gives team President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh "some assurance that his long-term project of creating salary cap space was not a waste." But Cacciola added, "On the NBA's Richter scale, the deal was more tremor than earthquake" ( WALL STREET JOURNAL, 7/6 ). Fanhouse.com's Jay Mariotti said, "I don't think Amar'e is going to sell a lot of tickets in New York. This is about LBJ" ( "Around The Horn," ESPN, 7/5 ). MONEY TO SPEND : In N.Y., Mike Lupica wrote, "Everybody knows how desperate the Knicks are, from James Dolan on down. They needed to spend this money in the worst way after clearing all this cap space, gutting their franchise." This is not a "match made in heaven, just out of necessity." If James signs with the Knicks, the Stoudemire deal "goes down as the second-greatest free-agent signing in Knicks history" and one of the "great free-agent signings in all of New York sports history." Lupica: "But only if Stoudemire really does get one of the A-listers to join him up there on the Garden marquee" ( N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 7/6 ). Also in N.Y., Mitch Lawrence wrote, "Even if LeBron James tells the Knicks no thanks, the game plan was definitely worth the try" ( N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 7/5 ). ESPN's J.A. Adande said the Knicks "don't necessarily have to spend all of their money this season." Adande: "They got one piece. They can just manage their salary cap. ... Everyone expects the next collective bargaining agreement to be a lot more owner-friendly than player-friendly, so some of these guys that come available next summer might be a little bit cheaper to sign" (" Around The Horn," ESPN, 7/5 ).
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