Amar’e Stoudemire came to New York with a lot of pressure.  The keys to the Knicks franchise were handed to him with a five-year, $100 million contract.  With it came hope and big expectations. Not only did he embrace the challenge, he delivered.

Some were skeptical of the contract which the Knicks gave him, but for at least one season, Amar’e was worth the money. Stoudemire put the Knicks back on the map and made them relevant again.  The Garden was jam packed every night and gave Knick fans a similar feeling to the one they used to have in the early 90s.

The Knicks made the playoffs for the first time since 2004 and had their first winning record since 2000.  For the season, Stoudemire averaged over 25 points and eight rebounds, shot over 50% from the field, was a starter for the Eastern Conference All Stars, and made second team All NBA. (more…)

With a few of them likely to sit out this summer so they don’t injure themselves before they get a new contract (in other words the guys the Knicks would chase after: LeBron, Wade, Bosh, plus A’mare Stoudamire who made the pool too), it does provide some openings.  Not to mention that say a banged up Kobe might need to take the summer off to get his body healthy again.  Of course, included in those free agents-to-be are none other than David Lee, so he himself might have to bow out.  Oh, and another thing in Lee’s favor is that once again the Knicks’ coach Mike D’Antoni will be one of the assistant coaches on the USA team.  It’s always nice having someone on the inside to help plead your case.

Anyway, the remaining invitees include the Denver Nuggets’ Chauncey Billups, LA Lakers’ Lamar Odom, plus a who’s-who of all the young and upcoming players in the NBA according to ESPN: the Oklahoma City Thunder’s Kevin Durant (pretty much a lock to make the final roster since he almost made it last time and he’s only gotten better), Chicago Bulls’ Derrick Rose,

Minnesota‘s Al Jefferson and Kevin Love; Rudy Gay and O.J. Mayo of Memphis; Philadelphia‘s Andre Iguodala; Boston‘s Kendrick Perkins; Indiana‘s Danny Granger; New York‘s David Lee; New Jersey center Brook Lopez; Oklahoma City guard Russell Westbrook; Portland‘s LaMarcus Aldridge; Charlotte‘s Gerald Wallace; and Clippers guard Eric Gordon.

The Americans will choose a group from the roster to take part in their minicamp in Las Vegas in July. They are expected to play an exhibition game in New York before heading to Turkey for the world championships, which they haven’t won since 1994.