Former Knicks All-Star, Amar'e Stoudemire has officially announced that he is joining Hapoel Jerusalem, a week after he retired from NBA. Will Stoudemire be able to win a basketball championship this time?
Amar'e Stoudemire, 33, has confirmed that he has signed a two-year contract with Hapoel Jerusalem. He will be placed as a center. He also said he turned down several offers from other NBA teams to "fulfill a dream." Stoudemire never won a championship with NBA, perhaps his time Hapoel Jerusalem would give him an Israeli League and European title, New York Post reported.
Before officially retiring, he signed a non-guarantee contract with the New York Knickerbockers after playing for Miami Heat last season, just so he can retire as a Knick. He averaged 5.8 points and 4.3 rebounds in 14.7 minutes per game in 52 appearances for the Heat last season. Stoudemire said he had a talk with Heat, but it didn't turn out to something. "I wanted to compete. The reason I left to New York [at the end of the 2014-15 season], I was to trying to win a championship. I know my time was limited as far as my NBA career. I wanted to take advantage of my health. If that wasn't the case, I would've stayed here in the rest of my career," he told the publication.
Hapoel Jerusalem was the winner of the 2014-15 Israeli Basketball League title. The team, one of the oldest clubs in Israel, finished second in the most recent season. It will compete in the upcoming 2016-17 EuroCup tournament, where it won the title in 2004. According to Yahoo!, the team hopes to benefit from Stoudemire's scoring, experience and leadership. Head coach Simone Pianigiani said that Stoudemire "will be a great asset to our team. I'm confident he will have a positive impact on our season, and I look forward to it."
