IN THE LANE
THAT’S AMAR’E: A year removed from his departure from the Miami Heat and NBA, Amar’e Stoudemire, at 34, appears to be walking away from the game — although not necessarily on his terms. Stoudemire played this past season Israel League champion Hapoel Jerusalem, selling his stake in the team during his time on the active roster. The result was a somewhat uneven and limited ride. Then came an Instagram post this past week that included, “Although I would have liked to return for another season, the team, coach and I could not find a role that I felt would allow me to meaningfully contribute in the way I have always been accustomed to play. I feel it is my time now, to return to the shareholder’s position and help make this team even better.” Stoudemire averaged 9.9 points, 5.9 rebounds and 1.3 blocks per game last season. It was a similarly disappointing ending after his lone season with the Heat, with his time significantly cut during the Heat’s postseason run to within one game of the 2016 Eastern Conference finals. According to Basketball-Reference’s Hall of Fame probability tracker, Stoudemire has a 73 percent chance of being enshrined in Springfield, Mass. The only players with higher probabilities who have yet to make it are Larry Foust, Jack Sikma and former Heat guard Tim Hardaway, a Hall finalists in recent years.
GET ME OUTTA HERE: To appreciate the speculation about Dwyane Wade trying to find a better use of his time this coming season — including a potential Heat reunion — consider that his Chicago Bulls recently went as far as to absorb the $3.9 million salary of sidelined wing Quincy Pondexter as a means of acquiring a 2018 second-round pick from the New Orleans Pelicans.
OPTIMISTIC OUTLOOK: The Phoenix Suns are downplaying long-term concerns with the torn meniscus that will have second-round pick Davon Reed out four to six months. The former University of Miami guard suffered a similar injury during his sophomore season with the Hurricanes. “Anytime a player has a knee injury it’s potentially concerning,” Suns General Manager Ryan McDonough told the Arizona Republic, “but, no, I don’t think this is career ending or something that will plague him.” Reed was selected at No. 32 in June’s NBA draft, averaging 14 points for the Suns during summer league.
GAME TIME: By now it is clear that those seemingly innocuous offseason pickup games in Miami were anything but this summer. Former University of Miami guard Sheldon McClellan (now Sheldon Mac) told CSN Washington that Washington Wizards teammate John Wall practically turned the efforts against Kyrie Irving,
Hassan Whiteside and others into a workshop for an eventual spot on the NBA’s All-Defensive first team. “We’ve been playing pickup against Kyrie, Hassan Whiteside and guys like that,” Mac said. “Me and him have been fighting about trying to guard Kyrie. Like, he always guards him, so let me guard him. He let me guard him a couple of times and I did a great job on him. He’s been taking it personally. That’s what he needs to do to make that first team. I definitely think that he is going to make it.”