The New York Knicks are still a team trying to get into the top five of the Eastern Conference standings, but they are already thinking championship. New York has not won its division for quite some time now, but the squad is skipping the baby steps and shooting for the Larry O'Brien trophy.
Amar'e Stoudemire signed with the Knicks in the summer of 2010, with a goal to revitalize the franchise. Obviously his ultimate desire is to bring a championship to New York, but he has only won one playoff game since coming to the city. Nevertheless, that will not stop Stoudemire from making bold statements. During a Knicks Summer League game, the forward essentially said it's championship or bust for the squad.
“Anything less than a championship,” the power forward said on MSG Thursday during Knicks’ Summer League broadcast from Las Vegas, “is a waste of a season.”
There is no doubt the Knicks will be a better team next season after the resigning of J.R. Smith and the additions of Marcus Camby, Jason Kidd and Raymond Felton. Even better, the Knicks will have a full training camp and a regular scheduled season which will help the players get use to each other.
Still, Stoudemire and the Knicks will have some stiff competition in the Eastern Conference from the likes of the Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics. There is a chance that New York makes the top four in the conference, but Stoudemire's comments may have been a little too premature.
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