Knicks and Amare Stoudemire moving closer to deal

ESPN is reporting that the New York Knicks are close to signing a big star.

No, it's not him.

The Knicks and Amare Stoudemire, according to ESPN's Chris Broussard, are moving closer to agreeing to a deal. The Knicks have reportedly offered Stoudemire a five-year contract for $100 million. The two sides are moving closer to completing the deal, but Stoudemire, 27, can't sign until July 8th, and the Knicks want to meet him in person to further discuss the deal.

From ESPN:

"Stoudemire is scheduled to fly into New York on Saturday and is expected to sit down with Knicks brass on Monday. Earlier, Yahoo! Sports and the New York Daily News reported that Stoudemire and the Knicks had the "framework of the deal" in place. Stoudemire and his representatives broke off negotiations with the Suns on Friday.

"It wasn't the right deal," Stoudemire's agent, Happy Walters, told The Arizona Republic."

Stoudemire, who has been seeking a $100 million contract, received a five-year, $95 million contract from the Phoenix Suns, his old team. According to David Berri of Opposing Views, Amare is not worth $100 million due to the fact that, in his calculations, Amare is only worth 32.4 wins averaged over five years as he ages.

Now that Stoudemire has received a $100 million contract, it's very likely that negotiations will move quickly. The Knicks are hoping that signing Stoudemire will also help LeBron James consider New York. In what could go down as the best NBA free agent classes of all time, don't count the Knicks out on other stars. Expect a deal to be done quick, because it won't be long before Amare is in NYC.