Stoudemire Not Playing With Mavs Yet, Will Sit 2 Games
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DALLAS (AP) - Amare Stoudemire's debut with the Dallas Mavericks will have to wait a few days.
President of basketball operations Donnie Nelson said Thursday the newly signed forward would probably play Sunday against Charlotte. That means he will miss the Mavericks' return from the All-Star break Thursday night at Oklahoma City and a home game one night later against Houston.
Dallas coach Rick Carlisle said earlier Thursday in Oklahoma City that he wanted to give Stoudemire more time to get acclimated.
Stoudemire signed with the Mavericks on Wednesday, two days after agreeing to a buyout of the final year of his contract with the New York Knicks. He made the trip to Oklahoma City and was on the court for Thursday morning's shootaround.
Nelson said there weren't any health issues with Stoudemire, who missed significant time during five seasons in New York with a variety of injuries. But he said the decision to delay his debut came after the 32-year-old spent some time with the medical and training staff.
"He needs to get his legs under him a little bit, get comfortable with the system," Nelson said in Dallas a few minutes after the trading deadline passed without any deals involving the Mavericks. "It's not something that we want to rush given where we want to go in the playoffs."
Stoudemire will back up center Tyson Chandler and forward Dirk Nowitzki, restoring some depth Dallas lost by sending Brandan Wright to Boston in the trade that brought point guard Rajon Rondo. Stoudemire, a six-time All-Star, signed for the veteran minimum.
"He adds a dimension that we currently don't have in our front line and certainly solidifies physicality, and that's important come playoff time," Nelson said. "He knows how to win playoff games."
Rondo was expected to start against the Thunder after missing the last six games before the break with a broken bone near his left eye. Chandler also planned to play after spraining his ankle in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers and missing the last game before the break against Utah.
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