Former All-Star Amar'e Stoudemire believes Jeremy Lin decided to leave New York Knicks in 2012 because he felt some of his teammates did not want him to stay in the Big Apple.
Lin rose to prominence in 2012 after having a string of impressive performances for the Knicks, which was eventually coined as his "Linsanity" moment in New York. The 27-year-old point guard, who is currently playing for the Charlotte Hornets, averaged 14.6 points and 6.2 assists in 35 games with the Knicks in 2012.
The former Harvard University standout looked set to become a key player for the Knicks in the long run, but his impressive first season in New York eventually became his lone year with the franchise. The undrafted guard left New York to sign a three-year, $25 million deal with the Houston Rockets in the summer of 2012.
Talking to reporters about Lin's popular moment in the Big Apple, Stoudemire said that Lin should have inked a new deal with the Knicks in 2012, but he did not get the support from some of their key personnel.
"If he stayed, it would've been cool," Stoudemire said of Lin via NY Post. "But everyone wasn't a fan of him being a new star. So he didn't stay long. Jeremy was a great, great guy, great with teammates, worked hard. He put the work in. We were proud of him having his moment."
While Stoudemire did not drop names, multiple reports suggested that the veteran power forward was talking about Anthony. According to the NY Post report, Anthony "had trouble hiding his envy" during the time Lin was making headlines worldwide in 2012.
"A lot of times you got to enjoy somebody else's success," Stoudemire continued. "That wasn't the case for us during that stretch. You got to enjoy that and let that player enjoy himself and cherish those moments. He was becoming a star and I didn't think everyone was pleased with that."
When asked about Stoudemire's statement about Lin, Anthony initially declined to comment. But according to Sports Illustrated, the high-scoring superstar eventually denied that he was not happy of Lin's success and reiterated that he played no role in Lin's decision to leave New York in 2012.
Anthony added that Stoudemire was probably referring to another player. The former Syracuse standout said that he is happy of Lin back then, similar to what he is feeling now for rookie teammate Kristaps Porzingis, who is having a solid season, averaging 14.0 points on top of 7.4 rebounds and 1.9 blocks per game.
