The former NBA All-Star spoke to The Jerusalem Post about his contract impasse with the Reds.
By JOSHUA HALICKMANAMAR'E STOUDEMIRE helped lead Hapoel Jerusalem to the BSL Final Four this week, but will he be with the team next season?(photo credit: UDI ZITIAT)
Hapoel Jerusalem defeated Hapoel Beersheba 95-77 on Wednesday night to sweep their quarterfinal series 3-0 and become the first team to advance to the Basketball Super League League Final Four.However, the big news of the day was Amar’e Stoudemire’s Instagram post directed to the Hapoel Jerusalem fans saying that Wednesday night’s tilt may be his last home game for the club, raising eyebrows and speculation throughout the Israeli hoops world.The former NBA All-Star spoke to The Jerusalem Post about his contract impasse with the Reds.“It is what it is,” said Stoudemire. “Whatever I posted, that’s what I was thinking. I was just reflecting on the great times I’ve had here in Jerusalem and I’m not sure if I’m going to be able to get a deal done with this team. But I’ll be playing for sure next year.“It’s always about competing at a high level. “There’s always minicamps in the NBA and there’s always Euroleague teams, there’s always high level basketball and to challenge myself to play at a high level is always the goal."Stoudemire then turned his sights on the league championship at stake.“Obviously right now we are focused on winning the title so I can’t look too far in advance right now, we got to shift our focus back to the Final Four. But I think now the focus is to really get through the next round and get to the championship game. We got to refocus on that.“I feel great and I’m at a high level right now playing basketball and the game is so easy out there for me. Train and really keep myself in great shape. Playing one game a week is like eating cereal for breakfast, man. It’s an easy deal for me. For the team, we’re playing well, but we still have room to improve however, right now we’re doing a good job."
