NEW YORK — Amar’e Stoudemire’s greatest NBA success was in Phoenix, where as Steve Nash’s pick-and-roll partner he was one of the NBA’s most fearsome finishers.

But he chose to leave the league as a member of the Knicks, the franchise that was mired in a lengthy playoff drought before he signed in 2010 and revitalized the franchise.

Stoudemire retired Tuesday after signing a contract with the Knicks with much less fanfare than the $100 million deal he inked six years ago to halt the team’s downward spiral.

“Although my career has taken me to other places around the country, my heart had always remained in the Big Apple,” he said in a statement. “Once a Knick, Always a Knick.”

Stoudemire, 33, was a six-time All-Star, but battled knee injuries after his sensational first season in New York, when he became the first Knicks player to be voted an All-Star starter since Patrick Ewing in 1997.

TRAIL BLAZERS: Portland agreed to a four-year deal with restricted free agent Maurice Harkless.

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The Blazers acquired Harkless in a trade with the Orlando Magic and he averaged 6.3 points and 3.6 rebounds in 78 games last season. He filled a key role late in the regular season when Meyers Leonard injured his shoulder, and averaged 12 points over the final 11 games.

Wizards: Washington re-signed shooting guard Bradley Beal, a 23-year-old restricted free agent.

The No. 3 overall draft pick in 2012, he averaged a career-high 17.4 points in his fourth season, pairing with John Wall to form one of the NBA’s most dynamic young backcourts.

CAVALIERS: Coach Tyronn Lue was rewarded for the greatest run by a Cleveland team in more than a half-century.

Lue was given a multiyear contract extension with the Cavaliers, who promoted him halfway through a season that ended with a historic comeback and NBA championship.

A former assistant, Lue took over when David Blatt was fired in January and led the Cavs to an unexpected title, the city’s first pro sports team to win it all since the Browns in 1964.

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Terms of Lue’s extension were not immediately disclosed.

HEAT: Shooting guard Dion Waiters signed a $5.93 million, two-year contract and he’ll compete for a starting job as Dwyane Wade’s replacement.

Waiters was one of the top free agents left on the market. He became an unrestricted free agent when Oklahoma City rescinded a $6.8 million qualifying offer. The second year of his Miami deal includes a player option.

Wade, a 12-time All-Star, signed a $47 million, two-year deal with Chicago.


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