The brother of New York Knicks' big man, Amare Stoudemire, was found dead today in a car crash. Hazell Stoudemire Jr., 35, collided on the rear of a tractor trailer at 1:42 AM. Stoudemire was not wearing a seat belt and was found dead on the scene.
From ESPN New York:The team said that Stoudemire is traveling to Florida to be with his family and will not be with the team for Monday night's game against the Jazz in New York. The team did not know when he will return. Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said Stoudemire can take "whatever time he needs to take" before returning to the team. After Monday night's game at Utah, the Knicks travel to Washington to play the Wizards on Wednesday and return home to host the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday.Rest in peace Hazell and my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family.
"I know he's very close to his brother so my heart's out for him," D'Antoni said after the team's shootaround on Monday, adding, "He cherishes his family, he does a great job of maintaining all the relationships. Like I said, this is just a trying moment for him."
D'Antoni has communicated with Stoudemire through text messages but has yet to speak with the star power forward. Reserve Jared Jeffries will start in place of Stoudemire on Monday against Utah.
"My thoughts and prayers and everything's with him," said D'Antoni, who also coached Stoudemire in Phoenix for the first six years of his career. "Whatever time he needs to take, he'll take and we'll get him back as soon as possible."
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