When Amar'e Stoudemire decided to ceremonially sign a one-day contract with the New York Knicks before retiring from the NBA on Tuesday, some fans wondered why he didn't do so with the Phoenix Suns.

After all, the majority of Stoudemire's career was spent in the desert. When Amar'e was in his prime, the Suns were one of the best teams in the entire league. Their offense, led by Steve Nash, was beyond prolific.

Well, apparently things between Stoudemire and Phoenix didn't end on the best terms this summer. From John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7:

Hearing Amare wanted to come back to Suns for one final season. Suns weren't interested so could be reason he retired a Knick.

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There were rumblings last year that Stoudemire would end up with the Suns, but it didn't end up happening.

It would've been fun to see Amar'e rocking the orange and purple one last season before hanging up his sneakers, but it just didn't make sense from Phoenix's end. They need all of the reinforcements they can get as they try to form a playoff contender; adding a veteran who's on his way out of the league would've been a step backward.

They already have their veteran big man to lead the younger guys in Tyson Chandler. Signing Stoudemire would've forced the Suns to waive somebody competing for a roster spot; Dan Feldman of Pro Basketball Talk notes that it would've likely been either John Jenkins and Alan Williams. Long-term, that would've been a poor decision.

But, at just 33 years of age, you can understand why Amar'e is frustrated with his former team not giving him one last shot.

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