Amar'e Stoudemire has only been a member of the Knicks for six months, but he's already comfortable on his new team.

"It's something I couldn't have imagined for the simple fact of how we're winning and how beautiful the city and fans are," he said. "It's rock-star status here in New York. If we would've kept it together in Phoenix, we could've had the same success. I'm satisfied. I wouldn't do anything different."

Stoudemire will face the Suns for the first time on Friday night as a visitor at the US Airways Center.

He wished to re-sign with Phoenix, but left after a disagreement over his monetary value. He received a $100 million contract from New York that is fully guaranteed after Phoenix offered him a $97 million deal that was only partially guaranteed.

The Suns were concerned about Stoudemire's knees and right eye.

"If they were looking to rebuild and thought I was the guy they wanted to rebuild with, then we could've came to an understanding," Stoudemire said. "But apparently it wasn't that way. It felt like I wasn't wanted. It felt like I wasn't appreciated. I felt like my play on the court was overlooked.

"If you have the best training staff and brag about the situation, my knees really weren't much of a concern. It was something that didn't make him (Managing Partner Robert Sarver) comfortable and he made a decision. I don't want to get involved in an amount-of-minutes situation because it becomes a control issue. You want to be able to play free."