Amar’e Stoudemire sees himself and Carmelo Anthony entering the Hall of Fame together one of these years.
But whether Stoudemire and Anthony enter with a joint championship ring largely depends on whether the Knicks power forward’s knees hold up by April’s playoffs.
With the Knicks gathering Monday for Media Day and team meetings as camp commences in Tarrytown, the health and continued rehab of Stoudemire will be a major issue. Stoudemire reportedly had another minor knee procedure in July.
Stoudemire has not scrimmaged since players began informal workouts early this month after The Post reported he had been shut down all summer by owner James Dolan, forbidden even from working out with Hakeem Olajuwon.
On an SI Now webcast last week, Stoudemire said the key to the Knicks dethroning Miami is not about basketball.
“It goes back to health,’’ Stoudemire said. “That’s something that’s very, very important for any team — to stay healthy — which is not guaranteed. Then you got a great chance to be successful in the postseason.”
The six-time All-Star has given very few interviews in the U.S. this summer, choosing to give more access to the Israeli press on his extended visits to the Holy Land. He has lost some of his braggadocio, no longer talking about dominating, and admitting the season will be “a success’’ if he stays healthy.
According to point guard Raymond Felton, Stoudemire is expected to do almost no scrimmaging this preseason [which starts on the court Tuesday with the first practice]. He may play in only a couple of exhibition games. The Post has reported he will be put on a minutes restriction that could top out at 20, and he may not play in both games of back-to-backs.
“Obviously winning the championship is the ultimate success,’’ Stoudemire said. “But successful [for me] is to make it through the season healthy and go into the postseason feeling strong and ready to go. Then give it a great shot and see what we can do.’’
“I feel good,’’ Stoudemire added. “It’s been a long offseason really trying to preserve strength in the knees and keep myself healthy.’’
Stoudemire’s resurgence — he played just 29 games last season — is probably the Knicks only hope at becoming a scary team this season. This Knicks era that began in 2008 with former president Donnie Walsh getting under the salary cap will likely be viewed ultimately as a failure because Stoudemire’s five-year, $100 million uninsured contract did not pan out.
Stoudemire enters the final two years of the pact — the two years former Phoenix general manager Steve Kerr would not guarantee when the Suns made an offer in 2010 that was turned down. If the Knicks had made the final two years as team options, they’d have been under the salary cap going into last summer.
A humbled Stoudemire, meanwhile, is on board with his new reduced role after two knee surgeries last season.
“I’ve been very successful in my career, accomplished a lot,’’ Stoudemire said. “It’s more than I could imagine. It’s not about accepting a role of sixth man or starting. It’s about staying healthy.’’
Jelling with Anthony — once a big issue — now takes a backseat to his knee issues.
“It’s always that way anytime you have two star players,’’ Stoudemire said about his adjustment to Anthony’s style. “Hopefully we’re future Hall of Famers if all goes well. It takes a little adjustment. We both made that adjustment. We seem to play well together.’’
New Knicks president/GM Steve Mills will address the media Monday for the first time since being named to his new post Thursday, replacing Glen Grunwald. Mills figures to be more visible with the media —– and hence the fans — than Grunwald. For unexplained reasons, the organization put a muzzle on Grunwald, a lawyer.