The Miami Heat have been quietly building their supporting unit this free agency.

The Heat have announced that they have signed veteran free-agent Amare Stoudemire, who most recently played at the power forward position for the Dallas Mavericks, to a one-year veteran's minimum contract.

The five-time All-NBA selection and six-time All-Star Stoudemire will earn $1.5 million from the deal. He has career averages of 19.8 points, 8.1 rebounds, and a .536 field goal percentage from playing 794 games with 660 starts.

This news comes shortly after the Heat signed shooting guard Gerald Green, who previously played for the Phoenix Suns. Green also signed for a veteran's minimum contract and will play alongside his former teammate, the recently re-signed Goran Dragic.

The signing of Stoudemire and Green can be seen as moves to revitalize the Heat bench with a set of accomplished veterans to support starters Dragic, Chris Bosh, Dwayne Wade and Hassan Whiteside. Miami failed to get into the playoffs in the previous season after qualifying for six straight seasons before.

In a statement released by the team, Heat President Pat Riley said "We are very fortunate that a proven All-Star like Amare has chosen the Miami Heat. He is going to bring gravitas, leadership and a hardworking mentality to our team as we look to win another championship in Miami."

Plagued by knee injuries since his second season with the Knicks, the 32-year-old Stoudemire has seen limited minutes and decreasing averages in recent years and has mostly played from the bench for the last three seasons.

Stoudemire appeared in 59 games last season and started in 15 for both the New York Knicks and Dallas Mavericks. He averaged 12 points, 6.8 rebounds, and shot .543 with the Knicks during last season. After being waived by the Knicks in February, he signed with the Mavericks, where Stoudemire averaged 10.8 points, 3.7 rebounds and shot .581.

Stoudemire started his NBA career with the Phoenix Suns as the 9th first round draft pick, and would go on to win NBA Rookie of the Year honors during his first season. He was the first player in NBA history to win the Rookie of the Year award after being drafted out of high school. During his tenure at Phoenix, he led the Suns to the playoffs five times. In 2005, he averaged 37 points in a Western Conference finals loss to the San Antonio Spurs.

In his first season with the Knicks, he broke a franchise record by achieving nine straight 30-point games during the regular season. He made the playoffs with the Knicks three times.