“He’s a big piece to the puzzle,” coach Mike Woodson said. “It’s a major loss to what we’re trying to do but we’re going to have to wait on him and continue our climb.”

The team announced on Saturday evening that Stoudemire is expected to undergo a knee debridement sometime in the coming week. A debridement is a form of arthroscopic surgery that removes debris. And it’s just the latest in a long list of knee ailments for the 30-year-old veteran.

Stoudemire first felt soreness in both knees earlier Saturday and sat out of the morning shootaround. An MRI later Saturday revealed surgery was required. Per the six-week timetable, Stoudemire could miss the remainder of the regular season. If he is off the floor for the full six weeks, the earliest Stoudemire would return is April 20, three days after the final game of the regular season.

“We’ve just got to patiently wait and hope that everything goes well,” Woodson said.

Stoudemire missed the first two months of the season while recovering from arthroscopic surgery on his left knee. The procedure also was described as a debridement. The timetable for Stoudemire to return from the surgery earlier this season was six to eight weeks, and he needed the full eight to get back.

Stoudemire also underwent microfracture surgery in October 2005, but bounced back well from the procedure.

Still, the procedure can be a red flag for teams. Stoudemire’s contract with the Knicks — a five-year, $100 million pact — is uninsured because of his history of knee issues. Stoudemire is under contract through 2014-15. He is scheduled to make $19.9 million this season and a combined $45 million over the final two years of his deal.

Asked if he was concerned that Stoudemire would struggle to bounce back from this most recent ailment, Woodson expressed optimism.

“I hope not; Amar’e works hard,” the coach said. “I give him a lot of credit for that. He wants to play and be on the basketball floor so I can’t help but think that he’s going to put the time in … to get back out on the floor to help us.”

Stoudemire had been playing on a 30-minute restriction to preserve the health of his knees this season, per instructions from the Knicks’ medical staff. In 29 games this season, the 10-year veteran averaged 14.2 points and five rebounds in 23.5 minutes, shooting 57 percent from the field. In recent weeks, he’d established himself as a strong low-post threat off the bench for the Knicks (38-22).

“When you start playing playoff basketball you need some post up play … [and] that’s where Amar’e was so valuable for us,” Woodson said.

Stoudemire’s injury isn’t the only health concern for the Knicks. Carmelo Anthony missed his third straight game on Saturday with a lingering right knee injury.

“We have to just go out there and find ways to win,” small forward Steve Novak said before the Knicks’ 113-84 rout of the Utah Jazz. “Obviously, those are our main two throw-it-to-and-then-create-their-own-shot scorers for us, so I think our approach just has to be a little bit different.”

An extended stretch without Stoudemire means more playing time for the recently acquired Kenyon Martin, who showed some remorse for Stoudemire.

“It’s part of sports, we all know that, so we’ve got to come together as a team,” Martin said. “That’s why I’m here, so I’m looking forward to the opportunity to get some more playing time. It’s a very, very unfortunate situation.”

Ian Begley is a frequent contributor to ESPNNewYork.com. ESPNNewYork.com contributor Jared Zwerling contributed to this report.

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Barbosa is out the remainder of the 2012-13 season after tearing his ACL earlier this month. Crawford is expected to fill Barbosa’s void on Boston’s bench after falling out of favor in Washington.

Collins has averaged just over 10 minutes per game for the Celtics this season, scoring an average of 1.2 points and 1.6 rebounds. In initial reports, it appeared the deal would strictly be a Crawford-for-Barbosa swap. The inclusion of Collins became apparent just after the 3 p.m. trade deadline Thursday.

The 24-year-old Crawford, the 27th pick in the 2010 draft, has averaged 13.4 points, 3.1 assists and 2.7 rebounds over 26.2 minutes per game for his career. This season, he is averaging 13.2 points, 3.7 assists and 3.1 rebounds over 26.2 minutes per contest, starting 12 of Washington’s 52 games. Since the return of John Wall, Crawford’s playing time has decreased.

Barbosa received increased playing time after Rajon Rondo tore his ACL in late January — only to sustain the same season-ending injury less than three weeks later. Barbosa is waiting for an MCL sprain to heal before undergoing surgery to repair the ACL injury.

Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge had previously expressed an interest in bringing Barbosa back next season.

Initial reports suggested the Celtics and Wizards were discussing a deal centered on a Crawford swap for rookie Fab Melo, but that never materialized. The Celtics view Melo as a long-term project. He has spent much of the season in the D-League but is traveling with Boston while providing emergency depth for an injury-depleted roster.

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Howard was evaluated in Minneapolis by Lakers trainer Gary Vitti on Thursday and had been listed as day to day.

Howard suffered the injury midway through the fourth quarter of Wednesday’s 92-86 loss. The seven-time All-Star fell to the floor in pain after being blocked by Suns guard Shannon Brown with 6:57 remaining in the contest.

Howard checked out of the game and did not return as the Lakers squandered a 13-point lead. After icing his shoulder and applying kinesiology tape to the joint, Howard told reporters he was “real sore” and “hurting pretty bad.”

Although he acknowledged Wednesday that he may have to rest his shoulder, Howard had said he wanted to try to play against the Wolves.

“I’m going to try as much as I can, but I don’t want to cause more damage to my shoulder,” Howard said. “I don’t want to (miss any games), but we’ll see.”

When asked whether he would have to consider surgery to repair his shoulder, Howard replied, “Not right now.”

The 6-foot-11 Howard originally injured his shoulder on Jan. 4 against the Los Angeles Clippers and was forced to miss three games. He aggravated the injury last week against the Memphis Grizzlies and sat out the remainder of that contest, but did not miss any subsequent games.

Kobe Bryant said Wednesday that he has played through shoulder injuries in the past, and it will be an adjustment that Howard has to make.

“I’m not worried about it,” Bryant said. “It is going to be an all-season thing. That’s how those types of injuries are with the labrum. I’ve had them before. … It’s one of those things when you get banged like that going up, you’re going to get that stinging sensation. That’s just how it’s going to be.”

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Similar to the situation between Scott Gomez and the Montreal Canadiens, Redden, 35, is being prohibited by the Rangers from playing for the remainder of the 2013 season in the team’s anticipation of buying him out this summer.

The fear is that he could suffer an injury while playing for the AHL’s Connecticut Whale. According to the recently brokered collective bargaining agreement, teams are allowed two amnesty buyouts beginning this summer to get under the salary cap. However, teams cannot buy out an injured player.

Montreal already informed Gomez that he will not be permitted to play before the buyout. The NHL does not feel the Canadiens did anything wrong in how they decided to handle the situation, sources told ESPN.

Redden’s six-year, $39 million contract has kept him buried in the minors since 2011.

The Rangers have been in contact with both the league and Redden’s agent, Don Meehan, on the matter and, according to one source, they have told Meehan that he is free to seek a trade for his client.

The situation is not believed to be acrimonious.

Reached via email, Meehan told ESPNNewYork.com that they are “working on the situation” and that he hoped to have more clarity by Tuesday.

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