duncan228
05-06-2010, 09:36 PM
Stoudemire Making It Hard for Suns to Resist (http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/07/sports/basketball/07suns.html)
By Billy Witz
The New York Times
With each violent attack on the rim, each surprisingly sturdy defensive stand and each Phoenix Suns playoff victory, Amar’e Stoudemire’s stature is rising.
And so is his price.
If Stoudemire, who has a one-year, $17.7 million option remaining on his contract, declines it by June 30, he will join a glittering free-agent class that includes LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer and perhaps Dirk Nowitzki.
With so many teams having cleared salary cap space, the possibilities for Stoudemire are intriguing. Go to Cleveland with James. Head to Miami with Wade — or possibly to New York or Chicago. Or he could remain in Phoenix, where he arrived almost eight years ago out of high school.
Wherever he goes, Stoudemire will not come cheaply. But for the Suns, the question is, after years of eagerly listening to trade offers or apparently being content to let him walk, can they afford to lose Stoudemire now?
“He’s making it a no-brainer for management the way he’s playing,” Suns guard Jason Richardson said Wednesday night after Stoudemire had 23 points and 11 rebounds in a 110-102 victory against the San Antonio Spurs.
The victory put the Suns ahead, 2-0, in the Western Conference semifinals, a surprising position for a team that at the start of the season was expected by many to miss the playoffs for a second consecutive year.
The resurgence of the Suns is mirrored in Stoudemire, who returned from surgery for a detached retina that prematurely ended his 2008-9 season with the desire to become a better all-around player.
“He wants to be thought of in the same breath as Kevin Garnett and guys like that,” said Alvin Gentry, who took over as the Suns’ coach last year just before Stoudemire’s injury. “So I said, well, you’re going to really have to improve your defense. Kevin Garnett guards the toughest guy every night. Tim Duncan guards the toughest guy every night.”
Such signs of maturity are coming at the right time for Stoudemire, who is a five-time All-Star at 27 but has nevertheless been dogged throughout his career by questions about his work ethic as well as his health.
Whether Stoudemire opts out or not, his contract situation will put the spotlight this summer squarely on the Suns’ majority partner, Robert Sarver.
Under Sarver’s watch, the Suns have allowed Joe Johnson to leave as a free agent, traded Shawn Marion when it became clear he would not be re-signed and sent Shaquille O’Neal to Cleveland after a half-season. They have also drafted Rajon Rondo and Rudy Fernandez, and sold them on draft night to Boston and Portland.
The Suns did sign Steve Nash, who could have become a free agent this summer, to a two-year, $22 million extension last July, but $6 million was deferred.
Even if Stoudemire does not opt out, he will still be looking for a long-term extension, or he will be a free agent next year.
“Maybe it’s making it a little harder for them,” Stoudemire said. “It’s always going to be 50-50. I’m not sure what’s going to happen, we’ll just have to wait until this summer. But I’m not focused on that right now.”
In each of the last three seasons, Stoudemire has been the subject of trade speculation. In the winter, much of it focused on whether he would be sent to Cleveland to team with James, to Miami as a partner for Wade, or even to San Antonio to team up in the frontcourt with Duncan.
At this year’s All-Star Game, Stoudemire said that the annual trade rumors bothered him.
“I don’t understand why,” he told reporters in February. “It’s not being explained to me why every year there’s always trade talk with me being involved. It’s a little difficult to deal with. They never really explain why the trade talk is coming, why they want to trade me. I’ve done a lot of work in the community. I’ve been trouble-free forever, so I just don’t understand.”
Although Stoudemire and Gentry each maintain that he has been consistently good this season, others have noted that Stoudemire’s game took a leap once the trade deadline passed on Feb. 17. After the All-Star break, Stoudemire averaged 26 points and 9 rebounds and the Suns were 23-6, vaulting to third in the Western Conference.
“Once the trade deadline passed, he focused on getting his team to the playoffs and getting a higher seed,” Richardson said. “It’s kind of hard. It seems like every year his name is in trades, but I think he knows that the only thing you can control is what happens on the court.”
Although the 37-year-old Grant Hill has turned back the clock, Jason Richardson is a 3-point threat, and role players like Jared Dudley and Channing Frye have emerged, the foundation of the Suns’ league-leading offense remains Nash and Stoudemire.
“If you take Karl Malone away from John Stockton, would John Stockton be John Stockton?” Gentry said. “We have two guys that really feed off each other. I said to both of them they’re parasitic players — they feed off each other. Steve makes Amar’e look great and Amar’e makes Steve look great, and what they do is make the game so much easier because the concentration is so much on those guys that it opens the game for everyone else.”
So, why hasn’t he received a long-term deal?
“Well, that’s going to happen this summer,” Gentry said. “We’d like for it to be here. Robert is a guy who wants to win, and I think we’ll do everything possible to keep Amar’e. Obviously, we want him back. I’m sure, like anybody else in that situation, he’ll explore his options, but I think he understands what he means to our team.”
By Billy Witz
The New York Times
With each violent attack on the rim, each surprisingly sturdy defensive stand and each Phoenix Suns playoff victory, Amar’e Stoudemire’s stature is rising.
And so is his price.
If Stoudemire, who has a one-year, $17.7 million option remaining on his contract, declines it by June 30, he will join a glittering free-agent class that includes LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Carlos Boozer and perhaps Dirk Nowitzki.
With so many teams having cleared salary cap space, the possibilities for Stoudemire are intriguing. Go to Cleveland with James. Head to Miami with Wade — or possibly to New York or Chicago. Or he could remain in Phoenix, where he arrived almost eight years ago out of high school.
Wherever he goes, Stoudemire will not come cheaply. But for the Suns, the question is, after years of eagerly listening to trade offers or apparently being content to let him walk, can they afford to lose Stoudemire now?
“He’s making it a no-brainer for management the way he’s playing,” Suns guard Jason Richardson said Wednesday night after Stoudemire had 23 points and 11 rebounds in a 110-102 victory against the San Antonio Spurs.
The victory put the Suns ahead, 2-0, in the Western Conference semifinals, a surprising position for a team that at the start of the season was expected by many to miss the playoffs for a second consecutive year.
The resurgence of the Suns is mirrored in Stoudemire, who returned from surgery for a detached retina that prematurely ended his 2008-9 season with the desire to become a better all-around player.
“He wants to be thought of in the same breath as Kevin Garnett and guys like that,” said Alvin Gentry, who took over as the Suns’ coach last year just before Stoudemire’s injury. “So I said, well, you’re going to really have to improve your defense. Kevin Garnett guards the toughest guy every night. Tim Duncan guards the toughest guy every night.”
Such signs of maturity are coming at the right time for Stoudemire, who is a five-time All-Star at 27 but has nevertheless been dogged throughout his career by questions about his work ethic as well as his health.
Whether Stoudemire opts out or not, his contract situation will put the spotlight this summer squarely on the Suns’ majority partner, Robert Sarver.
Under Sarver’s watch, the Suns have allowed Joe Johnson to leave as a free agent, traded Shawn Marion when it became clear he would not be re-signed and sent Shaquille O’Neal to Cleveland after a half-season. They have also drafted Rajon Rondo and Rudy Fernandez, and sold them on draft night to Boston and Portland.
The Suns did sign Steve Nash, who could have become a free agent this summer, to a two-year, $22 million extension last July, but $6 million was deferred.
Even if Stoudemire does not opt out, he will still be looking for a long-term extension, or he will be a free agent next year.
“Maybe it’s making it a little harder for them,” Stoudemire said. “It’s always going to be 50-50. I’m not sure what’s going to happen, we’ll just have to wait until this summer. But I’m not focused on that right now.”
In each of the last three seasons, Stoudemire has been the subject of trade speculation. In the winter, much of it focused on whether he would be sent to Cleveland to team with James, to Miami as a partner for Wade, or even to San Antonio to team up in the frontcourt with Duncan.
At this year’s All-Star Game, Stoudemire said that the annual trade rumors bothered him.
“I don’t understand why,” he told reporters in February. “It’s not being explained to me why every year there’s always trade talk with me being involved. It’s a little difficult to deal with. They never really explain why the trade talk is coming, why they want to trade me. I’ve done a lot of work in the community. I’ve been trouble-free forever, so I just don’t understand.”
Although Stoudemire and Gentry each maintain that he has been consistently good this season, others have noted that Stoudemire’s game took a leap once the trade deadline passed on Feb. 17. After the All-Star break, Stoudemire averaged 26 points and 9 rebounds and the Suns were 23-6, vaulting to third in the Western Conference.
“Once the trade deadline passed, he focused on getting his team to the playoffs and getting a higher seed,” Richardson said. “It’s kind of hard. It seems like every year his name is in trades, but I think he knows that the only thing you can control is what happens on the court.”
Although the 37-year-old Grant Hill has turned back the clock, Jason Richardson is a 3-point threat, and role players like Jared Dudley and Channing Frye have emerged, the foundation of the Suns’ league-leading offense remains Nash and Stoudemire.
“If you take Karl Malone away from John Stockton, would John Stockton be John Stockton?” Gentry said. “We have two guys that really feed off each other. I said to both of them they’re parasitic players — they feed off each other. Steve makes Amar’e look great and Amar’e makes Steve look great, and what they do is make the game so much easier because the concentration is so much on those guys that it opens the game for everyone else.”
So, why hasn’t he received a long-term deal?
“Well, that’s going to happen this summer,” Gentry said. “We’d like for it to be here. Robert is a guy who wants to win, and I think we’ll do everything possible to keep Amar’e. Obviously, we want him back. I’m sure, like anybody else in that situation, he’ll explore his options, but I think he understands what he means to our team.”