http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=mc-afterthebuzzer032610&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
As Stoudemire’s game grows, so does his cost
Marc J. SpearsBy Marc J. Spears, Yahoo! Sports Mar 26, 3:03 pm EDT
OAKLAND, Calif. – Amar’e Stoudemire(notes) vaulted into the air, stretched his right arm above his head and Anthony Tolliver(notes) knew his punishment was coming. In an instant, Stoudemire was jamming the ball through the rim, nearly taking Tolliver’s scalp with it. Even the Golden State Warriors’ fans saluted the display of ferocity, and Stoudemire strutted toward the crowd and popped the front of his jersey, letting everyone know he still belonged to the Phoenix Suns.
Suns owner Robert Sarver sat nearby, and it wasn’t a stretch to wonder whether the vicious dunk also contained a message for Stoudemire’s employer.
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As Stoudemire later told Yahoo! Sports, “I’m getting more expensive by the game.”
Few around the NBA will argue that claim. Over the past six weeks, Stoudemire has reestablished himself as one of the game’s most dominating forwards – a label that will only benefit his bottom line should he likely decide to join this summer’s free-agent market.
Stoudemire’s spike in production began on the eve of the trade deadline, a tumultuous period that saw the Suns field offers for him for more than a month than ultimately decide to keep him. In the past 17 games, Stoudemire has averaged 28.1 points, and his numbers have continued to climb this month: In 10 games in March, he’s averaging 29.8 points and 9.8 rebounds.
Stoudemire shrugs off the timing of his improvement as a coincidence. Slowed by knee and eye surgeries in recent seasons, his body now feels right. The addition of 7-foot center Robin Lopez(notes) into the starting lineup has also allowed Stoudemire to move to his more natural position.
“I’m really getting acclimated, I’m really getting comfortable with the system,” Stoudemire said. “I’ve gotten back in top shape. All of that plays a factor. I’m really focused on being a complete player and putting everything into motion that I’ve been working on.
“It has nothing to do with the trades, trade talk or rumors. Around that time is when I stepped my game up, but it has nothing to do with that at all.”
As much as anything, Suns guard Steve Nash(notes) thinks Stoudemire has sharpened his focus and improved how he sees the game.
“In the past, I don’t think you always knew what you were going to get from him on isolations, post-ups and mid-post,” Nash said. “It could be great and some days you never knew. He’s really turned the corner for his feel for the game. When you throw the ball in there, I have total confidence that he’s going to read the defense and get to a spot where he is going to get a shot or foul or make a play.
“That’s a big improvement in his game. We always knew he could do amazing things on the basketball court, but he’s made that step mentally.”
Said Sarver: “He’s playing with tremendous desire and just all-around dominance.”
That Stoudemire is still playing for the Suns comes as a surprise. Once the two sides couldn’t agree on a contract extension, Phoenix officials made no secret of the fact they were weighing trade offers for Stoudemire. The Suns were deep in talks with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Miami Heat, but didn’t strike a deal. Even in the final hours before the deadline, league sources said the Suns made a push to try to send Stoudemire to the Houston Rockets.
“It never rattled me,” Stoudemire said. “Nothing ever has, even since high school days. I’ve always been the type to persevere. That’s just my natural character. It never bothered me and it never will. It’s just the way I’m built.”
Sarver and Suns president Steve Kerr tried to smooth over any lingering tension by having dinner with Stoudemire after the trade deadline had passed.
“We just talked about the team, where he’s going and what he thought was important in terms of his role with the team,” Sarver said. “I talked a little bit about the team. It wasn’t so much about his contract.”
Stoudemire could choose to exercise a $17 million option to stay with the Suns for next season. But though he has repeatedly flip-flopped when publicly discussing his intentions, it seems unlikely that he’d pass up the opportunity to become a free agent this summer and cash in on his tremendous play.
“Listen, I’ve always elevated my game. I’ve always been one to improve,” Stoudemire said. “If I continue to remain healthy, you’ll see it again next year and the season after that. I’m always going to try to improve. I’m not one of those guys who plays hard during a contract year than shuts it down. I take my basketball career very serious. I look to be a future Hall of Famer one of these days.”
The question now: Will Stoudemire choose to play elsewhere next season? He’s comfortable living in Phoenix where he has business and charitable interests. The Suns can give him a bigger contract than any other suitor and there’s this: The Suns are winning. Once thought to be a reach to make the playoffs, they’re now in position to climb all the way to second in the Western Conference.
“There’s nothing we can do now, but at the end of the day life is going to be pretty good for Amar’e Stoudemire,” Sarver said. “He’s playing great and he has a great career ahead of him.”
Still, Stoudemire hasn’t forgotten the Suns didn’t offer him a max extension, and there’s no guarantee how much they’ll even improve an offer this summer. He also remembers how the Suns messed up an opportunity to re-sign Joe Johnson(notes) five years ago. If the Heat come calling with a big contract, Stoudemire, who is a Florida native, could welcome the chance to play alongside Dwyane Wade(notes).
When asked if the Suns should have already signed him, Stoudemire laughed.
“We’re going to wait and see,” he said. “We’ll see how it plays out.
“This summer, I’m going to make a serious decision. …I’m going to make a business decision.”
As Stoudemire knows well, the cost of doing business has gone up.
