Amar'e Stoudemire Still Seeking Greatness

On an early October morning in 2006, Ama're Stoudemire awoke in his Treviso, Italy, hotel room and headed downstairs for what would become one of the most memorable meals of his life.

It wasn't about the food as much as the company, and so it is that he can't recall what was on his plate that day when Stoudemire looks back . There was breakfast of some kind and there was coffee. And, of course, there was Bill Russell.

He remembers that part. Every word of it.

"I had a long, long conversation with him," Stoudemire told FanHouse while in Portland last week. "We just talked about what it takes to be a great player. He felt that I had the potential to become a great player."



Share It was that simple. Russell came with his one-of-a-kind clout, having won a record 11 championships with Boston as the sort of dominant defender and spiritual leader Stoudemire had never been. The Suns star was in a new stage of his career, having missed nearly all of the previous season due to microfracture surgery on his knee and facing doubts about his long-term physical viability. He knew there was no better big man to consult about greatness.

"We talked for over an hour about his experiences when he played, what it took to become a great player, how they won championships and how he played a great team game," Stoudemire said. "He said, 'Sometimes when you're such a great player and teams can't stop you, it's all about getting your teammates involved and building their confidence.' That's something that I took from that. It has allowed me to become more of a team player, to build their confidence and become a better leader."

Nearly four years later, Stoudemire is heeding that advice like never before.

Known for so long as an overpowering offensive force who didn't defend and whose oft-distant personality posed problems in the Suns' locker room, the 27-year-old has never been a more complete player and person.

He defends for all 24 seconds of the shot clock, rotating quicker, moving smarter, contesting harder with a two-way willingness that helped the once-defenseless Suns finish 11th in the league in opponents' field-goal percentage (45.2). He bonds with his teammates, no longer going it alone and embracing the unified approach that didn't exist during Phoenix's seven-seconds-or-less heyday under former coach Mike D'Antoni.

These are the little things that make a big difference. And they haven't gone unnoticed.

After strongly considering trading him during the last two seasons, the Suns are now hoping they can hold onto Stoudemire this summer. As first reported by FanHouse, extension talks between the two sides have resumed and the financial gap that has so long existed may be closer to being bridged.

Yet true to his new form, Stoudemire – who has until June 30 to decide if he'll become a free agent, sign an extension or exercise the player option for 2010-11 worth $17.6 million – is far more focused on the postseason than he is the offseason. The Suns are tied 2-2 in their first round series with Portland, with Game 5 tonight in Phoenix.

"(The extension talks are) not even a topic right now," Stoudemire told reporters after Portland's dramatic Game 4 win at the Rose Garden. "I don't mean to be rude, but we're not talking about contracts at all right now (with the media)."

Because it's about the team.

While Russell could not be reached for comment, he would certainly approve of Stoudemire's continuing transformation. There is no shortage of pride within the Suns organization, either, where general manager Steve Kerr said Stoudemire has changed as much off the floor as he has on it.

"He has made a concerted effort to really be engaged with teammates," Kerr said. "He has taken the guys out to dinner, on the road all the time picking up the tab. Whenever I'm on the road and I'll see guys in the lobby, he is always there. It seems like there will be six or eight of them heading out to dinner and he's a part of it."

One of Stoudemire's recent Twitter updates even said as much. On 12:30 a.m. early Friday morning -- hours after the Suns' Game 3 win over Portland -- he wrote "That was fun!! Good night" in reference to his late-night dinner with Grant Hill, Jared Dudley, Jason Richardson, Goran Dragic and Louis Amundson.

"Yeah, he didn't do much of that a couple years ago," Kerr said. "He was a little bit more of a loner, but I think part of his growth and his maturity is understanding that all that stuff matters. People might not think that you win games by going out to dinner off the court, but I believe you do.

"It's a big part of our chemistry being what it is. We have as close a group as I've ever seen in the NBA, which is huge. "

As coach Alvin Gentry sees it, Stoudemire's aspirations for his legacy have inspired him to improve defensively.

"Amare, I think, thought (earlier in his career) that it was all about 'How many points can I get?'" Gentry said. "Now he realizes that if he wants to be thought of like Kevin Garnett or some of the great players, then he's got to be able to guard his position too. That's where he has done the most work.

"He has an understanding of the game and what (playing defense) means. He has a great appreciation for the guys who came before him."

The vast improvement in his defense has been an added bonus for the Suns, who were already thrilled to see him playing with force again on the offensive end. Under former coach Terry Porter last season, Stoudemire averaged 21.4 points per game, 8.1 rebounds and 53.9 percent shooting before his season ended in February when he suffered a detached retina and had surgery.

Under Gentry in his first full season, Stoudemire played all 82 games and saw increases in his scoring (23.1), rebounding (8.9) and accuracy (55.7). And while Stoudemire is no Russell on the other end, he is a major reason why the Suns' defense improved this season and grew stronger during their 22-5 finish as they neared the playoffs.

Stoudemire takes exception with the claim that his defensive shortcomings in the past were all his fault. The loss of his father at age 12 and a troubled home life meant the Wales, Fla., native would attend six different high schools before entering the draft in 2002. As such, there wasn't much consistent coaching for him at the prep level.

"He never had that stability and that foundation as a young player, so he has had to learn on the fly in the NBA," Gentry said.

"Being known not as a defensive player really bothered me because we weren't a defensive team. None of us played defense."
Amar'e Stoudemire Yet Stoudemire spent five of his first six seasons under D'Antoni, the current New York coach whose dynamic offensive system left little time or taste to pay attention to defense.

"Being known not as a defensive player really bothered me because we weren't a defensive team," Stoudemire said. "None of us played defense."

That's not the case anymore, especially in this first round series. After falling 105-100 in Game 1, Phoenix has allowed an average of 91.6 points and 42.2 percent shooting (98 of 232) in the following three games.

"This is a defensive series for me," Stoudemire said. "I'm taking more of a defensive approach, because obviously offensively they want to take me out of my game. They don't want to allow me to get any easy baskets or even catch the ball really. Therefore, it transferred my mindframe to a facilitator and a defensive player."

Meanwhile, Stoudemire has continued the solid habits that have helped his cause all season. He has a healthy rapport with Gentry and works intensely with another former center named Bill with an impressive resumé -- that being Bill Cartwright.

The Suns assistant coach played 16 seasons in the NBA, winning three titles with Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls long before joining Phoenix's staff in the summer of 2008. He is famously candid with Stoudemire when assessing his game, yet appreciative that the forward is so eager to take constructive criticism and invest extra time. While some players watch game tapes on their spare time at home, Stoudemire prefers to watch with Cartwright at his side during film sessions.

"His mind is open to wanting to get better," Cartwright said. "He wants to know how he can get better. He wants to know what I see. It makes my job a lot easier because he's so open."

With the results continuing to speak for themselves.

"Let's face it: Since the All-Star break, he's played as well as anybody in the league," Cartwright said. "He has been terrific. Mentally, he is preparing himself for the game. Physically, he's preparing himself. When you've got a guy who's pretty damn talented who wants to work hard and learn, it makes your job a whole lot easier."

Stoudemire is making it look easy, too, with promises of more to come.

"The one thing everybody doesn't realize is that he's 27 years old," Gentry said. "He just turned 27. They talk about him like he's a 32-year-old. Sometimes when you start as early as he started sometimes it takes a little while to mature. He's been great."

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