The biggest opportunity Stoudemire will take advantage of in the near future is his contract, which expires after next season. Stoudemire looks to improve upon his rookie deal, which will pay him about $2.6 million next season. He could sign a five-year $72.6 million contract -- the most Phoenix can offer the all-star power forward under the new collective-bargaining agreement.
Although Stoudemire will make more money staying in Phoenix than if he goes to another team, he says he won't completely close the door on possible suitors. The highest-profile team on that list is the Los Angeles Lakers, who have worked in earnest this summer to clear as much cap room as possible for the 2007 off-season, refusing to sign any new players for more than two years.
"I'm a businessman," says Stoudemire. "I'm going to listen but I already know what they got to say, 'Amare, we want to give you the max.'"
While the Suns contract would be slightly more lucrative than the Lakers', many people believe the money lost on the contract can be replaced with the endorsements and acting gigs that come with playing in a big city such as Los Angeles.
"It's true," says Stoudemire, whose favorite vacation spot is California's sun-kissed Malibu Beach. "I think New York and LA are the two highest market cities and both of those places are great as far as opportunities go off the court."
Although Stoudemire might be the top player on many teams' wish lists, it would still be a major surprise to most -- even him -- if he weren't wearing a Suns' uniform for the foreseeable future. "I'm happy here," says Stoudemire. "My focus is on the Suns and doing big things with this team."
As Stoudemire wraps up his motion capture session, he doesn't miss the opportunity to hit a few shots from the outside before calling it a day with one last powerful dunk. "I'm always improving my skills and they never have me as good as I should be in the game," he says. "So now they got a sneak peak at what I got going on, but the video game version of me will never be as good as the real me. It can't, I'm real-life flesh and blood baby."
The only drawback to being the real Stoudemire these days is getting into -- and now out of -- that pesky skin-tight body suit.
), weiss ich dass es diese Diskussion hier schon lange und ausführlich gab.
und ja sie wurde schon sehr lange geführt. Das Einzige was ich nicht leiden kann ist wenn man durch schlechte Leistungen einen Trade erzwingt und nicht sein Bestes gibt (Garnett als Positivbeispiel, Zo und VC negativ)
