This was supposed to be the year when the ugliness of Amare Stoudemire's ego would rear its head.
The Suns' had just missed the playoffs for the first time since 2004. Given Stoudemire's reduced role with Shaq in the paint, he could have used the situation to demonstrate why he is of immeasurable value, and thus deserves the closest thing to it—a max contract.
He could have decided to throw the teams' success out the window and pad his personal stats, hoping to pad his wallet even more next summer.
He could have decided to dominate season headlines with comments about his upcoming free agency, causing disharmony among the team and its followers.
Almost everyone who has followed the Suns and Stoudemire over the last few seasons expected him to do those things. Instead, he's been so quiet, no one has noticed his ego's absence.
Several factors contributed to this personality phenomenon.
First and foremost, the economy. Already cost-conscious, there was no way the Suns (or any team, at that point) would just offer a max contract for Stoudemire's relative talent compared to lesser players. The days of those ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Matt Petersen
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