Stoudemire struggled with thought of being finished

[Puppet]

He is just saying what every basketball player feels/knows. After they are done playing, many do other things than basketball with the rest of their lives.

Probably, but the way he phrased it was a bit disconcerting. Ever since he came into the league he kept going on about how he lived and breathed basketball. That's what gave him the determination to get to be so good so early in his career. But now he's saying "I'm always thinking about something else to do in life" etc, and this with his supposed wussing out in training camp (however legitimate) has me a bit worried. I'm sure I'm just being paranoid, either that or I'm just bored from waiting for the season to start and am just overanalyzing stuff. Yeah, that's probably it

 

[msdundee]

I'm sure I'm just being paranoid, either that or I'm just bored from waiting for the season to start and am just overanalyzing stuff. Yeah, that's probably it

You've got a lot of company. Everyone's overanalyzing, including the media. Not much else to talk about right now.

Judging by this past week, Amare going two strong practices followed by playing in two consecutive games is good. That, and the upside is he looked better than in the second game than in the first. Maybe we should all stay with cautious optimism but it appears things are going in the right direction. If he felt okay after Wednesday's game it should build up his confidence and that's key right now. Once he trusts the knees he can relax, have fun again out on the court, and there's still a little under 3 weeks until everyone gets serious.

 

[hsandhu]

Why is this turning into another sarver thread? The alarming thing for me ,with regards to this post, is that amare is even more screwed up mentally than I thought.

Because he has times where he is feeling a lot of pain/stiffness after sustainted basketball he's thinking that he might not come back, and is thinking about going to school instead of continuing his nba career. That's some alarming stuff.

He's not a guy that is soft mentally in games, in that he doesn't seem to get tight in pressure situations, and in fact steps up in pressure situations. But he seems to be mentally soft as hell in regards to believe that his knees are structurally ok.

 

[msdundee]

Because he has times where he is feeling a lot of pain/stiffness after sustainted basketball he's thinking that he might not come back, and is thinking about going to school instead of continuing his nba career. That's some alarming stuff.

All those statements were in past tense, his thoughts last summer after the second surgery. He wasn't thinking about going to school INSTEAD OF continuing his nba career; he was thinking about going to school if he COULDN'T continue his nba career. I don't see that thinking -- at that time -- as anything but proof he's both realistic and mature. Both are positives in the current situation because he needs to be realistic about what's ahead of him and mature about taking a lesser role until he sees how far he can come back. He's been a survivor all his life, I don't think he'll quit now.

 

[nowagimp]

I am feeling for amare because he was at the top of the world, everyone was saying he was "the future of the NBA", and then he couldnt walk and other pros and people are filling his head with junk about microfracture injuries. So he started to doubt himself and it got worse with his failed attempts at comeback. He's just a big kid, who is uncertain whether he lost everything he's worked so hard for. I'm not listening to everything he says, 'cause he says almost everything he thinks of, and he's allowed to think, isnt he? Most of us here dont know how it is to be physically skilled at a high level, have it become your identity, and then to lose it, just like that. When you're the one whos going through it, its not so easy to cast off the doubt. Give the kid a break, he'll heal mentally, and if he's physically capable, he'll be there working his a__ off to help bring us a championship. Dont judge a man -or in his case a kid- until you've walked in his shoes.

 

[msdundee]

I doubt I could even move in his shoes ........

 

[devilalum]

I think there is some sort of physical law that states:

An athlete's ego is directly proportionate to the amount of money he makes.

 

[Mainstreet]

What is Sarver supposed to do....pay each player want they want? Its Sarvers call whether or not he wants to ante up the extra money because he's likely to be in luxury tax and have to pay double. There is no good guy bad guy. Diaw and Sarver want to make the most money they can. If Diaw wants to walk to another team for a couple mill a year difference then thats his decision. I like Diaw and want him to stay but the Suns arn't desperate....Sarver has options via free agency, multiple draft picks, plus having a highly talented team. Not only that but Diaw could be dealt like JJ was. People want to talk about how JJ was such a fiaso but Sarver came out like roses on that one.

Although, I disagree with your take about the significance of extending Diaw, I wanted to compliment you about your intelligent post. IMO, the Suns will loathe the day if they do not extend Diaw now.

Just an unrelated side comment. I think the word "hate" is very harsh and should be used sparingly... if ever.

 

[nowagimp]

Although, I disagree with your take about the significance of extending Diaw, I wanted to compliment you about your intelligent post. IMO, the Suns will loathe the day if they do not extend Diaw now.

Just an unrelated side comment. I think the word "hate" is very harsh and should be used sparingly... if ever.

I agree on both points, extend Diaw, and the word hate is used by extremists too much in political debates, it has no place in the discussion of sports figures or financial decisionmaking. People who disagree all too often accuse each other of hate, and it degrades the discussion to a point that the two sides can never even agree to disagree, its insulting and demeaning. We are all suns fans, not political opponents looking to disparage each other.

 

[Errntknght]

I don't see a cause for concern about Amare's future because he was worried about his knee problems ending his career - I can't imagine it not bothering him and I expect he will worry some about it in the future. He's learned, as we all eventually do, that he is not immortal - a normal step in the maturation process of human beings. Its also healthy for him to think about 'life after/outside basketball'. One of the sad things I've always found about professional athletes is sacrificing their health for the benefit of winning games and trophies - and the adulation of fans. I'm happy that Amare is developing a better perspective.

The only thing I don't like about his public statements is that he only focuses on the athletic side of his game - just like I said the last time I commented on the topic. I'd like to have him talk about the other parts of his game and the game.

Last week when Amare was sitting out practices I noticed a comment from Nash to the effect that he wished he would use his 'down time' to improve the mental part of his game instead of just fretting about what he couldn't do. Now, Nash didn't say that he knew for a fact that Amare didn't do that but I presume he meant Amare didn't say anything to indicate he was working on improving it. (Of course, it could be that Nash doesn't have as good a channel to Amare as Chaplin does, because Chap claims that Amare talks non-stop about other aspects of his game.)

 

[msdundee]

Today's report

Take it for what it's worth, I guess, but these are some of the most promising statements from Amare in a quite a while. Maybe, as it says, he's turned the corner?

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/1014amare-ON.html

 

[mribnik]

Take it for what it's worth, I guess, but these are some of the most promising statements from Amare in a quite a while. Maybe, as it says, he's turned the corner?

http://www.azcentral.com/sports/suns/articles/1014amare-ON.html

I believe the report because you could see it in Amare on the court. He was running around fearlessly and looked much more fluid. He looked pretty similar to the guy we drafted a few years back. It's good to hear him say that he feels great though.

 

[Errntknght]

Thanks for the link, msdundee... same in spirit as the previous one. That's good!

 

[mribnik]

On second thought, this news is not so good. Wasn't he 110% in Europe? I was expecting him to be at least 132% by now, and hoping for around 260% by the start of the season.

 

[msdundee]

On second thought, this news is not so good. Wasn't he 110% in Europe? I was expecting him to be at least 132% by now, and hoping for around 260% by the start of the season.

I'll settle for 100% for right now ....... or even 90% of Amare. The thing that sounds so good to me is that he's saying this after a pretty heavy schedule last week which should have been a good test for both knees. There's always a turning point in something like this but I didn't expect it quite so soon. Let's just hope it holds.

 

[pokerface]

On second thought, this news is not so good. Wasn't he 110% in Europe? I was expecting him to be at least 132% by now, and hoping for around 260% by the start of the season.

Rumor has it that the Suns put in a sell order when Amare hits 225%...