A little more on Amundson
Louis Amundson may wind up hardly playing this season but it's August and we're still waiting for word on Goran Dragic. So flushing out a little more on Louis Amundson is all that is fresh halfway between draft night and reporting day.
The first words out of the mouth of Vice President of Basketball Operations David Griffin on Amundson were: "defensive intensity, a toughness, a kind of unbridled enthusiasm."
He added, "It goes along with the theme that we began the summer with by drafting Robin Lopez."
Amundson went to NBA Summer League with Golden State, thinking he might latch on permanently there. But between drafting Anthony Randolph and signing another highly caffeinated power forward, Ronny Turiaf, it probably wasn't going to work out on a Golden State team that is at the max for its roster.
Amundson said he wanted to end up in Golden State or Phoenix because of their uptempo systems.
"I'm really comfortable with coming here," Amundson said in spite of not knowing any teammates, coaches or executives personally. "When things didn't work out with Golden State, they were right there."
Any negative reaction to Amundson's signing seems to be misguided. When filling out the end of the bench, you're not going to get too much impact with offers of minimum money and minimum playing time. Amundson has a high motor when he is on the floor and is versatile enough to guard some 3s and 5s at times. Griffin feels like he's an underrated offensive player as well. Amundson said his jump shot has improved. All that may prove true to have an in-game impact, especially if Shaquille O'Neal misses a bunch of games, but his intensity and work ethic can at least be good for practices.
"I haven't really got a chance to display any of that," Amundson said of his offensive improvement. "I understand that, especially here, they're not going to look to me for a lot of offense. I really like to get out and run. With my athleticism and ability to run, an untraditional offense fits me well."
These hard-working types that Phoenix has chased seem to fit the overachiever mold. Amundson wasn't highly recruited out of high school (he lived in Boulder and Colorado did not recruit him). It's a state not known for many hoopsters besides Chauncey Billups and Tom Chambers, who went to Amundson's rival school. Amundson had to work his way into a starting job as a junior (7.8 ppg, 7.5 rpg) at UNLV and did not break out until he was a senior (14.3 ppg, 8.6 rpg).
"We haven't had tenacious, nasty guys," Suns General Manager Steve Kerr said. "I think Robin Lopez is that way. Louis is that way. Matt Barnes is that way. We're trying to complement our guys."
Amudnson is a smart guy too but Suns brass cares more that he's got on-court traits like determination, length and another guy who does not need the ball. The latter was a big plus for drafting Lopez on a team with plenty of players who need the ball in their hands to thrive. Guys who rebound and block shots are a plus, although Brian Skinner did both of those things well and is not back.
When Utah signed Amundson to his first 10-day contract while Carlos Boozer was hurt in 2007, Kevin O'Connor described him as a "live body" and he meant more than his pulse.
Amundson gets it. He's going to come to Phoenix early and probably be one of the last guys on the court each day. He is a niche player who may be a spark plug now and then, coming in to take charges and make hustle plays like chasing down that offensive rebound a 35-minute player doesn't pursue. He just got his first taste of a full NBA season and likely has learned something about camp, playing 82 games and the postseason atmosphere.
Amundson flew home Thursday but will be back next week to get a jump start on preparing for the season. Most players show up for voluntary pickup games at USAC after Labor Day but Amare Stoudemire, Boris Diaw, D.J. Strawberry and Alando Tucker already have been getting in workouts. Other players with school-age kids, like Grant Hill and Shaquille O'Neal, will be in soon too.
