For the guy who said that he is a moron if the Shaq trade doesn’t work (I’ll let you be the judge of this one), it must feel good to finally get something right. Steve Kerr’s treatment of Amar’e Stoudemire’s contract extension negotiations seems to be going much better than some of his other moves since being hired as General Manager of the Phoenix Suns.
“I think everything looks great, but before you make that kind of a financial commitment, or any commitment in this league, you have to know that your player is fine and ready to go,” Suns general manager Steve Kerr said on Tuesday. “I’m on the same page as Charlie [Grantham, Stoudemire's agent] and Amare. We need to see Amare on the court in October and see that everything’s going to be OK, which we fully expect. Before we make that kind of commitment, you’d better be sure.”
After a workout at U.S. Airways Center last week, Stoudemire said he believes he deserves a maximum extension.
Stoudemire can become a free agent after next season, but he has said he’d like to remain with the team that drafted him in the first round in 2002 — as long as the Suns are contenders. Phoenix missed the playoffs last season.
The Suns have fielded trade offers for Stoudemire this summer. But if they decide to keep him, they could sign him to an extension at any point next season.
Those talks could heat up if Stoudemire comes back strong from his surgery, as he has vowed to do.
“We need to see him play,” Kerr said. “Charlie knows that. Amare knows that. Obviously, the eye situation was more serious than what we first thought. The recovery time has taken longer.”
Source: ESPN
Whew!
It seems like the Suns have learned their lesson from the Gilbert Arenas saga in Washington. Remember, Arenas infamously inked a contract for six years and $111 million dollars in July 2008. In September of 2008, Arenas had ‘minor’ surgery and was surprised when there was a backlash at the announcement of his surgical procedure.
On crutches again, about to spend more time in physical therapy than he will in a gym, Gilbert Arenas actually doesn’t comprehend the fuss and worry.
“Why’s everybody tripping out?” he said from his cellphone yesterday, less than five hours after debris was removed from his surgically repaired left knee — the same knee that’s now been opened three times in 18 months.
“Big picture, if I start rehabbing now and get through the pain that prevented me from running or jumping this summer, I’ll be back on the court sooner,” he said. “How’s that a bad thing?”
Source: The Washington Post
The big deal was that the Wizards committed over a hundred million dollars and six years to Arenas and his bum knees. People were trippin’ because Arenas got paid over $14.5 million dollars in 2008-09 and he appeared in two games. That works out to a cool $7.25 million per game last season.
In waiting to see how Amar’e responds to the eye surgeries he has had before giving him a max deal, Kerr has ensured that the Suns don’t get Arenased (you heard it hear first folks) into paying a max contract to a player to rehab for a year.
