Do we all believe that Amar’e Stoudemire is one of the most talented bigs in the NBA?  Yes.

Do we all believe that Amar’e Stoudemire works hard every game, and plays with a consistent sense of urgency?  Yes (although the Lakers made him look rather human at times).

Do we all believe that Amar’e Stoudemire is worth a max contract?

If you said “yes”, you’d better think again.

But it’s definitely not going to matter what we think.  Here’s what STAT (his self-imposed acronym-based nickname meaning “Standing Tall and Talented”) thinks:

“The most-important factor of playing for an organization is to be able to be totally comfortable and give them 100 percent, and that’s what I’ve done my whole career, so it’s only right to look for a maximum contract.”

Stoudemire always plays with major aggression on the offensive end of the court.

And we all know that somebody is going to give him what he wants.  Somebody being the Clippers, Knicks…folks, Stoudemire is going to get paid.  As for him staying in Phoenix (or in a similar winning environment), it seems as if he could care less about that:

“We got the fans excited about basketball again, so what I don’t want is for me to have to leave and the fans are now not quite as excited about the game here. I want to keep the hype. I want to keep the fans involved. I want to keep everybody ecstatic about the Phoenix Suns.”

“I’m just waiting on them (the Suns). We’re just being patient. I guarantee there’s a lot of interest, just from the fact of the trade rumors that were going on that (teams) were possibly making trades to get me. Now there’s a chance to get me without even trading off players? I’m pretty sure there’s going to be a recruiting frenzy.”

Amar’e, you have a decision to make.  Go to Los Angeles (Clippers).  Get your max money.  Get exposed for being a flawed, incomplete player.  Lose to your ex-teammates several times a season.  Lose to every team in the NBA several times a season.

Or humble yourself instead.  Play for a contender.  Take less money than you think you are worth.  Use your stregths to push a good team over the top.  Keep your name relevant among the best power forwards in the league.

The choice is yours.

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