Knicks Amar’e Stoudemire: “It’s time for me to lead these young guys to success”

“My goal is to do what I did here in Phoenix – to rebuild,” Stoudemire said. “The year we traded Stephon (Marbury), Penny (Hardaway) and Googs (Tom Gugliotta), the next year we rebuilt.”

“The question (Suns) ownership asked to me was, ‘Who do I want – Jason Kidd, Steve Nash or Kobe Bryant?’ I said Steve. Over Kobe. At the time, Kobe had a reputation for being selfish and Steve was the ultimate point guard. I felt like that’s what we needed. We had Joe Johnson and Shawn Marion. We just didn’t have a PG to control tempo. Kidd was banged up after microfracture (knee surgery).”

When D’Antoni left for New York in 2008, Stoudemire criticized how little D’Antoni coached defense and talked to him.

“It definitely changed,” Stoudemire said. “We communicate more. I’m more mature than I was at 22 or 23. Studying defense over the past couple years helped, and I’m a better defensive player. He’s committed to it, but the main thing is for us as players to commit to it.”

Stoudemire was a co-star ever since Nash’s 2004 arrival but now has downgraded to Raymond Felton for his point guard.

“I was pretty good for the three years before we got Steve,” Stoudemire said. “We’re going to be OK. These young guys are not quite used to working hard. We’re going to get them over the hump.

“We can be as good as we want to be. In order to be a great leader, you must follow first. I’ve been able to follow Steve, Grant Hill, Shaquille O’Neal and Penny. Now I feel it’s time for me to lead these young guys to success.”