Amare Stoudemire: I advised Suns NOT to sign Kobe Bryant

Amare Stoudemire entered his first free agency with two priorities: staying in Phoenix and pursuing a championship. Picking New York was a step away from both. “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 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).” — Arizona Republic