Will Brinson kicked it at The OC for the Nike Global Training Summit.Amare Stoudemire is probably desperate to train right now, having just spent some significant time on his back after eye surgery ended his 2008-09 NBA season early. He then watched (no pun intended) his Phoenix Suns just miss the playoffs.
In other words, yeah, he's probably glad that Nike hooked up him with some new shoes for training. Of course, the time off didn't damper Amare's spirits at all -- he's still one of the most personable athletes around. And while at the Nike Global Training Summit, he spoke to FanHouse about the playoffs, trash talk, Shaquille O'Neal's shenanigans, being a spokesman for Nike, and the new Trainer 1.
FanHouse: How do you break down the playoffs?
Amare Stoudemire: "How do you break it down? You break it down in brackets."
[Laughter]
"You go the Lakers-Rockets coming up, I think the Lakers pull out of that one. The Cavs meet the winner of Orlando-Boston and I think the Cavs make it to the finals again. Denver's waiting on the Lakers obviously, and if the Lakers make it, Denver might be able to beat the Lakers -- it's going to be a good series.
FH: What's the funniest thing someone ever told you on the court in terms of trash talk?
Stoudemire: "Well, it happened to come from a fan -- guy was clowning my shoes or something. I was like, 'What do you mean my shoes? My shoes are super hot. My swagger's at an all-time high.' "
FH: What's your favorite moment with Shaq now that you've been a teammate?
Stoudemire: "Aw, man. You kidding me? Shaq has a lot of good moments. My favorite moment with Shaq probably would be, um, well when, let's say Shaq shows up to practice and we ask him why he's late and he says there was a Mexican with a million chickens on the back of his truck and the truck tipped over on the highway ... Shaq basically comes with a joke about everything, so anything's pretty much funny with me about Shaq."
FH: How does it feel, now that you're at this level, to be brought in as a spokesman for Nike?
Stoudemire: "I mean, you know, it's always good when you're looked on as a spokesman for a new shoe that they're coming out with. It says a lot about my athletic ability and what I do on the court. And the respect factor that they have for me and vice versa as well. So it feels good to be a part of it."
FH: How's the Trainer 1 playing into your training -- because you're not full-blown practicing just quite yet, right?
Stoudemire: "No, but I will be soon. And once I try on the shoe, I can easily tell if it's going to be a good shoe from a training aspect. And I think these shoes are going to be perfect for me for training, because the Diamond-Flex sole on the bottom of the shoe is ideal; your stop and go is going to be sharp, your lateral movement is going to be good, so it's going to be a great shoe for me."
