Bleacher Report Speaks with Amar'e Stoudemire About the NBA Lockout

Last week, I and other members of the press had the opportunity to speak with New York Knicks forward Amar'e Stoudemire for a short while at a promotional event for the launch of his new product, Sheets.  Stoudemire was in real life the imposing presence he is on the court, though something was different.  Instead of going for his usual loud attire, he was instead dressed in jeans and a T-shirt with his product's logo on it.

Stoudemire then literally sat down with us to answer any questions we might have.  Sure enough, most of the questions were about the NBA lockout and, particularly, about the league he and other players may form if the season is canceled.

"It's definitely realistic," he said. "If we put our minds together and really come up with a great game plan, we could.  But our first goal is to play NBA basketball and try to get this thing resolved as soon as we can."

In saying that, Stoudemire echoed the sentiments of the players overseas as well as the fans.  We just want the NBA back and to get back on the court.  Yet, despite all of the financial drama associated with the lockout and small market teams claiming heavy losses, Stoudemire still believes that a competitive balance can be had.

"It's just a matter of the GMs picking the right players and really doing their jobs," he said.  "You have teams like Minnesota who have certain players and drafted Ricky Rubio, but that didn't pan out the way they thought it would.  That's not our fault.  The Clippers have Blake Griffin and these young players.  Every team has their stars.  It's just a matter of learning how to win."

On a similar note, Stoudemire stated the opinion that a restrictive hard cap would be a bad idea, saying it would kill basketball's team element and make players "selfish" and that they would "not play to win a championship and instead play for a better contract."

Then, the subject shifted to Stoudemire's back.  Last playoffs, against the Boston Celtics, he strained a muscle in that area and was not his usual explosive self on the court for most of the series.  Yet, he insisted that his back was fine and he was "ready to go" and that staying healthy during negotiations was key.

More importantly, however, he went on record saying that he thought an NBA season would happen.

"I think it's going to be resolved soon," he remarked.  "We've got to keep ourselves in shape, just in case.  If it doesn't happen, we've got to keep ourselves in shape for next season.  Regardless of whether we play this season or not, you gotta take care of your body and stay on top of your game."

Towards the end of the interview, the charismatic forward reached out to the fans who love him dearly.  Though they probably didn't mean much in the long run, one could not help but be touched by them.

"I just want the fans to know that, as players, we're trying to make something happen for them.  We're trying to play and keep the fans involved in basketball.  There's always been a great following of basketball and the NBA is fantastic, so we're going to keep up the charity games and we're going to keep the fans happy."

Considering how this came from a player who made $18.2 million last year, one could not help but leave the interview with some optimism.