Bordow: Stoudemire’s no-show symptom of larger problems

A Phoenix Suns’ shootaround the morning of a game usually draws a sparse media crowd.

(We don’t like to get up real early, and there’s no free food).

Monday, about a dozen of us showed up at US Airways Center.

Stoudemire: Missed practice to tend to ill child

Amare a no-show at Suns Sunday practice

We wanted to see if Amaré Stoudemire would be a no-show for a second straight day. We wanted to hear Stoudemire explain why he missed Sunday’s workout. And we wanted to know how his teammates felt about his absence.

We should have stayed home.

“Everything’s good,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. “There’s no news.”

“We’re moving forward,” general manager Steve Kerr said.

“It’s pretty simple,” Stoudemire said. “My son had a high temperature.”

Except it’s not so simple, everything’s not good, and the Suns won’t move forward until they deal with the selfishness that’s infected the team.

Let’s be clear: This isn’t an epidemic that’s sweeping through Phoenix’s locker room. The Suns are still in first place in the Pacific Division, they’ll still win 55 games or so and be one of the favorites when the playoffs begin.

There are about 25 NBA teams that would love to have their problems.

But the “disease of me” is clawing at the Suns, threatening not only this season but the team’s future and D’Antoni’s job security.

We’ll start with Stoudemire, who calmly explained that he missed Sunday’s practice because his son, Amare Jr., had a 103-degree temperature.

And the fact he was a no-show the morning after he took just 11 shots in the Suns’ loss to New Orleans on Saturday?

A coincidence, Stoudemire assured everyone.

“I wasn’t frustrated about shots,” Stoudemire said.

Stoudemire’s explanation might go down easier had he called D’Antoni to tell him his son was sick instead of text messaging trainer Aaron Nelson. Also, if it wasn’t basketball related, why did D’Antoni meet with Stoudemire Monday and tell him to trust his teammates and the coaching staff, that they’d get him his shots?

Why did Kerr say the incident was handled “internally?”

And wasn’t there a family member or nanny who could have watched Amaré Jr. for 45 minutes (the length of Sunday’s shootaround)?

“Obviously, he probably should have made it to practice,” D’Antoni said.

Stoudemire’s no-show is a disturbing trend. He skipped the end-of-the-year meeting last May, later saying there was a “miscommunication” about the meeting time.

Funny how all of his teammates managed to show up at the appointed hour.

If the Suns believe Stoudemire’s absence Sunday was his protest for not getting the ball enough against the Hornets, he should have been suspended for Monday night’s game against Denver.

That would have gotten Stoudemire’s attention and let his teammates know that such selfishness wouldn’t be tolerated. Instead, it appears as if Stoudemire flexed his muscles at the team’s expense and got away with it. That only will invite others to challenge D’Antoni’s authority.

Stoudemire isn’t the only Sun who has sometimes lost track of what’s important. There was Shawn Marion’s trade demand and “bad marriage” comment before training camp, and too often this season, players have grumbled when a pass didn’t come their way or they didn’t get enough shot attempts.

The Suns aren’t coming apart at the seams, but their threads are showing.

“In a lot of ways this is pretty natural,” Kerr said. “A team knocks on the door several years in a row, it gets close and it gets close, and you want to break through that door. The expectations change and there are frustrations. It happens on every team I’ve ever been on. ...

“In the end, when you’re successful you think back to all the struggles that you went through and it makes it that much more satisfying.”

Steve Nash alluded to the same thing, saying, “Maybe that suffering and frustration will make us better in the long run.”

Perhaps it will. A little discord, if handled correctly, can produce fruit. Michael Jordan once punched Kerr during a Chicago Bulls practice, and they won three championships together.

But the Suns don’t seem to be learning from their mistakes. They’re repeating them. And the longer this goes on, the more you wonder if players are taking advantage of D’Antoni’s forgiving nature.

The playoffs don’t begin for another three months, so there’s plenty of time for a group hug.

But, right now, there’s too much me and not enough we.

And if D’Antoni can’t get the Suns to play nice, well, who do you think owner Robert Sarver is going to hold responsible after the season?