In THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC, by Paul Coro, Leandro Barbosa says, "I never thought about it and I never will," Barbosa said of playing for another team. "I wanted to be here my whole life and I will work for that."
This shows us a lot about Barbosa. I love his loyalty and his drive to do well just to stay in Phoenix.
IMO there was no doubt that Barobosa would stay:
- He fits into the Suns sistem.
- He is a humble kid so he won't want to much money (which is more than OK with Sarver ).
- His "personal coach" is Dan D'Antoni - and they are really close.
Again for the extension.
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(@Seth - if you allready posted a link to this interview tell me.)
Quote:
Suns.com: Congratulations on the extension of your Suns contract. Was it ever a concern for you or did you know all along that this was going to get done?
Suns guard Leandro Barbosa: Thank you very much. No, I didn’t know. It was a surprise for me. I’m very happy with this deal and for everything that’s happened with me and the Suns. Now I have to appreciate it and still work really, really hard. We want a championship. We got Marcus Banks and the team is going to be really fast. I’m very excited to start playing again. I’m very happy.
Suns.com: What do you know about Marcus Banks and what are your thoughts about him joining the roster?
Barbosa: What I know about him is that he’s a really strong player and fast. He’s a really good defender. I remember when I played against him it was really hard for me to catch him. I’m very happy to have an opportunity to play with him. Hopefully, we’re going to do a great job together.
Suns.com: How will Banks’ arrival change your role?
Barbosa: I think whatever position Coach Mike D'Antoni puts me in I’m going to try to do the best that I can. Marcus Banks is going to help a lot. All I want to do is try to help the team, so everything is going to be okay.
Suns.com: How has your offseason gone so far?
Barbosa: The summer has been going well for me, especially because I’m close to my family. My family has been with me wherever I go and I’ve been very happy about that.
I’ve been playing with the (Brazilian) National Team with my old friends I didn’t see for a long time. We’re doing a great job and we’re expected to do a great job at the World Championship. It’s going to be really important for us and for the country, too. Everybody wants us to do a great job and hopefully we’re going to do that. We want to qualify (for the 2008 Olympics) in a good position.
I did a camp with Eduardo Najera. I taught a little bit to some of the kids from South America. A lot of kids came and that was really nice.
Suns.com: What are your thoughts about the 2006-07 season ahead?
Barbosa: I think it’s going to be really fun to watch. Hopefully, we’re going to have Amaré (Stoudemire) coming back. We need him. He’s a really good, tough player for us. He’s really good in the situation that we are in. We like to run up and down, and he’s able to do that. With him and Marcus Banks, it’s going to be a really talented team. And (Steve) Nash will do what he always does.
Suns.com: Only he’ll be doing it with less hair.
Barbosa: I don’t know if he’s going to keep it that way, but he’ll still be Steve Nash. People will recognize him with whatever style he has.
Suns.com: What do you think of Nash’s haircut?
Barbosa: I think it was kind of weird. Everybody knows him with a lot of hair. I saw a picture of him one time after the (1996) draft when he had short hair and after that, always long, long, long. A lot of people are talking about that. It was funny.
Suns.com: What has the maturity process been like with the Suns your first three years in the league?
Barbosa: I’m very happy to have these experiences here with the team, especially since Dan D'Antoni came to help me. I really appreciate that Mike D'Antoni saw good things in myself to bring his brother to come and help me. I’m very happy to have him in my life because he’s really changed my life and my style of play. It really helped the team and myself. That was a really good situation for me.
He was supposed to come to San Paulo for my camp, but he couldn’t go because he had meetings with the coaches, so he didn’t make it. I know he’s doing well. I’m going to try and call him when I’m here because I like him a lot.
LB is a good kid. I think he really values the relationship he has with Dan D'Antoni, and the organization has been more than kind to him. He was a bit of a disappointment the first couple years, and a lot of teams might have tried to unload him, so it's good to see that he's being loyal to the team.
LB is a good kid. I think he really values the relationship he has with Dan D'Antoni, and the organization has been more than kind to him. He was a bit of a disappointment the first couple years, and a lot of teams might have tried to unload him, so it's good to see that he's being loyal to the team.
Co-sign.
Now I only hope Phoenix won't try to trade him .... EVER.... becuse this could crush this kid.
yeah how the heck did kobe get on the all-defensive team.....this boggles my mind.......i remember reading that and thinking that they mixed up the word defensive with offensive and said "oh well then kobe should be on there" but yeah i have no idea where that crap came from....
Barbosa Plans to be With Suns for 'Life'
).
for the extension.
