Early in the 2009-10 season, Phoenix Suns big man Amar'e Stoudemire, goggles atop his forehead, ambled his way to the timeout huddle. The Suns, two years removed from Mike D'Antoni's tenure as head coach, were still burning up the floor at their usual breakneck pace. On this night, in this moment, Stoudemire caught his breath after a particularly frenetic sequence of possessions.
"Coach, am I a decoy or what?" he said to Alvin Gentry. "Because if all I'm going to do is sprint the floor like Carl f---ing Lewis, y'all need to get me some of those little track shorts to wear.