Xylus
01-26-2010, 08:30 PM
Here are a couple of possible trade scenarios, concerning Amare Stoudemire, that I've found in the media:
http://www.ktar.com/?sid=1256610&nid=750
Gibberman: Possible Amare Trades
The Amar'e Stoudemire trade rumors are starting to heat up with the trade deadline less than a month away. Sports 620 KTAR's John Gambadoro has said the Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, Miami Heat, and New Jersey Nets would be teams the Suns could strike a deal with.
Paul Coro from the Arizona Republic mentioned that the Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland Cavaliers are possibly interested.
Adrian Wojnarowski from Yahoo! Sports listed the Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets and Detroit Pistons as possible destinations.
With the help of ESPN.com's NBA trade machine to ensure that all of these conjured trades meet the guidelines of the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement, here are trades that I think make sense for each team.
Phoenix-Houston
Suns get: Luis Scola or Carl Landry, Shane Battier, and Brian Cook
Rockets get: Amar'e Stoudemire
Why - The Rockets can use Amar'e Stoudemire's scoring ability to put them over the top and lock up a playoff spot for this season. Going forward I like a center/power forward combination of STAT and Yao Ming once Ming returns from injury next season. The Suns get a cheaper replacement at the 4 (Scola and Landry both are free agents after this season, but they will be cheaper to keep than Amar'e), Battier is an upgrade over Grant Hill and brings the defensive tenacity the Suns desperately need, and Brian Cook is an expiring contract.
Phoenix-Golden State
Suns get: Monta Ellis, Anthony Randolph, Raja Bell, Speedy Claxton and GSW's 1st round pick (top 3 protected).
Warriors get: Amar'e Stoudemire and Leandro Barbosa
Why - Phoenix gets two young building blocks for the future in Monta Ellis/Anthony Randolph, two expiring contracts with Raja Bell and Speedy Claxton, and a lottery pick in a talented draft as long as the Warriors don't finish in the top 3. The Warriors get a forward who is the perfect complement to Andris Biedrins (Biedrins blocks shots and rebounds…Amar'e needs the ball and won't have to worry about doing the things he does not like to do). Barbosa is a poor man's Monta Ellis.
Phoenix-Minnesota
Suns get: Al Jefferson and Jonny Flynn or Ricky Rubio
Timberwolves get: Amar'e Stoudemire and Earl Clark
Why - The basic premise of this trade is that T'Wolves GM David Kahn is completely incompetent as proven by him drafting Flynn and Rubio, two point guards with back-to-back lottery picks. The fact that Kahn has interest in Stoudemire makes zero sense considering Jefferson is younger than Amare, doesn't have all the baggage, and has more potential. Flynn or Rubio gives the Suns the heir apparent to Steve Nash. For the T'Wolves they would be making the point to Ricky Rubio or Flynn that they are committed to him going forward as the point guard of the future and Earl Clark gives them offensive punch at the small forward position.
Phoenix-Cleveland
Suns get: J.J. Hickson, Zydrunas Illgauskas, Jawad Williams, 2010 1st round pick and 2012 1st round pick
Cleveland gets: Amar'e Stoudemire
Why - J.J. Hickson has shown ability at the power forward position and would be the Suns' replacement for STAT. Zydrunas Illgauskas would get bought out and return to Cleveland and Jawad Williams, in a short time in the rotation, has been a solid role player. The key for the Suns is getting two first round picks that bring an influx of young players to the roster. This year's first round pick is going to be late in the 1st round, but the Suns would bank on LeBron leaving Cleveland and the 2012 pick having more value. Cleveland is in a win now mode with the possibility of LeBron leaving after the year. Amar'e can be the piece that gets them over the top.
Phoenix-Chicago
Suns get: Joakim Noah, Brad Miller and James Johnson
Bulls get: Amar'e Stoudemire
Why - As much as I dislike how Amar'e Stoudemire plays I actually think him and Derrick Rose would develop into an amazing one-two punch. It's not a specific stat or number; I just believe watching the two play, the potential for them to mesh together is high. The Suns get Joakim Noah who they have been high on for years. Noah is an excellent rebounder, gets cheap buckets around the basket, and is solid passer for a big man. James Johnson, a rookie out of Wake Forest has a lot of potential and gives the Suns some fresh blood off the bench, which they desperately need. Brad Miller is an expiring contract, he is no longer the player he once was, but would still be effective playing the pick and pop game with Steve Nash.
Phoenix-Miami
Suns get: Michael Beasley, Udonis Haslem, and Dorrell Wright
Heat get: Amar'e Stoudemire
Why - As you can see a pattern developing in these trades, the Phoenix Suns save money and get a young piece to build upon for the future. In this trade 2nd year player Michael Beasley is the young piece, Udonis Haslem and Dorrell Wright are the expiring contracts. The Heat hope that Amar'e Stoudemire keeps Dwayne Wade happy and stops him from thinking about leaving Miami for another NBA franchise.
Phoenix-Philadelphia
Suns get: Andre Iguodala, Marreese Speights and Jason Kapono
76ers get: Amar'e Stoudemire
Why - This trade improves the Suns bench and their starting lineup. The addition of Andre Igoudala allows Grant Hill to come off the bench and takes a lot of pressure off the veteran. Speights replaces Stoudemire as a starter; the 2nd year player out of Florida has the potential to be a 20 point 8-10 rebound a game player if he develops. Jason Kapono is an expiring contract. The only way the 76ers do this trade is if they believe Stoudemire is someone they can build their franchise around. With Stoudemire, the core of the 76ers going forward would be STAT, Thaddeus Young and Louis Williams.
Phoenix-New Jersey
Suns get: Courtney Lee, Tony Battie, Bobby Simmons, and rights to the Mavericks 2010 first round pick and the rights to the Warriors 2012 first round pick.
Nets get: Amar'e Stoudemire
Why - I cringe that I believe the Suns might consider this trade. This is what is known as a straight salary dump. Battie and Simmons are both in the final year of their contract and would get almost $18 million of the books for the Suns franchise next year. Courtney Lee is a nice player, but he is not someone you can build your franchise around. This is a no brainer for the Nets and I say this is worse than the Pau Gasol to the Lakers trade.
Phoenix-Detroit
I don't see any players on the Pistons that the Suns would possibly be interested in; not enough expiring contracts or talented young players.
And this one is from Hoopsworld, so read at your own discretion:
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=15090
The trade Monday that sent starting New Orleans Hornets guard Devin Brown to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for seldom-used center Aaron Gray doesn't seem like much on the surface because neither guy is somebody most smart NBA fans would call a "game-changer." While it's obvious that the Hornets made this move to shed salary, Chicago's motivations require a little more digging and imagination.
It's possible that this trade could be an attempt to shore up the Bulls' backcourt should they be able to find a taker for either Kirk Hinrich or John Salmons before the trade deadline. Chicago would like to head into this offseason with enough money to pursue a big name free agent and possibly have the option of extending Tyrus Thomas. As it stands, they'll have to choose one of those options or the other.
Hinrich is scheduled to make $17 million for the next two full seasons, and Salmons is on the books for just under $6 million next year should he exercise his player option this offseason. Brown, on the other hand, can play out the rest of this season for right around $500,000 and do a lot of the same things Hinrich and Salmon can do for a heck of a lot less money.
So, even if Chicago only manages to return non-rotation role players with expiring contracts for a player like Hinrich or Salmons, the Bulls have an answer for the holes left in the lineup. In a lot of ways, just shedding the salary would be considered a big move for the Bulls going forward. But looking at this thing on a grander scale, it seems remotely possible that this could allow Chicago to put together a pretty impressive package in a trade offer for a really big name.
Amar'e Stoudemire is one such big name, as has been reported by multiple news outlets in the last couple of days. Chicago could package Kirk Hinrich or Luol Deng with Tyrus Thomas as the key pieces to a deal for Stoudemire. Either offer would get close to matching the necessary salaries to get a move done; it would just be a question as to whether or not that were enough to get Phoenix to bite. Chicago does have a couple of expiring contracts worth $6-12 million apiece that they could use to sweeten the pot as well.
The bottom line is that should the Bulls trade a key piece to their backcourt, whether that be Hinrich or Salmons, for a more dominant frontcourt player they wouldn't be left too thin at the guard positions.
Even if Chicago does absolutely nothing else before the trade deadline, they acquired a reasonably talented player in Brown for a center they never used. It's a classic something-for-nothing deal that New Orleans could afford to make because Marcus Thornton is too good to be rotting on any bench. This will up his playing time and help the Hornets get a little closer to being under the cap threshold.
This move has the stink of something bigger all over it. Whether that be for Amar'e Stoudemire or just a Bulls cap dump, Brown helps make any upcoming Chicago trade just a little bit easier to swallow.
http://www.ktar.com/?sid=1256610&nid=750
Gibberman: Possible Amare Trades
The Amar'e Stoudemire trade rumors are starting to heat up with the trade deadline less than a month away. Sports 620 KTAR's John Gambadoro has said the Chicago Bulls, Houston Rockets, Miami Heat, and New Jersey Nets would be teams the Suns could strike a deal with.
Paul Coro from the Arizona Republic mentioned that the Golden State Warriors, Minnesota Timberwolves and Cleveland Cavaliers are possibly interested.
Adrian Wojnarowski from Yahoo! Sports listed the Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets and Detroit Pistons as possible destinations.
With the help of ESPN.com's NBA trade machine to ensure that all of these conjured trades meet the guidelines of the NBA's Collective Bargaining Agreement, here are trades that I think make sense for each team.
Phoenix-Houston
Suns get: Luis Scola or Carl Landry, Shane Battier, and Brian Cook
Rockets get: Amar'e Stoudemire
Why - The Rockets can use Amar'e Stoudemire's scoring ability to put them over the top and lock up a playoff spot for this season. Going forward I like a center/power forward combination of STAT and Yao Ming once Ming returns from injury next season. The Suns get a cheaper replacement at the 4 (Scola and Landry both are free agents after this season, but they will be cheaper to keep than Amar'e), Battier is an upgrade over Grant Hill and brings the defensive tenacity the Suns desperately need, and Brian Cook is an expiring contract.
Phoenix-Golden State
Suns get: Monta Ellis, Anthony Randolph, Raja Bell, Speedy Claxton and GSW's 1st round pick (top 3 protected).
Warriors get: Amar'e Stoudemire and Leandro Barbosa
Why - Phoenix gets two young building blocks for the future in Monta Ellis/Anthony Randolph, two expiring contracts with Raja Bell and Speedy Claxton, and a lottery pick in a talented draft as long as the Warriors don't finish in the top 3. The Warriors get a forward who is the perfect complement to Andris Biedrins (Biedrins blocks shots and rebounds…Amar'e needs the ball and won't have to worry about doing the things he does not like to do). Barbosa is a poor man's Monta Ellis.
Phoenix-Minnesota
Suns get: Al Jefferson and Jonny Flynn or Ricky Rubio
Timberwolves get: Amar'e Stoudemire and Earl Clark
Why - The basic premise of this trade is that T'Wolves GM David Kahn is completely incompetent as proven by him drafting Flynn and Rubio, two point guards with back-to-back lottery picks. The fact that Kahn has interest in Stoudemire makes zero sense considering Jefferson is younger than Amare, doesn't have all the baggage, and has more potential. Flynn or Rubio gives the Suns the heir apparent to Steve Nash. For the T'Wolves they would be making the point to Ricky Rubio or Flynn that they are committed to him going forward as the point guard of the future and Earl Clark gives them offensive punch at the small forward position.
Phoenix-Cleveland
Suns get: J.J. Hickson, Zydrunas Illgauskas, Jawad Williams, 2010 1st round pick and 2012 1st round pick
Cleveland gets: Amar'e Stoudemire
Why - J.J. Hickson has shown ability at the power forward position and would be the Suns' replacement for STAT. Zydrunas Illgauskas would get bought out and return to Cleveland and Jawad Williams, in a short time in the rotation, has been a solid role player. The key for the Suns is getting two first round picks that bring an influx of young players to the roster. This year's first round pick is going to be late in the 1st round, but the Suns would bank on LeBron leaving Cleveland and the 2012 pick having more value. Cleveland is in a win now mode with the possibility of LeBron leaving after the year. Amar'e can be the piece that gets them over the top.
Phoenix-Chicago
Suns get: Joakim Noah, Brad Miller and James Johnson
Bulls get: Amar'e Stoudemire
Why - As much as I dislike how Amar'e Stoudemire plays I actually think him and Derrick Rose would develop into an amazing one-two punch. It's not a specific stat or number; I just believe watching the two play, the potential for them to mesh together is high. The Suns get Joakim Noah who they have been high on for years. Noah is an excellent rebounder, gets cheap buckets around the basket, and is solid passer for a big man. James Johnson, a rookie out of Wake Forest has a lot of potential and gives the Suns some fresh blood off the bench, which they desperately need. Brad Miller is an expiring contract, he is no longer the player he once was, but would still be effective playing the pick and pop game with Steve Nash.
Phoenix-Miami
Suns get: Michael Beasley, Udonis Haslem, and Dorrell Wright
Heat get: Amar'e Stoudemire
Why - As you can see a pattern developing in these trades, the Phoenix Suns save money and get a young piece to build upon for the future. In this trade 2nd year player Michael Beasley is the young piece, Udonis Haslem and Dorrell Wright are the expiring contracts. The Heat hope that Amar'e Stoudemire keeps Dwayne Wade happy and stops him from thinking about leaving Miami for another NBA franchise.
Phoenix-Philadelphia
Suns get: Andre Iguodala, Marreese Speights and Jason Kapono
76ers get: Amar'e Stoudemire
Why - This trade improves the Suns bench and their starting lineup. The addition of Andre Igoudala allows Grant Hill to come off the bench and takes a lot of pressure off the veteran. Speights replaces Stoudemire as a starter; the 2nd year player out of Florida has the potential to be a 20 point 8-10 rebound a game player if he develops. Jason Kapono is an expiring contract. The only way the 76ers do this trade is if they believe Stoudemire is someone they can build their franchise around. With Stoudemire, the core of the 76ers going forward would be STAT, Thaddeus Young and Louis Williams.
Phoenix-New Jersey
Suns get: Courtney Lee, Tony Battie, Bobby Simmons, and rights to the Mavericks 2010 first round pick and the rights to the Warriors 2012 first round pick.
Nets get: Amar'e Stoudemire
Why - I cringe that I believe the Suns might consider this trade. This is what is known as a straight salary dump. Battie and Simmons are both in the final year of their contract and would get almost $18 million of the books for the Suns franchise next year. Courtney Lee is a nice player, but he is not someone you can build your franchise around. This is a no brainer for the Nets and I say this is worse than the Pau Gasol to the Lakers trade.
Phoenix-Detroit
I don't see any players on the Pistons that the Suns would possibly be interested in; not enough expiring contracts or talented young players.
And this one is from Hoopsworld, so read at your own discretion:
http://www.hoopsworld.com/Story.asp?story_id=15090
The trade Monday that sent starting New Orleans Hornets guard Devin Brown to the Chicago Bulls in exchange for seldom-used center Aaron Gray doesn't seem like much on the surface because neither guy is somebody most smart NBA fans would call a "game-changer." While it's obvious that the Hornets made this move to shed salary, Chicago's motivations require a little more digging and imagination.
It's possible that this trade could be an attempt to shore up the Bulls' backcourt should they be able to find a taker for either Kirk Hinrich or John Salmons before the trade deadline. Chicago would like to head into this offseason with enough money to pursue a big name free agent and possibly have the option of extending Tyrus Thomas. As it stands, they'll have to choose one of those options or the other.
Hinrich is scheduled to make $17 million for the next two full seasons, and Salmons is on the books for just under $6 million next year should he exercise his player option this offseason. Brown, on the other hand, can play out the rest of this season for right around $500,000 and do a lot of the same things Hinrich and Salmon can do for a heck of a lot less money.
So, even if Chicago only manages to return non-rotation role players with expiring contracts for a player like Hinrich or Salmons, the Bulls have an answer for the holes left in the lineup. In a lot of ways, just shedding the salary would be considered a big move for the Bulls going forward. But looking at this thing on a grander scale, it seems remotely possible that this could allow Chicago to put together a pretty impressive package in a trade offer for a really big name.
Amar'e Stoudemire is one such big name, as has been reported by multiple news outlets in the last couple of days. Chicago could package Kirk Hinrich or Luol Deng with Tyrus Thomas as the key pieces to a deal for Stoudemire. Either offer would get close to matching the necessary salaries to get a move done; it would just be a question as to whether or not that were enough to get Phoenix to bite. Chicago does have a couple of expiring contracts worth $6-12 million apiece that they could use to sweeten the pot as well.
The bottom line is that should the Bulls trade a key piece to their backcourt, whether that be Hinrich or Salmons, for a more dominant frontcourt player they wouldn't be left too thin at the guard positions.
Even if Chicago does absolutely nothing else before the trade deadline, they acquired a reasonably talented player in Brown for a center they never used. It's a classic something-for-nothing deal that New Orleans could afford to make because Marcus Thornton is too good to be rotting on any bench. This will up his playing time and help the Hornets get a little closer to being under the cap threshold.
This move has the stink of something bigger all over it. Whether that be for Amar'e Stoudemire or just a Bulls cap dump, Brown helps make any upcoming Chicago trade just a little bit easier to swallow.