Even with the Suns’ surprising post-All-Star run, it appears that Amare Stoudemire is headed for free agency.
Phoenix Suns owner Robert Sarver and coach Alvin Gentry are planning to meet with Amar’e Stoudemire next week and offer him a contract extension, but a source called it “pretty bleak” that the Suns will be able to convince the All-Star forward to agree to a deal.
The Suns are expected to visit Stoudemire in Chicago at his summer basketball camp, if not wait for him to return to his home in Phoenix, Yahoo! Sports has learned. After rejecting what’s expected to be another counteroffer below the maximum, Stoudemire will opt out of the final year of his contract and become a free agent July 1.
This isn’t a big shock; the writing was on the wall when Steve Kerr left the organization. Stoudemire isn’t really a ‘max’ player, but he sure thinks he is, and that’s a bad combination. No offense to Amare, he’s a great player, but his injury history and inability (or unwillingness) to control the defensive glass keeps him out of ‘max’ territory, at least in my mind.
But that doesn’t mean that he’s not going to get a maximum contract this summer. Like any market, free agency is about supply and demand, and with all the cap space floating around, there will be a big demand for his services.
It’s funny — the ‘Bird rights’ are supposed to favor a player’s home team, but for near-max players it can work against the home team. The Suns are trying to be pragmatic and don’t want to overpay, but Amare takes any less-than-max offer as an insult even though he’ll eventually sign for less than the true maximum when he goes on to another team. (Other teams can only offer five-year deals with a lower annual raise.) But Stoudemire will see the other team offering as much as they can and he’ll take that as a compliment, even though the total contract may be less than what the Suns originally offered. (I hope this makes sense.)
I have a feeling he’ll end up in Miami with Dwyane Wade or possibly Chicago, where he’d be a nice fit alongside Derrick Rose.
