The NBA trade deadline is Feb. 19, and the biggest name on the trading block is Amare Stoudemire. The Suns appear ready and willing to trade their former 1st Team All-NBA player (against my free, unsolicited advice), so I decided to play along and come up with a potential trade scenario (or two) for just about every team in the league. I’ll go through the league franchise-by-franchise and discuss the chances of each team actually making a play for the 26 year-old All-Star. Each blurb will also contain a link or two – if you click it you can see the trade in the ESPN Trade Machine. (I wore that thing out!)
For the record, I don’t really care where he lands — I’m just happy that the Suns didn’t announce a deal as I was writing this opus. Now that would have been a bummer.
Let’s roll…
Atlanta Hawks
The Hawks are pretty much set at every position except point guard. Mike Bibby’s contract is up this year, so that’s the only hole going into next season. That said, they’d be more likely to offer some combination of forwards than they would Joe Johnson. How about Al Horford (young star), Marvin Williams (young star) and Zaza Pachulia (cap relief)? I don’t think the Hawks would be willing to part with Joe Johnson or Josh Smith.
Boston Celtics
There’s no deal that would work unless the Suns truly covet Rajon Rondo. KG and Paul Pierce are untouchable. Rondo and Ray Allen for Amare and Alando Tucker would work, but since the trade offers no salary cap relief for the Suns, I wouldn’t hold my breath. Besides, if they trade away Ray Ray and Rondo, who’s going to play guard for the C’s?
Charlotte Bobcats
I think the Bobcats and Suns have already done all the deals they’re going to do. The only possibility is a trade that would include either Ray Felton or D.J. Augustin and Emeka Okafor. How about Felton, Okafor and Sean May for Amare? However, it’s highly unlikely that Stoudemire would re-sign with the Bobcats, so this trade is just a fantasy.
Chicago Bulls
The Bulls are actually one of the front runners to land Stoudemire and there are a number of different players that could be shipped to Phoenix. I keep reading that Phoenix is most interested in Tyrus Thomas, so let’s assume he’s part of any deal the two teams would make. How about Thomas and Kirk Hinrich for Stoudemire? Or how about Thomas, Ben Gordon and Drew Gooden’s expiring contract? (Note: The Bulls would need to receive consent from Gordon to execute this trade.) What about Thomas, Gooden and Luol Deng for Stoudemire and Robin Lopez?
Cleveland Cavaliers
The Cavs just don’t have the young stars to pull a trade off. The best deal I could come up with is Wally Szczerbiak’s expiring contract, J.J. Hickson, Daniel Gibson and maybe a first round pick or two for Stoudemire. It would give the Suns a ton of cap relief, but Hickson is a bit of an unknown at this point and Gibson has been up and down. I think the Suns can do better.
Dallas Mavericks
To deal with the Mavs, one would think that Josh Howard would have to be involved. How about Howard, Brandon Bass and Jerry Stackhouse for Stoudemire? I doubt the Suns would want to take on Stackhouse’s contract, but I don’t see another package that would work. It’s doubtful that the Mavs would want to bring Stoudemire in as he and Nowitzki play essentially the same position. (Amare can play some center, however.)
Denver Nuggets
The Nuggets lack young, affordable stars and expiring contracts, so the only deal that’s equitable is Carmelo Anthony for Stoudemire, but I don’t really see that happening.
Detroit Pistons
I don’t think the Suns bite on a deal with Detroit unless Rodney Stuckey is involved, and that might be a dealbreaker for the Pistons. Stuckey and Rasheed Wallace works, but would Detroit go for it?
Golden State
The Warriors have apparently been pursuing Stoudemire for the last couple of weeks, but what could they offer? Monta Ellis, Anthony Randolph, Brandan Wright and Kelenna Azubuike would work – would both teams go for it? The Warriors would be left without a point guard, but would get an All-NBA big to replace Randolph and Wright. The Suns would get an All-Star caliber point guard to eventually replace Steve Nash and then get a couple of nice prospects in Randolph and Wright.
If the Warriors don’t want to trade Elllis, they could offer up Corey Maggette, Andris Biendrins and Wright for Stoudemire. This trade wouldn’t give the Suns the cap relief they’re looking for, but they’d be getting three starter quality players. The Warriors could substitute Jamal Crawford for Maggette in that trade as well.
Houston Rockets
The Rockets don’t have the pieces to pull off a deal for Stoudemire. Their only major expiring contract is Ron Artest, so they’d have to ship him, Carl Landry, Luther Head and maybe a first round pick to make things even. Landry is a very productive player, but Artest is a wildcard and the Suns would have to be willing to re-sign him to make it worth their while (and that offsets the value of his expiring deal).
Indiana Pacers
The Pacers are another team that lack the young stars that the Suns would be interested in. They have Danny Granger, but he’s pretty much untouchable at this point. How about T.J. Ford (solid point guard), Brandon Rush (prospect) and Rasho Nesterovic’s expiring contract?
Los Angeles Clippers
The Clippers just don’t have the expiring deals to give the Suns the cap relief they want, so they’d have to give up a couple of big pieces like Baron Davis and Al Thornton to make the trade worthwhile for the Suns. Since Steve Kerr is still in love with Steve Nash, it’s doubtful that he’d want to bring in a point guard like Davis.
Los Angeles Lakers
The Lakers aren’t going to make a deal of this magnitude given their current record and Phoenix would probably refuse to trade with a division rival. However, a straight Gasol-for-Stoudemire deal would work, as would a deal that included Lamar Odom, Jordan Farmar and a first round pick.
Memphis Grizzlies
The Grizzlies have a number of young talented pieces that the Suns might be interested in, but they don’t have any expiring contracts to provide Phoenix with salary cap relief. However, the Suns might go for a deal that included O.J. Mayo, Kyle Lowry and Darko Milicic, wouldn’t they? If the Grizzlies didn’t want to give up Mayo, they could offer up Gay instead, though I think that would be a mistake.
Miami Heat
Miami is considered one of the teams with a real shot at landing Stoudemire, but it looks like they’d have to give up Michael Beasley to get him. (And it appears that the Suns aren’t all that high on the rookie.) If the Heat were to offer up Beasley and Shawn Marion’s expiring contract, the Suns would have to throw in a couple of small contracts like Alando Tucker and Goran Dragic along with Amare to make the numbers work. This deal would give the Suns the salary cap relief they’re looking for and a young star to build around. The Heat would be able to pair Stoudemire with Dwyane Wade, giving the team a championship-caliber duo.
One thing working against this trade is that the Heat should be able to sign a big-name free agent (along with Wade) this summer or next if they simply let Marion’s deal expire. That would give them Wade, Beasley and whoever they sign to build around. However, if they were to pass on Stoudemire here, they run the risk of not being able to sign a big to go along with Wade in the summer of 2010. Miami is a pretty attractive place to play, so they do have a good shot at Amare or Chris Bosh in 2010 if they just stand pat.
If Steve Kerr is dead set on moving Amare, this is a pretty sweet deal. Beasley is a budding star.
Milwaukee Bucks
Why am I even bothering? My beloved Bucks don’t have the pieces to pull off a deal. Michael Redd and Richard Jefferson are overpaid, and Milwaukee simply doesn’t have any expiring contracts that would be of value to the Suns. If Phoenix REALLY liked Charlie Villanueva and Luke Ridnour, this deal would work, but I’m not going to hold my breath. If the Suns liked Charlie V AND Andrew Bogut, and didn’t care about the cap ramifications (yeah, right), a deal that included Villanueva, Bogut and Damon Jones would work (for Stoudemire plus Tucker).
Minnesota Timberwolves
I don’t think the T-Wolves would part with Al Jefferson, so any potential deal would probably have to include either Kevin Love or Randy Foye. How about Love, Mike Miller and Jason Collins expiring contract for Amare? That deal would give the Suns a starter-quality player (Miller), a nice young prospect (Love) and salary cap relief (Collins).
New Jersey Nets
Does Steve Kerr still consider the lying-about-his-age Yi Jianlian to be a good prospect? If so, a deal that included Yi along with Brook Lopez and the expiring contracts of Stromile Swift and Jarvis Hayes would provide the Suns with some salary cap relief and a couple of young prospects.
New Orleans Hornets
My guess is that David West is untouchable at this point, so I don’t really see a legitimate trade offer coming from the Hornets. They could offer up Tyson Chandler and Julian Wright, but that wouldn’t give the Suns any cap relief.
New York Knicks
There appears to be some bad blood between Steve Kerr (or Robert Sarver) and the Suns former coach, Mike D’Antoni, so it is unlikely that the Suns will deal with the Knicks. But if New York offered David Lee, Nate Robinson, Wilson Chandler and Malik Rose’s expiring contract, the Suns would have to think about it, right? The downside for Phoenix is that Lee and Robinson will need to sign new contracts soon, so that offsets the salary cap relief they’d get from the deal. For the Knicks, it would be a heck of a lot easier to sign LeBron next summer if Amare is already in New York.
Oklahoma City Thunder
The Thunder would have a tough time re-signing Stoudemire, but they have the expiring contracts and young players to make a deal work. Would the Suns go for an offer of Russell Westbrook, Jeff Green and Chris Wilcox’s expiring contract? I think they might. The deal would give the Thunder a very dangerous duo to build around, assuming they can convince Amare to stay.
Orlando Magic
I don’t see a deal happening here. Orlando’s stars are all locked up to long term deals, so unless the Suns really covet Hedo Turkoglu (and are willing to pay him big bucks next season), it’s just not feasible. An offer of Turkoglu, Jameer Nelson and Redick would work, but the Magic aren’t going to go for that.
Philadelphia 76ers
The Sixers made their big move last offseason when they signed Elton Brand, and that hasn’t turned out very well (yet). Philly might be able to squeeze Amare out of the Suns if they offered up Andre Miller (and his expiring contract) and rising star Thaddeus Young, but eventually Brand and Stoudemire would have to play together and I’m not exactly sure how that would work.
Portland Trailblazers
Reportedly, the Blazers are considering a trade that would send LaMarcus Aldridge, Jerryd Bayless and Raef LaFrentz’s huge expiring contract for Stoudemire and a throw-in. That’s a pretty good deal for the Suns, as it would give them salary cap relief, a young star (Aldridge) and a good prospect (Bayless). I’m not sure that I would do that deal if I’m Portland, but it’s a simple preference between Aldridge and his upside and Stoudemire’s current ability.
Sacramento Kings
Would the Kings be willing to trade away their affordable star, Kevin Martin, for a shot at Stoudemire? How about Martin, Jason Thompson and Bobby Jackson’s expiring contract? That wouldn’t leave the Kings with much, but they didn’t have much to begin with. The real challenge would be to get Amare to re-sign next summer.
San Antonio Spurs
A deal with the Spurs just isn’t going to happen. They would need to be willing to give up either Tony Parker or Manu Ginobili, and they simply aren’t going to take the risk. The Spurs look like the second-best team in the West, so why tinker?
Toronto Raptors
There has been a lot of talk about Chris Bosh wanting out of Toronto, but he denies telling the team that he’s not going to re-sign next summer. A straight Bosh-for-Stoudemire swap would work, but the Raptors probably aren’t going to go for it. Bosh is a better defender and is more likely to re-sign than Amare would be. They might as well hold onto Bosh and hope for the best. The Raptors apparently want to pair Bosh with Stoudemire, but I think it’s going to take an offer of Jose Calderon, Andrea Barngani and Anthony Parker’s expiring deal to get the Suns to bite.
Utah Jazz
Boozer is going to opt out this summer. He may elect to re-sign, but the Jazz run the risk of losing him without compensation. What about a Boozer-for-Stoudemire swap? Boozer is more injury-prone, so the Jazz might have to throw Ronnie Brewer in to make it equitable (and to make the numbers work).
Washington Wizards
I don’t think the Suns would want to take on Gilbert Arenas’ balky knees or Antawn Jamison’s big contract, and the Wizards don’t have any expiring deals to speak of, so they’d have to do it with talent. How about Caron Butler, Nick Young and Javaris Crittenton for Amare? I love Butler’s game, so if I’m the Suns I’d have to think about it. Of course, if I’m running the Wizards, Butler is pretty much untouchable.
So what do you think? Are any of these trades completely unreasonable? If your favorite team were offered a shot at Stoudemire, would you want them to jump on it? And if you’re a Suns fan, which trade seems to be the best?
