Knicks Rumors: Would New York Benefit from Dealing Amar'e Stoudemire to 76ers?

According to a source close to the Philadelphia 76ers, their management has contacted the New York Knicks regarding the availability of Amar’e Stoudemire. They’ve said these are only preliminary talks though, as the Sixers are just doing their “due diligence.”

I really can’t see this rumor getting too far, mainly because the Sixers just don’t have the pieces the Knicks would need in return for Stoudemire. The Knicks are not trying to start rebuilding now with draft picks and young players they still need to develop and that’s really all the Sixers have to offer.

Let’s break down the Sixers’ roster.

The top two scorers on the team are Lou Williams and Jrue Holiday. Both point guards are good players, but are scorers, not distributors. For the Knicks to trade Stoudemire for a point guard, I believe it would need to be for one who is looking to pass first in order to help out Carmelo Anthony, and not shooters like Williams and Holiday.

Over the past couple seasons, the Sixers' best player has been Andre Iguodala. He wouldn’t be a good fit with the Knicks because he is an undersized small forward who likes to control the ball, just like Carmelo Anthony. Even though he would improve the Knicks' defense a little, I believe Iguodala and Anthony would be a downgrade from the current duo of stars the Knicks have.

The only other trade assets the Sixers have are Spencer Hawes, who the Knicks don’t need because of Tyson Chandler; Elton Brand, who is older and not as talented as Stoudemire is; and Evan Turner, who hasn’t lived up to the hype of a No. 2 overall pick.

If you combined the two pieces I just named that you think would be best suited on the Knicks, plus a first-round pick, I still don’t believe that would be enough for the Knicks to pull the trigger on a trade for Stoudemire with the Sixers. I know the Knicks are struggling right now, but they can’t get desperate and make a move just for the sake of changing things up.

A legitimate trade offer for Stoudemire may come from another team sometime in the future, but I don’t see any benefit to the Knicks trading Stoudemire to the 76ers right now.