NBA Trade Rumors: Amar'e Stoudemire and 5 Other NBA Players Who Won't Be Traded

Each year as we are a couple months into the NBA season, GMs start evaluating their team's situation and start considering trades.

Some teams may have gotten off to an unexpected great start and wish to get one more piece that could propel them to a championship.

Other teams scramble for solutions to a shaky start that could bring them back to relevance.

Some teams may be throwing up the white flag and looking to rebuild.

But each year, many rumors prove to be invalid and more rumored players than not stay with their original teams. This could happen for a number of reasons.

In some cases, the media are the ones who start rumors that are later denied by coaches and players.

Sometimes a player may be undervalued and a team cannot find a trade worthwhile.

Other times a player starts performing at just the right time.

Whatever the reason may be, many players find themselves on the trading block each year without having to actually pack their bags and switch teams. This year will be no different.

Here are six NBA players on the trading block that won't be moved by the deadline. 

Jose Calderon

It was learned yesterday that the Raptors are officially open to trading starting point guard Jose Calderon.

Although it may be smart in theory, there are a couple problems to finding a suitor for Calderon.

First is the challenge that his contract presents. Calderon is set to make $11 million next year, which is a large salary for a point guard that only gets 10 points and eight assists a game.

It may be difficult for the Raptors to find a suitor that is willing to eat his large contract, but it depends on how desperate teams are for point guards at the deadline.

Cheaper options such as Ramon Sessions and Devin Harris are on the block too and may be looked into before Calderon.

The second issue goes with the potential suitors for Calderon. Toronto has stated that it wants a point guard back who could replace Calderon, as well as rebuilding pieces for the future.

If you look at the Lakers and Knicks, who are both potential suitors, you see how that is a big problem. Those two teams would not be begging for a point guard if they had one in the first place.

The Lakers do not have rebuilding pieces and the Knicks have no picks in the upcoming draft and their only rebuilding pieces that could be offered would be Fields and Shumpert.

The Knicks don't have cap room to take on Calderon's contract and they would most likely not part ways with both Fields and Shumpert. 

He is a name to watch, but Calderon should stay with Toronto for the entire year. 

Chris Kaman

Chris Kaman reportedly has generated some interest from numerous teams, but he will be sitting on the bench for the Hornets for the duration of the year.

New Orleans has reportedly fielded interest from the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs and Golden State Warriors so far, as well as two other unknown teams. 

Kaman's situation is very similar to that of Jose Calderon, in that he has a huge salary that a team will have to eat but the Hornets expect expiring contracts, young players and picks in return. That could be a problem.

The Spurs and Rockets don't have any expiring contracts and are reluctant to offer up young players.

The Warriors have shown a little more interest, but they only have one expiring contract in injured center Kwame Brown who they can't trade until March 15th anyway.

The Warriors only have second-round picks to offer the Hornets and although they have young talent, it may be hard for the two teams to orchestrate a trade.

As much as New Orleans wants Kaman off their hands, he most likely won't go anyway unless they are willing to settle for a very bad return.

I'd expect to see Kaman sitting on the bench in a Hornets uniform for the rest of the season. 

O.J. Mayo

O.J Mayo's name has been on the trading block both last year and now this season, but he is starting to show his value to the Grizzlies. He is now off the block currently.

Mayo has been in a few potential deals already this season.

Back in December, Mayo was almost shipped to Indiana to be their new shooting guard in a trade that would have sent Josh McRoberts to Memphis, but the trade fell through. 

More recently, the Grizzlies were in trade negotiations with the Nets, however talks died down after the Nets didn't come up with the right offer.

The Grizzlies may continue to shop Mayo, but unless a great offer comes up, they will not trade him.

Mayo is the team's sixth man right now and is proving his value to the team.

In 25 minutes per game, he puts up 11.6 points, 3.1 rebounds and a steal. He is fifth on the team in minutes a game and leads the team in three-pointers made and in three-point percentage. 

Mayo is an integral part of the Grizzlies bench, and an offer of Josh McRoberts won't cut it.

Despite the fact that Memphis needs big men, they recognize that Mayo is a valuable player and will not make a trade unless they are absolutely blown away by an offer. 

Steve Nash

Is the Suns' front office stupid for keeping Nash and refusing to rebuild? In some ways yes, but you have to look at it from their point of view.

As much as Nash should be traded, the Suns can't get any great offers from contending teams and therefore should just keep Nash.

Let's look at some of the potential suitors for Nash that were discussed last year and assess their current situation:

New York Knicks

The Knicks would have the same exact problem trading for Nash as they would for Calderon.

They have no expiring contracts, no picks and don't have many young rebuilding pieces besides Shumpert and Fields.

The only reason the Knicks were brought up is because they were considered possible contenders, but considering the fact that they have a worse record than the Suns, a deal is unlikely.

Orlando Magic

This scenario is more interesting.

The Magic do have the pieces and picks to complete a trade, but Dwight Howard is getting the way.

By crying himself out of town and constantly calling out his teammates, Howard us making it clear that he doesn't want to play in Orlando. Steve Nash doesn't have time to wait for the Magic to rebuild.

Los Angeles Lakers

As much as the Lakers might want Nash, they really have nothing to offer Phoenix.

Bad contracts like Walton and World Peace aren't expiring contracts, and they have no good picks or young talent to offer.

Miami Heat

They are in the same position as the Lakers.

They don't have much to offer in terms of young talent besides Norris Cole, and they won't have good draft picks.

James and Wade are used to taking up the ball themselves rather than playing with a good point guard and might not be as effective without the ball in their hands. 

Perhaps other teams will generate some interest, but unless the Suns get an amazing offer, they aren't going to trade Nash.

They are perfectly happy letting him retire in Phoenix, even if that means being completely unprepared when he does call it quits. 

Paul Pierce

The Celtics are in a difficult situation right now with their Big Three of Kevin Garnett, Ray Allen and Paul Pierce.

Do they trade their core and start rebuilding or do they try to win another championship before their window completely closes? 

The answer is that they will not trade their Big Three, not yet.

They are currently riding a four-game winning streak that has brought them back to the seventh seed in the East and the season is still young.

Rondo is injured but is hoping to make a return sometime around the All-Star break and the Celtics can not afford to lose Pierce, their clutch leader who has played in Boston his entire career.

There have been reports saying that the Lakers are interested in Pierce, but it is unlikely a trade would ever go through serious negotiation because the Lakers already have a lot of money going to Gasol, Kobe and Bynum.

Ray Allen is a great three-point shooter and Rondo is one of the best passers in the NBA, but without Pierce, they would be lost.

Rondo wouldn't rack up the assists and without Pierce, the defense would focus on contesting Allen's open threes.

Pierce is just too important to the team to be traded. 

Amar'e Stoudemire

Over the past couple days, a CSN Philly report has surfaced saying that the 76ers have expressed interest in Amar'e Stoudemire, hoping to add a missing piece that could propel them to a championship. The Philadelphia Inquirer denied the report though.

It would be extremely heartbreaking to see the Knicks pull the trigger on an offer and trade Amar'e as he is the savior of this Knicks team.

He is the one who first signed with the team and together with a young core made the Knicks relevant again.

However, a catastrophic Carmelo Anthony trade tampered with the Knicks' offensive style and chemistry, and one year later, the Knicks find themselves struggling to score.

Amar'e Stoudemire is having his worst year since his rookie season, struggling to score, block shots, rebound and shoot. 

If the Knicks try and trade Amar'e Stoudemire, they would really be throwing up a white flag.

But the Knicks won't trade Stoudemire this year.

Although the 76ers have a plethora of young talent, it is probably safe to assume that Elton Brand will have to be included in a deal. Because let's face it, Jared Jeffries at power forward is worse than Ronny Turiaf manning center last year.

However, Brand's contract is so huge that it wouldn't present the Knicks with many opportunities to build a good trade.

Jrue Holiday fits in the price range, but are the 76ers really willing to give up their young future point guard for Stoudemire?

Would they be willing to part ways with Brand, Holiday and possibly another young player like Vucevic and picks? Probably not. 

Really, it is too early for the Knicks to trade Amar'e.

They still have Baron Davis coming back and we'll see how well the ball moves then.

If the Knicks were smart, they would see that the problem lies with Carmelo Anthony and the constant isolation plays set up for him, but maybe after returning from an injury he will start shooting more effectively.

The Knicks cannot expect to fix this by trading Stoudemire, though. They are simply shopping him to see if a good offer comes up, but the Knicks haven't given up on this team yet.