NBA Trade Rumors: Where Will Amare Stoudemire End Up?

Dallas is not only a place for festivities, and the biggest NBA game ever (attendance wise) this year, but this time of year is also a time where trade talks start to heat up as the deadline is closely approaching...and the biggest fish in the water is Amare Stoudemire.

Stoudemire’s name has been in the rumor mill around trade deadline time for the past two or three years. It’s no secret, the Suns are getting older, they are trying to rebuild, and it’s only normal that a team in that position would be shopping their most marketable piece— which is the 27-year-old star big man.

Coming into the season the Suns were picked by most as a team that would likely miss the postseason, however this season has gone much better than expected. Despite this being an up and down season, the Suns find themselves sitting at the seventh spot in the Western Conference, but only two-and-a-half games out of the third seed.

The Suns have played very well lately, winning five of their last six, and Stoudemire has averaged 27 points and 11 rebounds in the Suns last five games—including a 36 point night against Houston, and a 17 rebound game against Denver.

That being said, while Stoudemire is in the prime of his career and he’s having a great season, he is still a very tough player to move because of the uncertainty of his contract.

Stoudemire is often mentioned as one of the big names in the 2010 free agent class; however, reality is that Stoudemire has a player option for next season at $17 million, which has the Suns freaked out.

The Suns could go through this circus of whether they’ll trade Stoudemire all over again next year. For that reason alone the Suns feel obligated to trade Stoudemire.

On the other hand, the Suns are asking for an All-Star caliber player, cap relief, and possibly a draft pick. Teams trading for Stoudemire don’t know what they’re getting into.

The Suns look at Stoudemire as a huge expiring contract if you want cap relief, however, most teams trading for Stoudemire are looking for more than cap relief—teams trading for Stoudemire are looking for a piece to possibly build around long term.

The problem is that teams who want to trade for Stoudemire are uncertain whether Stoudemire will want to sign for the long term, opt for one more year, or opt for free agency.

The Golden State Warriors, the team that flirted with Stoudemire around draft time, has the assets the Suns are looking for such as young players like Anthony Randolph, Stephen Curry. However it is unlikely Stoudemire would want to sign in a situation worse than the one he is in now.

The Philadelphia 76ers have been rumored to be in the market for Stoudemire, sending a package of Andre Iguodala and possibly Sam Dalembert. The trade would give the Suns a player in Iguodala whom they wouldn’t necessarily be able to build around, but Iguodala fills up the stat sheet averaging 17-6-5.

While Iguodala is a bit over paid, he is a very nice complementary player who is a potential All-Star. Defensive big man Dalembert is overpaid, but his contract expires at the end of next season.

A package of Iguodala and Dalembert may be the Suns best bet in terms of returning talent. However, like the Warriors, the Sixers don’t know whether Stoudemire fits their long term plans as the Sixers look like they may need to rebuild, and Stoudemire is rumored to want to go to a contending team.

The team rumored to be pursuing Stoudemire the heaviest would be the Miami Heat. Unlike other teams, Stoudemire would certainly like to sign long term with Miami. Stoudemire is a native of Florida, and he would be playing with a top player in the league in Dwayne Wade.

The problem is, Miami wouldn’t have enough to offer—they’d be giving up Beasley, but that’s the only piece they really have to offer. However, Beasley is a great athlete who can play the three and the four positions, and he should be able to be a nice fit in the Suns up-tempo system, and could prove to be a potential star in the league.

The deal would put make the Heat contenders in the East, and give them a puncher's chance against a team like the Cavs or Magic.

The deal would also set up the Heat nicely with 2010 free agency. If Stoudemire were to take a slight pay cut the Heat could still afford another max player. If Stoudemire were to opt out and walk away the Heat would have cap space for two max players.

The dangerous scenario would be if Stoudemire were to take his player option for next season leaving the Heat with little cap space for 2010 free agency, and they’d essentially have the same roster coming back the next year with Stoudemire and no Michael Beasley.

Either way, a Stoudemire trade probably convinces Dwayne Wade to re-sign with the Heat.

As the deadline comes closer and closer more will come out regarding Stoudemire. If I were the Suns I would pull the trigger on the deal with the Sixers or the deal with the Heat, depending on how highly the Suns think of Beasley.

The Suns may need to lower the price because if Stoudemire decides to play out his option for next year the Suns would basically be a year behind in their rebuilding plan.

My prediction is that the Suns pull the trigger on a deal, as they need to lay out a rebuilding plan for the future, and the risk of Stoudemire coming back next season seems very likely right now.

Remember, in the NBA it is very tough to rebuild on the fly, which is why the Suns should trade Stoudemire.