If I Were Rebulding the Suns: With or Without Amare Stoudemire

I'm a true fan.  I want results now. 

I want my team to succeed, and I (along with ESPN.com's trading machine) know how to keep my Suns a contender without seeing them die slowly or hit a stretch in the lottery.

Thanks to these impatient qualities of mine, I thought of the best possible scenario in a limited amount of free time to blow up the Suns but keep them relevant.

The question with Phoenix is this: If you're rebuilding them, do you keep Amare Stoudemire (talent) or ship him off (attitude)? 

I still can't decide, so I went both ways.  Here it goes:

Keep Amare and build around him

The first thing you need to come to grips with about keeping Stoudemire is this—get rid of anyone who dominates the ball, because Amare wants the rock.  Thus, any teammate who has the tendency to dominate the ball (Leandro Barbosa, for example) needs to go.  The only exception to this is Steve Nash, because Stoudemire knows he'll get buckets running the pick-and-roll with him all night long.

Alright, Barbosa needs to go then.  Assuming you're keeping Nash, you'll want to trade for a legit backup/future point guard.  That's also assuming you don't have faith in rookies Goran Dragic and Sean Singeltary. 

Barbosa won't get solid returns by himself, so you have to sweeten the deal.  Boris Diaw is an obvious addition, because 1) he has to have the ball in his hands to be effective, 2) he can't play well with Stoudemire at the same time and 3) at $9 million a year, he's an economic waste of a backup.

Trade No. 1: Barbosa and Diaw to the Indiana Pacers for Jarrett Jack, Mike Dunleavy and Brandon Rush. 

For Phoenix, this satisfies a lot of needs.  Jack is a proven backup and spot-starter at point guard that won't have Suns' staff, fans, or management chewing their nails when Nash takes a seat. 

Dunleavy is an all-around small forward that can play the four at times as well.  He can shoot the three, pass and rebound, all without demanding the ball. 

Rush is a nice rookie prospect who will be able to contribute regularly right away from multiple positions.  He needs to be in the deal, because Barbosa and Diaw are both full-time starting material, whereas Jack is only occasionally that.

Why would Indiana do it?  This is where Diaw's trade value comes into play.  Yes, he's underachieved since winning the NBA's Most Improved Player award.  But every GM will be thinking in the back of his mind that his decline was due to the return of Stoudemire and role confusion.  Put Diaw as the undisputed starter at the four, and the possibility he'll return to form is too tempting to pass up, especially since he's still only 26.

Barbosa gives the Pacers a secondary scorer to Danny Granger.  Off the bench, Barbosa is good for 12-18ppg.  As a starter?  Again, the intrigue would almost force GM's to bite.

Trade No. 2: Shaquille O'Neal, Raja Bell and Matt Barnes to the New York Knicks for Stephon Marbury, David Lee and Wilson Chandler.

Granted, this couldn't happen until after December 15, but that's soon enough.

This would be a gut check for a lot of Suns fans.  Bell has been solid since coming to Phoenix in 2005 and Barnes has been a great pickup for less than $1 million.  And shipping off Shaq would risk his ego and be an outright proclamation that says, "It didn't work with him after all."

We're talking about rebuilding, here, but staying competitive. 

Marbury is involved for salary reasons.  Waive him.  Send him home.  I don't care. 

Lee is the workman's yang to Stoudemire's yin.  He will rebound and hustle where Amare won't.  He'll always be a fan favorite.  He'll follow in the line of Dan Majerle and Tom Chambers as Phoenix's most popular white Suns players.

Chandler is a young talent that will provide immediate everything off the bench when Dunleavy sits. 

Why the heck would the Knicks do this?  Biggest reason—they will never get ANYTHING else for Marbury.  Rather than swallowing his salary for nothing, New York gets 15 points and nine rebounds from one of the most visible and controversial players in the league.  That's so New York. 

Bell is a D'Antoni favorite that will give the Knicks a semblance of defense, outside shooting and leadership. 

Barnes is made for D'Antoni's lineup, period.  He has to be in the deal for New York to want to do this. 

Best of all for New York, Shaq and Bell's contracts (over $26 million combined) come off the cap in 2010.

So, this is what the Suns would look like in my fantasy of rebuilding the Suns and keeping Stoudemire:

Starters:PG-Steve Nash SG-Brandon Rush, SF-Mike Dunleavy, PF-Amare Stoudemire, C-David Lee

Bench:G-Jarrett Jack, G-Sean Singletary/Goran Dragic, F-Wilson Chandler, F-Grant Hill, F-Louis Amundson, C-Robin Lopez, F-Alando Tucker

That roster might go through growing pains, but it's talented enough to win games now and grow into perennial contenders in the future. 

On top of that, Amare won't be able to complain about not being the main man.  With that much unselfish talent around him, he'd have no excuse for the team's lack of success

Rebuilding Without Amare

Ok, without Amare, the personnel to keep obviously change as well.  In this case, you keep Diaw.  Again, the idea of him as the undisputed frontcourt cog is too ticklish to ignore.  Just think back to when he diced the Mavs in the 2006 playoffs to the tune of 23 points and 12 rebounds per game. 

The great thing about Diaw is he's such a (too) willing passer, you can get scorers around him.  They won't be mad about the offense running through Diaw, because they know he'll get them the ball.

Because of Diaw's passing skills, two-time MVP Steve Nash also becomes expendable in this rebuilding scenario.  Shaq would also get the boot, because he would still dominate the block too much for Diaw to be effective. 

In other words, this would be a doozy to pull off.  But if you did it like this....

Trade No. 1: A three-way trade between the Phoenix Suns, New York Knicks and Memphis Grizzlies.  New York gets Shaquille O'Neal (Suns), Steve Nash (Suns), Leandro Barbosa (Suns) and Hakim Warrick (Grizzlies).  Memphis receives Amare Stoudemire (Suns) and a 2009 first-round pick (Suns).  Phoenix receives Rudy Gay (Grizzlies), Mike Conley (Grizzlies), Stephon Marbury (Knicks), David Lee (Knicks), Wilson Chandler (Knicks), Nate Robinson (Knicks) and Malik Rose (Knicks).

Whew.  Ok, why?

For the Knicks, three main reasons: 1) D'Antoni ball comes to New York (Nash, Barbosa and an extremely athletic four-man in Hakim Warrick).  2) They get rid of Marbury (who was doing nothing for them) for O'Neal (who will do something for them both on and off the court).  3) Nash and O'Neal's contracts (combined $32 million) come off the books in 2010.

The Grizzlies' big acquisition is obviously Stoudemire.  They get a year and half to convince him that playing/contending with O.J. Mayo outweighs the fact he'd be playing in Memphis.  The risk of losing Amare is compensated by the first-round pick the Suns would give them and a chance to have not one, but two legit superstars for the first time in the franchise's history.

The Suns, meanwhile, get Rudy Gay, who would go off cutting the lanes with Diaw ready to dish to him.  Gay also provides the highlights and toughness to Diaw's passiveness.

Nate Robinson and Mike Conley, meanwhile, get to duke it out as only young guards can for their place on the point guard hierarchy.  That kind of competition only brings out the best in young players, and both are talented enough to emerge unscathed and better for it.

Wilson Chandler and David Lee fill the roles previously mentioned in the first rebuilding scenario, and the Suns can eat the contracts of Marbury and Malik Rose knowing they'll come off the cap at the end of the season. 

So the Suns after this bonanza would look something like this:

Starters: G-Mike Conley, G-Raja Bell, F-Rudy Gay, F-Boris Diaw, C-David Lee

Bench:G-Nate Robinson, G/F-Matt Barnes, F-Wilson Chandler, F-Grant Hill, C-Robin Lopez, G-Goran Dragic, G-Sean Singletary, F-Alando Tucker, F-Louis Amundson

Again, this would be assuming you want to keep Diaw and build around his talents, which are so multi-dimensional and benefit so many other players.  Not to mention, it would make him earn his contract.

How would YOU rebuild the Suns?