Phoenix Suns Looking To Dump Stoudemire By Trade Deadline. Again.

Sports News - January 25th, 2010 - Written By John

As teams begin looking for ways to dump liability and other teams look for scraps to turn around their season, Amar'e Stoudemire's name has once again risen in trade talks before the All-Star break.

The Phoenix Suns' forward, recently named to his fifth All-Star game, is being offered on the market by team executives who hope to move him by the Feb. 18 trade deadline. The team said it is simply hoping to get rid of his salary, and acquire younger, cheaper talent along with NBA draft picks.

There are about a dozen teams who have already expressed interest, namely the Miami Heat, Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets and Detroit Pistons. Mild interest has also come from the Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers.

General manager Steve Kerr has been trying to move Stoudemire for several years due to his bulky contract that will net him $17.7 million next year. But that comes as a player option for '10, and he could choose to opt out of that deal if he is traded to a team out of his preference. And with a monster free agent class already looming, with stars like LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwayne Wade at the end of their deals, teams will be scrambling to get their piece of the deal to keep pace.

That will cause a flurry of spending from teams who are essentially required to get the best players, thus making it a big pay day for many of those free agents. That would benefit Stoudemire, who may get an even bigger deal if the New York Knicks or New Jersey Nets miss out on one of the other stars.

Moreover, that puts those teams in a precarious position if they want to trade for Stoudemire, because he may just opt out of the deal only after this season, making it almost not even worth the draft picks and young talent.

Adding to the contradiction is the fact that Stoudemire is a health risk, battling knee and eye injuries recently, but remains one of the top players in the league with 20.9 points and 8.6 rebounds per game. He and Steve Nash have the Suns at 26-19, firmly planted in the fourth spot in the Western Conference.