I know this topic has been done to death, but I wanted to put it all in one place for discussion.  I also wanted to chime in with my two cents' worth.  If I'm missing something on any of the players discussed or if I missed a guy or two to discussion, leave your scathing comments for me.

I'm also looking at essentially "man-for-man" trades.  I really don't want to see Amare traded for cap space, more role players and draft picks.  We already have role players (Dudley, Amundson, Barnes-who-doesn't-know-his role).  The draft is a bit risky and even when the Suns have used their picks, few have panned out since Amare.

The main question I have is "What would the Suns want to get for him?"  Question 1b is "what are your [Suns' fans] expectations of The Big Apostrophe?"

Post your rants here; more analysis below.

First, some background.  He's under contract through the 2009-2010 season.  He has a player option for the 2010-2011 year.  So, after 2010 he could walk.  If the Suns think he's going to walk, they definitely need to trade him before the 2010 trade deadline or get nothing.  From that standpoint, he doesn't NEED to be traded this year.  So, WHY would the Suns trade him?

Next, discussion about the two questions, in reverse order.

"What are your [Suns' fans] expectations of The Big Apostrophe?"

If anyone thinks Amare is of the same make-up as KG or TD, you just haven't been paying attention.  For all of this strengths, determination, will, tough upbringing that he overcame, he is simply not on par with the all-time greats.  He has yet to drop to the level of a T-Mac or Vince Carter, but he's definitely never going to be in the highest echelon of NBA players.

At worst, he's one of the top offensive players in the NBA that can finish at the rim, hit jumpers, make his free throws and deliver clutch hoops in crunch time.  At worst, he's a poor rebounder that is often out of position on defense who is prone to unnecessary fouls and silly technicals.  At worst, he gets 15 points and 5 rebounds and an assist or two without trying (and he hasn't been trying much lately).

Given this as his "worst" how many other players in the leauge are better than this "worst"?  Duncan, Garnett, Howard and ...

On any given night, other PFs/Cs in the leauge are better than him, but would the Suns want any of those players?  Therefore, "What would the Suns want to get for him?" 

Dirk Nowitzki?  Would that really help?  I think not.  On Dirk, exactly how much better of a rebounder and defender is he than Amare?  Not much.  Even in his MVP season, I don't know that Dirk is leaps and bounds ahead of Amare.

Carlos Boozer?  He is a great player, but he has peaked.  He is a tough guy and I kind of think I might like him on this team.  He has been injured recently, however, and does have a history of renegging on his word.  Could Aaron Nelson fix the former?  Does Sarver/Kerr have the ability of Colangelo in regard to personality?

Chris Bosh?  Why would the Suns trade for a skinnier, slightly less explosive player?  How does this help?

Rasheed Wallace?  A guy with post moves, a three-point shot and good defense.  He's also in the last year of a contract that is $2M below Amare's.  Cap relief this year and next.  He's also a Detroit player and may get along better with Porter.  He gets a few more techs than Amare, but I'd say that's pretty close to a wash.  Could he play alongside Shaq?  Probably.  He can stay on the perimeter on offense when Shaq is in and help on defense in the paint.

My thoughts (as of today) are that Wallace is the only guy that makes sense to trade for, if a trade is going to happen.  I don't know that Detroit would do it, though.  You want AI and STAT on the same team?  And, take on another big contract?  Not so sure.

I just don't see any other realistic trade making this team better.