Don't Trade Amare

by gorillagame on Jul 2, 2009 9:53 AM MDT

For the last few months I have been going back and forth on my opinion about what this team should do. At last years trade deadline i was sick to my stomach from the trade rumors of Stoudemire for a couple bodies with mediocre talent. The only trade that I have felt good about was the proposed Golden State trade if it included Curry, but even then a feeling of relief came over me when that trade apparently died. In conclusion i have made up my mind. We need to build around Stoudemire. There isn't enough talent available and teams wont be willing to give up the talent that could make up for his absence. Golden State fans have been getting on this blog and blogging on their own blog about how they don't want Amare if it means giving up Curry. Why? I love the kid but he hasn't played a single game in the NBA. My guess is that he will be good but who knows? Stoudemire is already a proven player. Sure he lacks defensively but the guy is a beast. He has the ability to play defense and who knows, maybe he steps it up and proves everyone wrong. My point is, I would rather take the risk of keeping Stoudemire than the risk of losing him. If we trade him away for a bunch of mediocre talent it would have the potential as being one of the worst trades in history and would haunt this franchise for years to come. With the luck this franchise has had the last few years if we trade Stoudemire he would probably end up being the MVP of the league. I understand the reasoning behind people wanting to get rid of Amare but what's the rush? Why not keep him for one more year, giving him a full year under gentry while healthy and hopefully playing with an active center (Chandler) that wont take up the whole key on offense. If it doesn't work out, then we don't resign him next year and we use the money that we would have used on him to sign another big name. We need to be able to compete next year. If Im not mistaken, we dont even have a first round pick next year so not making the playoffs would be even more devastating (could you imagine not making the playoffs and winning the lottery?!!! i dont even want to think about it) Even if we are in rebuilding mode we need something strong to build around. As of right now the strongest thing available is Stoudemire. Kerr, please, just decide what you are going to do and hopefully have it involve the suns keeping Stoudemire. All this speculation about what the team is going to do is getting old.

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Don't Trade Amare

BRAVO!
The Suns should be rebuilding around Amare with Steve Nash sprinkled into the mix. Combined with Grant Hill, Jason Richardson, Matt Barnes and a strong center -possibly Antonio McDyess – the Suns would have a line-up that could play a fast scoring, high talent game that should get us into the play-offs. Who knows – with the trouble Utah has with their stagnant line-up and Dallas is facing with Kidd looking to leave, the Suns may get a 6 spot and make it past the first round of the play-offs.

by fedres on Jul 2, 2009 10:32 PM MDT reply actions

you must not have watched last season.

PG: steve nash, goran dragic
SG: jason richardson, leandro barbosa, alando tucker
SF: grant hill, matt barnes, jared dudley
PF: amaré stoudemire, lou amundson
C: shaquille o’neal, robin lopez

out of the names you just mentioned, that was our starting five plus our backup SF, matt barnes. in no way is that a “rebuilding movement”. that’s keeping the exact same team as last year, minus shaq, plus dice…which is a significant downgrade for us (and he’s just as old).

by Trevor Paxton on Jul 3, 2009 7:38 PM MDT reply actions

Don't Trade Amare

No, Shaq was not one of the names I mentioned and the Suns would have made the play-offs if we had a faster center capable of playing a true run and gun game.
How often did we have four players on the court waiting for Shaq to catch-up. It is virtually impossible to play an up tempo game when you are trying to drag a 37-year old lead weight down the court. And when the big man finally sauntered his way to the basket, Shaq often gave they ball up to turnovers a crucial times.
It is no mystery that the Suns often played better when Shaq was on the bench than when he was actually on the court. In short Shaq was just the opposite of the energizer bunny- he was a momentum killer. Steve Kerr and his merry band never should have brought Shaq to Phoenix. It never was a match made in heaven. Instead, it was a failed experiment.
However, with the right center – many people seem to like Chandler -and a real commitment to our core players, this can work.

by fedres on Jul 3, 2009 11:33 PM MDT reply actions

all or nothing

I agree that we should hold pat on the line up that we have currently. Meaning keeping Nash for a year and signing Amare long turn. Other than that im really ok with the suns completely rebuilding after this season. That means letting Nash go and signing a big name to play along side Amare in 10/11 free agency. If our best hope is a second round exit, why not play our rookies more and try to reload when a better crop of free agents come around and we have cap space and our MLE. I dont think we need to sign a center for this upcoming season unless we are also able to dump JRICH’s salary. A multi year contract can only hinder what we try to achieve during next years free agency period, which will be much better. With no realistic chance of a championship this seems the most logical.

by cap space on Jul 4, 2009 1:13 AM MDT reply actions

Don't Trade Amare

There’s a problem with holding off on getting a center because of 2010 consideration -we may still have Steve Kerr and his gang making the decisions.
They have a history of shaving payroll and not reinvesting in the Suns. I’d hate to see us save money on salary commitments this year in anticipation of a big move next year and find that the owner’s don’t want to make the financial commitment that’s needed for the Suns to succeed.
Let’s get a quality center and keep Amare, Steve Nash, Grant Hil, Jason Richardson. Let’s also keep Matt Barnes and Leandro Barbossa in the mix.

by fedres on Jul 4, 2009 2:05 AM MDT reply actions