Suns, 2 words on Amaré: Be careful

[Roca Dolla]

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by Paola Boivin - Jun. 30, 2009 07:48 PM
The Arizona Republic The NBA rumor mill is so out of control that this message came across Twitter on Tuesday:
Breaking News! Amar'e Stoudemire to the Lakers!! He might take less money to win a championship. The sender? Amaré Stoudemire.
Even the Suns forward is having fun with a big decision that the franchise has been mulling. Do you trade him, gain financial freedom but likely lose fans and games while in an unpopular rebuilding mode? Or do you continue to build around your go-to guy but risk being locked into a no-leverage future?
When a team is willing to deal its centerpiece, "it's generally not for talent purposes but for financial reasons or personality conflicts," Orlando Magic Senior Vice President Pat Williams said. "History would say you almost always end up on the short end."
History offers tough lessons on the far-reaching impact of tough trade decisions.
Williams knows this well. Even though he directed many successful trades, fans most remember how, as the Philadelphia 76ers' general manager in 1986, he traded Moses Malone - along with Terry Catledge and two first-round picks - for Washington's Cliff Robinson and Jeff Ruland.
Philadelphia management erred in thinking Malone's skills were on sharp decline. Malone, 31, went on to play nine productive seasons, while Robinson and Ruland spent much of their time on the bench nursing injuries.
A team three years removed from an NBA title missed the playoffs eight of the next 12 years.
The lesson? Make sure you have a firm grasp on the state of your player's skills.
Stoudemire, of course, isn't Malone. His career isn't as established, and concerns about his health, including the detached retina that sidelined him for half of last season, linger. His desire for a contract extension when he becomes eligible later this summer also clouds the issue.
On the other hand, he's 26, an age widely regarded as the start of an NBA player's prime. Many believe his best play is yet to come.
"The point is, with All-Star-caliber players, you need to be very careful before you proceed," Williams said.
Robert Parish was Stoudemire's age when Golden State traded him and a No. 3 pick in the 1980 draft to Boston for the Nos. 1 and 13 picks.
The Celtics used the third pick to take Kevin McHale, and Boston soon had one of the finest front lines in NBA history. The Celtics won three titles during Parish's reign, while the Warriors made the playoffs just once with their No. 1 draft choice, Joe Barry Carroll. Their 13th pick, Rickey Brown, averaged 4.4 points in his career.
Before the trade, Golden State was in disarray and anxious to rebuild. Many had questions about Parish's motivation. The decision proved costly and the Warriors, one of the dominant teams in the 1960s, failed to reach the postseason for six consecutive seasons after the Parish trade.
The lesson? Rebuilding requires a deft draft and astute personnel decisions.
Vince Carter was 27 when he demanded a trade from Toronto in 2004. The struggling Raptors agreed and sent him the New Jersey Nets while acquiring Alonzo Mourning, Eric Williams and Aaron Williams and two mid-to-late future first-round picks.
Mourning chose not to report, and Toronto had to buy out the remainder of his contract, while neither of the other two players made a significant impact.
The lesson? Be sure the players you acquire are on board with your plans.
Sun owner Robert Sarver and General Manager Steve Kerr have taken heat for the direction of the franchise under their leadership. The convergence of economic challenges and lack of success are likely to inspire a very real makeover.
"You build and put pieces together, you go for it and give everything you got for that big trophy," Williams said. "If you don't get there and the timing has run out, you can do one of two things: muddle along or start all over again."
Suns management is contemplating one of the biggest trades of its tenure. History sends one important message: Proceed with caution.

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[jandaman]

Stoudemire is really hurting the Suns at the moment, he is willing to take a pay cut to be on a contender. Is it because the Suns are willingly trying to rebuild and have given up on championship?

Its tough, Kerr/Sarver brought this to themselves but Stoudemire is making it 3 times harder..
As a Suns fan, Stoudemire, if this is all true, is P*ssing me off...

 

[O]

I am so sick of punk ass spoiled millionaire athletes.
They can all kiss me white Irish ..........................

 

[TJ]

http://www.arizonasportsfans.com/vb...he-suns-desires-a-trade-to-lakers-136706.html

 

[cly2tw]

Stoudemire is really hurting the Suns at the moment, he is willing to take a pay cut to be on a contender. Is it because the Suns are willingly trying to rebuild and have given up on championship?

Its tough, Kerr/Sarver brought this to themselves but Stoudemire is making it 3 times harder..
As a Suns fan, Stoudemire, if this is all true, is P*ssing me off...

Why? Because Amare wants to win a title while Suns wants to rebuild around Nash?

 

[leclerc]

It's a tough decision. If they don't get a really good deal for him they have to keep him at least until the trade deadline. He is a very talented player no doubt but the times have changed as we're definitely moving towards rebuilding.

Starting next season with:

Nash, Dragic
J-Rich, Barbosa
Dudley, Clark
Lou, Griffin
Amare, Lopez

... should at least be fun to watch. We might not make the playoffs but maybe we can deal J-Rich and/or Amare at the trading deadline for some young studs and first round draft picks.

 

[JCSunsfan]

We probably need to extend Amare.

 

[jandaman]

Why? Because Amare wants to win a title while Suns wants to rebuild around Nash?

And how is DEMANDING a MAX deal from the SUNS... but willing to take a PAY CUT to be on the LAKERS not HURTING the SUNS chances of surrounding him with the right players to contend..

You seem to be more of an Amare fan than the SUNS....

Amare can come and go, wouldnt give a crap as long as the SUNS become better from it....

You only seem to think from Amare's point of view.

 

[JCSunsfan]

And how is DEMANDING a MAX deal from the SUNS... but willing to take a PAY CUT to be on the LAKERS not HURTING the SUNS chances of surrounding him with the right players to contend..

You seem to be more of an Amare fan than the SUNS....

Amare can come and go, wouldnt give a crap as long as the SUNS become better from it....

You only seem to think from Amare's point of view.

Its just twitter. Amare has a sense of humor. Where did he demand a max deal btw? I am not sure I remember reading that anywhere. I do believe he believes he will get one.

 

[JCSunsfan]

Trading away a 26 year old pf with tremendous offensive skills and building around a 35 year old pg does not seem like the best idea for rebuilding. Nash is not a piece to build around. Amare might not be either, but Nash is definitely not.

 

[nashman]

What the hell are people smoking? Seriously resigning Nash does NOT mean we are building around him. Don't you think its possible that Nash just happens to be the best PG that we have available to us at the moment, doesn't hurt he puts fans in the seats which is really what the owner wants. Please stop with the nonsense about building around Nash.

 

[jbeecham]

Its just twitter. Amare has a sense of humor. Where did he demand a max deal btw? I am not sure I remember reading that anywhere. I do believe he believes he will get one.

His agent said he wants a MAX deal from the Suns starting at $20 mill per season.

 

[KloD]

Trading away a 26 year old pf with tremendous offensive skills and building around a 35 year old pg does not seem like the best idea for rebuilding. Nash is not a piece to build around. Amare might not be either, but Nash is definitely not.

I'm sorry, tremendous? I can't remember the number of times I yelled at the fool to pass the ball. Unfortunately, he touches it and he's going to take the shot no matter how bad. In order for me to concider his skills tremendous, he should know when it's wise to shoot and wise to pass out. Nash has tremendous offensive skills, Amare has a nice 14-17 foot shot and can dunk.

 

[Mainstreet]

Trading away a 26 year old pf with tremendous offensive skills and building around a 35 year old pg does not seem like the best idea for rebuilding. Nash is not a piece to build around. Amare might not be either, but Nash is definitely not.

If you were the owner/GM of the Suns would you really bet the bank on Amare at 20M a season considering he is not a franchise player for the Suns?

Also the Suns are not rebuilding around Nash but it might be a good idea to keep him around with an unproven backup PG in Dragic.

 

[boisesuns]

It seems like being careful would actually not be locking him and his knees up with a huge contract. Remember august 18 2005. Microfracture day. Some estimates were that he'd need another operation at his level of knee impact in 4-5 years. We are approaching those years now.

 

[dodie53]

amare for odom and ariza

 

[mojorizen7]

I'm sorry, tremendous? I can't remember the number of times I yelled at the fool to pass the ball. Unfortunately, he touches it and he's going to take the shot no matter how bad. In order for me to concider his skills tremendous, he should know when it's wise to shoot and wise to pass out. Nash has tremendous offensive skills, Amare has a nice 14-17 foot shot and can dunk.

I can't think of many players who can finish around the rim in traffic better than Stoudemire. I'm not talking about dunks either.
His back to the basket game is very weak i'll give you that.

 

[mojorizen7]

If you were the owner/GM of the Suns would you really bet the bank on Amare at 20M a season considering he is not a franchise player for the Suns?

Also the Suns are not rebuilding around Nash but it might be a good idea to keep him around with an unproven backup PG in Dragic.

Until when?...until we become a bad team? Or until a young man like Dragic is proven? Thats called a paradox.