Amare Stoudemire Trade Rumors, Knicks
Amare Stoudemire might not get a contract extension with the Suns. Instead, he may be traded. According to Yahoo! Sports, the Suns have stepped up their efforts to trade Stoudemire. A list of possible trade suitors include the Bulls, Heat, 76ers, Nets, Pistons, Warriors, Cavaliers and Timberwolves. 
The Knicks do not appear on the list of teams interested in Stoudemire and the reason for this is they have an abundance of forwards and are in desperate need of a point guard. Stoudemire doesn’t fill an immediate hole, but acquiring him now and signing him to an extension would behoove the Knicks.
The Knicks probably wouldn’t be able to land Stoudemire in a trade, even if they were interested. They don’t have the pieces to make a trade with the Suns and I’m not sure Suns general manager Steve Kerr would want to send Stoudemire to D’Antoni’s team. Also, acquiring Stoudemire and signing him to an extension may mean no LeBron or other all-star free agent. Depending on the team’s finances, they may not have enough cap room to sign another superstar this summer if they were able to get Stoudemire and sign him to an extension. The Knicks seem more focused on getting LeBron, Wade or Bosh.
If the finances do work out and the Knicks would send the contracts of either Jared Jeffries or Eddy Curry to the Suns in the deal, getting Stoudemire and signing him to an extension may give the Knicks a step up over other teams in free agency. A LeBron, Wade or another guard-type player may see the Knicks as a better place to go to with Stoudemire’s presence. I keep bringing up the idea of getting Stoudemire and signing him to an extension because the Knicks shouldn’t do it if he doesn’t have intentions of signing a long-term deal with them before the season is over. Acquiring him for the remainder of this season and having him become a free agent and signing elsewhere wouldn’t be a good move for the Knicks unless in the trade the Knicks give the Suns a flurry of bad contracts.
Although the Knicks may not have the goods to get a deal done, they should get involved in talks with the Suns, if nothing more than to test the waters. Stoudemire is familiar with D’Antoni’s system and pairing him with an all-star caliber guard from the free agent class would be the Knicks’ goal. The Knicks will be using Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler’s names to persuade free agents to come to New York. Why not get one of the coveted upcoming free agents now and use his name to persuade a free agent guard to come to New York. As good as Gallo and Chandler are, having Stoudemire would be a better persuasion point for a superstar.
Donnie Walsh is putting his efforts toward trying to acquire a point guard, like Ricky Rubio. Walsh has been trying to get Rubio for a while and he has recently reopened the door to the discussion. Amare Stoudemire doesn’t seem to fit into the Knicks cards right now and a lot of Knick fans probably don’t want him. Stoudemire is probably ranked between No. 6-8 of the top ten free agents the Knicks would like to sign this summer. If acquiring him means they can’t sign someone between No. 1-5, they won’t do it. As long as they still have a shot at LeBron, they won’t take anyone else.
It’s too bad because I think Stoudemire would be a great Knick. Signing one of the game’s premiere players isn’t definite for the Knicks this summer. Lebron may stay in Cleveland, Wade may stay in Miami and other top free agents may go elsewhere. If able to acquire Stoudemire before February 18’s trade deadling, the Knicks should do it. Even though they don’t need a forward/center right now, they will next season. They’ll be able to let David Lee walk and have one of the best, young forwards in the game in Stoudemire. Injuries aside, Stoudemire is one of the better players in the game and could help the Knicks win in the future.
Post By Rich Santonocito
Tags: Amare Stoudemire, Danilo Gallinari, Wilson Chandler
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As good as Amare is, and boy is he good, i think Steve Nash makes him much better than he actually is. Those two players have nearly perfected the pick and roll and Nash is easily one of the best creators in the game. Your right, he is going to be one of the top free agents this summer and the Knicks do need a point guard, but when you dont have a guard to create for Amare, he doesnt have many choices. He can shoot the 15 footer very accurately, but has little post-up game having not developed it in the “7 seconds or less” system. He’s a below-average rebounder for his position having never had a 10 rebound per-game average for any season in his career despite being the same height as David Lee.
My opinion on what the Knicks should do is stand pat, hope for a good draft pick (maybe John Wall but not going to hold my breath on that), and sign the best free agents available, which includes David Lee.
Forgot to mention Amare’s awful defense.
The Knicks do not own a first round pick in this year’s upcoming draft. John Wall is going to be a top 5 pick, if not the first overall pick in the draft. You can forget about Wall. As for Stoudemire’s post-up abilities, as you said, he didn’t develop it in D’Antoni’s system and if he comes to the Knicks, obviously he’d be playing in D’Antoni’s system, so that’s a nonissue. While I highly doubt the Knicks make a move for Stoudemire, I think it would be worth their while. The asking price will not fit what the Knicks have so it won’t happen.
Stoudemire is a proven player in D’Antoni’s system and with the help of a top notched guard, he would excel in New York.