You’ve got to love it when trade rumors surface in Toronto and New York about a player being on the block in Arizona. That’s what we saw over the weekend, as outlets in both places had Suns forward Amar’e Stoudemire being traded before the deadline. They probably should have checked with the Suns, however, as a source close to the situation told HOOPSWORLD today that there is absolutely no truth to the notion that they’re shopping Amar’e.
It’s not hard to see where the trade talk is coming from. Shaquille O’Neal isn’t happy about the level of intensity he’s seeing from his teammates in general and Amar’e specifically. He’s been more than vocal on that point. Say what you want about Shaq, but he’s in the best shape I’ve seen him in for a long, long time and he believes he can help another team win a championship before his time is up. Imagine how he must feel after putting in all that work to get into shape only to have his teammates let up.
Amar’e is expected to be one of the biggest names in free agency during the summer of 2010, and that won’t change a whole lot even with his current lackadaisical approach to the game. It will generally be assumed that he’d play harder for a different coach or in a different system. That said, if you’re a general manager looking to spend the bulk of your cap space on a franchise player, there may be better options available in 2010 than a guy who seems to have quit on his current team. Amar’e should keep that in mind as he thinks about how he wants to finish the 2008-09 season . . .whether that’s in Phoenix or somewhere else.
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