Suns Basketball » 2010 NBA Free Agents

More Power to the Fans: An Interview with Dave Zirin

Fanhouse NBA Blog - suns — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 01:57:08 +0000

Filed under: Heat, Hornets, Mavericks, Nuggets, Suns, Trail Blazers, NBA Fans, NBA Media Watch, Interviews, Sports Business and Media

For over a decade now, author and radio personality Dave Zirin has tirelessly explored the intersection of sports and politics. He has two main angles of attack: spotlighting the rare athletes who make their views known, and laying out the ways in which politics seep into our discourse of sport.

It's an uphill battle, to be sure. Many fans look on major leagues as the ultimate form of escapism. They represent an oasis, a place to get all worked up over things that don't really matter. Next to figuring out immigration, the economy, race relations, war, and abortion, lamenting a tough playoff loss or your team's lack of a rebounding might as well be comfort food.

Feminists have long insisted that "the personal is political," and met with varying degrees of resistance for it. For Zirin, sport is always political -- whether or not that's a message we want to hear. Go ahead, accuse him of cherry-picking when he spotlights rabble-rousers like Etan Thomas or Josh Howard. When he calls foul on Stern's dress code, or takes issue with Team USA's Republican leadership, tuck him safely away in The Nation, away from the mainstream sports page.

But It's becoming harder and harder to ignore Zirin's perspective. Earlier this year, he was instrumental in fomenting for a boycott of the 2011 MLB All-Star Game in Arizona, a movement that has now been taken up by the players themselves. During the Los Suns saga, Zirin reported that union head Billy Hunter would like to see more in the way of NBA activism.

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Despite Champion Lakers, NBA Seeing Power Shift From West to East

Fanhouse NBA Blog - suns — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 23:36:03 +0000

by Chris Tomasson

Filed under: 76ers, Bobcats, Bucks, Bulls, Cavaliers, Celtics, Hawks, Heat, Jazz, Knicks, Lakers, Magic, Mavericks, Nets, Nuggets, Spurs, Suns, Timberwolves, Trail Blazers, Wizards, Eastern, Western, Thunder, NBA Free Agents

LAS VEGAS -- This continental divide started in 1996 when Shaquille O'Neal bolted from Orlando in the East to the Lakers in the West. It really got going when Michael Jordan retired from Chicago in the East in 1998.

But those in the East are getting tired of having sand kicked in their faces.

Yes, the Western Conference still has won nine of the past 12 NBA titles and 10 of the last 11 seasonal inter-conference battles. Yet there finally is starting to be some chortling in the East.

After losing the conference regular season match-up for nine straight years, the East finally broke through in 2008-09 to win 51.3 percent of the games between the conferences. The West came back to win 54.7 percent of the battles last season (it didn't help that New Jersey and New York, in trying to clear salary-cap room, weren't trying to win). But this summer has shown the East could end up being the dominant conference this decade.

Of those generally believed to be the top eight free agents, seven signed with East teams. Five (LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh, Joe Johnson and Paul Pierce) stayed in the East and two went from West to East (Amar'e Stoudemire from Phoenix to New York and Carlos Boozer from Utah to Chicago). The only one to end up with a West team was Dirk Nowitzki re-signing with Dallas.

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Amar’e Stoudemire ‘Would Have Stayed’ Had Suns Guaranteed 5 Years

Fanhouse NBA Blog - suns — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 08:28:38 +0000

by Chris Tomasson

Filed under: Knicks, Suns, USA Basketball, NBA Free Agents

LAS VEGAS -- On Friday, forward Amar'e Stoudemire took out a full-page ad in the Arizona Republic to thank Phoenix Suns fans for his eight seasons there.

On Saturday, while it wasn't in the ad, Stoudemire said the Suns could have kept him from bolting to the New York Knicks as a free agent had they offered him a fully guaranteed five-year maximum contract.

"Definitely. If they had done that, I would have stayed,'' Stoudemire said in an interview Saturday with FanHouse at the NBA Summer League. "They only gave me three years guaranteed.''

So Stoudemire ended up agreeing to a five-year, $100 million contract with the Knicks before the deal turned into a sign-and-trade in which Phoenix was able to get a trade exception.

The Suns wanted to guarantee Stoudemire's final two seasons only if he reached certain incentives regarding minutes played. Stoudemire didn't want to dwell on not getting the offer he wanted from the Suns.

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In Phoenix, Lon Babby Blurs the Lines

Fanhouse NBA Blog - suns — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 21:50:35 +0000

by Tom Ziller

Filed under: Hawks, Raptors, Suns, NBA Free Agents

News broke early Sunday that noted agent Lon Babby had become a top candidate for the vacant Suns general managership previously held by Steve Kerr, who left Phoenix due to a contract dispute with owner Robert Sarver. An agent slipping into a team role isn't unprecedented in sports or in the NBA, but it's rare enough to be surprising when it does happen.

But there's a particularly interesting wrinkle in Babby's Phoenix candidacy. On Sunday, the Suns reportedly agreed to trade away Leandro Barbosa and Dwayne Jones for the obscene contract of Hedo Turkoglu, who happens to be a Babby client, while also signing Josh Childress, a recent Babby client, to an exceedingly fair deal.

Everyone knows agents really run the NBA. But that's usually kept behind closed doors. With these moves, Babby is blurring the lines way too much.

Turkoglu has been disgruntled in Toronto after a really horrible season, his first after signing a five-year, $52.8 million contract with the Raptors. Fans in T-Dot were none too pleased with Turkoglu's alleged late-night lifestyle amid a tough, emotional and (worst of all) losing campaign for the Raptors.

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Report: Suns to Acquire Hedo Turkoglu, Josh Childress

Fanhouse NBA Blog - suns — Mon, 12 Jul 2010 06:44:59 +0000

by Brett Pollakoff

Filed under: Hawks, Raptors, Suns, NBA Free Agents

The Suns are wasting no time in attempting to fill the gaping hole in their lineup left by the loss of Amar'e Stoudemire to the Knicks in free agency. The question is, are they doing it with the right pieces?

Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic is reporting that Phoenix is "on the verge" of sending Leandro Barbosa to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for Hedo Turkoglu. The Suns will give up part of the trade exception they received for Stoudemire to make the numbers work, since Turkoglu has four years left on his contract at about $11 million a season.

Phoenix is also working out a sign-and-trade with Atlanta to acquire the rights to Josh Childress, who played four seasons for the Hawks before leaving to play in Greece in 2008. The Suns are said to be parting with a second-round draft pick to acquire Childress, who is expected to be signed to a five-year, $30 million deal in Phoenix.

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Louis Amundson Likely to Leave Suns, Eyeing Move to Nuggets

Fanhouse NBA Blog - suns — Sat, 10 Jul 2010 09:19:03 +0000

by Chris Tomasson

Filed under: Nuggets, Suns, NBA Free Agents

The Phoenix Suns might be losing another popular forward.

OK, so Louis Amundson is nowhere near the player of Amar'e Stoudemire, who bolted to New York as a free agent. But he is one of the most popular Suns players, and the fans chant "Loooooooooou'' whenever he prepares to enter a game.

But the free agent big man said in an interview with FanHouse on Friday he doesn't think he will return to Phoenix.

"The deal they offered me they knew I wasn't going to accept,'' said Amundson. "It was a one-year deal.''

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David Lee Headed for Golden State in Sign-and-Trade

Fanhouse NBA Blog - suns — Fri, 09 Jul 2010 03:05:09 +0000

by Sam Amick

Filed under: Knicks, Suns, Warriors, NBA Free Agents

The Golden State Warriors will be rewarded for LeBron James' South Beach state of mind.

According to a source close to the Warriors, a sign-and-trade sending David Lee from New York to Golden State in exchange for Anthony Randolph, Kelenna Azubuike, Ronny Turiaf and a second-round pick was very likely to go through before James announced his decision to head for Miami on national television Thursday night.

So long as James didn't choose the Knicks.

Since that was the case, Lee's agent, Mark Bartelstein, confirmed to FanHouse minutes afterward that the forward who averaged 20.2 points and 11.7 rebounds last season will sign a six-year, $80 million deal to join the Warriors. Randolph was the main incentive for the Knicks, who see star potential in the 6-foot-11 big man who is entering his third season.

New Jersey was believed to be the Warriors' most threatening competition for Lee, but the initial source had insisted the Nets wouldn't continue in their pursuit of Lee. Phoenix had also shown interest in landing Lee via sign-and-trade. Matt Steinmetz of Comcast SportsNet and Marcus Thompson of the Contra Costa Times first reported the trade talks, with Steinmetz reporting before James' decision that the Warriors and Knicks had agreed to the deal. Yet Bartelstein told FanHouse on Thursday afternoon, "There is no deal at this point. Nothing (is) agreed to."

This article was updated to reflect the completed agreement.

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Does Amar’e Stoudemire Have Something to Prove?

Fanhouse NBA Blog - suns — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 11:01:34 +0000

by Bethlehem Shoals

Filed under: Knicks, Suns, NBA Free Agents

Amar'e Stoudemire is the NBA's ultimate moving target, or dazzling quasar, or other weird object that frustrates us with power and elusiveness. Stoudemire, introduced Monday as the Knicks first major off-season acquisition, is neither as good as he (or his fans) think he is, nor as bad as some would like him to be. As a player and personality, Amar'e is dynamic, charismatic, and just plain big, but he's not -- get used to hearing this -- LeBron James.

Other players have looked to join the Knicks to take the next step toward empire. For Stoudemire, thriving under the brightest lights of all, and proving he's not a flake, wouldn't just justify the huge contract and franchise savior (for now) tag. It makes sense of a career that, up to this point, has been notable for its ability to confound and frustrate at every turn.

The classic Amar'e bind: For the last few seasons, he has been up for trade at the deadline. Among the teams that passed on him are the Portland Trail Blazers and Cleveland Cavaliers, both of whom probably wish, right now, that they could count Stoudemire among their ranks. Then again, Amar'e now is on the path to righteousness, having caught the defense and rebounding bug at the end of last season. That wasn't the Amar'e Portland could have had in 2009, or Cleveland this February.

Teams have missed out, but Stoudemire's sold himself short. In New York, we'll get to see just how ready to he is to step out of that liminal zone. First and foremost, Amar'e is playing for legacy. In his case, though, that really means revealing to us just who the hell he is.

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Stoudemire, Knicks Agree on Max Deal

Fanhouse NBA Blog - suns — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 14:49:23 +0000

by FanHouse Newswire

Filed under: Knicks, Suns, NBA Free Agents

NEW YORK (AP) -- Amar'e Stoudemire is headed to the New York Knicks, and both sides are hoping he's not coming alone.

The Knicks said Monday they intend to sign Stoudemire to a contract later this week when the free agent moratorium period ends. Stoudemire's agent, Happy Walters, said the deal is for the maximum allowed, which would be nearly $100 million over five years.

Wearing a blue Knicks hat, Stoudemire said he looked forward to rebuilding a franchise and bringing the Knicks back to the top-maybe with a player such as LeBron James or Dwyane Wade with him.

"I feel great about being a pioneer and showing my leadership," he said at Madison Square Garden, where signs throughout the entrances showed the player pictured in a Knicks uniform and reading "Welcome, Amar'e Stoudemire."

The deal can't be signed until Thursday, after the salary cap for next season has been set.

It was a desperately needed score in free agency for the Knicks, who spent two seasons clearing enough cap space to afford two top players. They met with James, Wade and Chris Bosh last week and believe they could still land one of them.

Shoals: Does Stoudemire Have Something to Prove? | SI.com: What's Next for Knicks?

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Agent: Stoudemire, Knicks Agree on Deal

Fanhouse NBA Blog - suns — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 09:45:57 +0000

by Sam Amick

Filed under: Knicks, Suns, NBA Free Agents

The New York Knicks are not waiting for LeBron James.

Not entirely, anyway.

According to two sources with knowledge of the process, the Knicks and forward Amar'e Stoudemire spent Monday afternoon finalizing the forward's five-year, $100 million agreement to join the Knicks. With the structure of the deal in place, they then proceeded to a meeting with Stoudemire, his agent Happy Walters, and Knicks owner James Dolan for a final presentation before the deal was expected to be finalized. After the meeting, Walters told FanHouse "We are done in principle," although no contracts can be signed until July 8.

Knicks president of basketball operations Donnie Walsh and another source close to the process told FanHouse just before the meeting that Stoudemire had not verbally committed, but it would have been surprising to all involved if he hadn't committed Monday and instead chose to keep tentative appointments with New Jersey and Chicago for Tuesday. By Monday evening, the Knicks had already all but announced the agreement with a picture on the Garden marquee.

Share The likely Stoudemire agreement would mean that one of the prominent free agents of this celebrated 2010 class has finally made a decision. It could affect James' final decision as well, as he would then be well aware that opting for the Knicks means a pairing with his good friend in Stoudemire.

That notion was reportedly discussed in the Knicks' second meeting with James on Saturday in Cleveland, when New York is believed to have clarified the possibilities relating to their salary cap situation as well as discussed players he might be surrounded by to form a championship-caliber team.

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