The Suns considering a trade for Amare ??
Last Updated on Saturday, 24 January 2009 03:31
Written by admin
Saturday, 24 January 2009 03:31
Source(CBSsports.com)
NEW YORK — Steve Nash stood in the corner of the visiting locker room at Madison Square Garden, his whispered tone barely audible after another inexplicable defeat. Moments later, Shaquille O’Neal sat in front of his locker and provided his typically blunt brand of Shaq-analysis.
On the other side of the room, Amare Stoudemire adjusted his cufflinks and brushed lint off his snazzy vest while delivering what qualified as the most forthright indictment of the Phoenix Suns’ downfall. Stoudemire marveled at the freewheeling play of Wednesday night’s opponent, Mike D’Antoni’s Knicks, and seemed to be longing for the days when the Suns had that much fun playing basketball.
Those days appear to be over. The sun may be dipping below the horizon on Phoenix’s four-year run of near-greatness.
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| Amare Stoudemire’s Suns are barely in the West playoff picture. (Getty Images) |
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“You want to play free,” Stoudemire was saying after the listless Suns succumbed to the Knicks 114-109, their fourth loss in five games. “You want to play organized basketball, but you do want to have some type of playground atmosphere — the type of attitude where guys can’t stop you and everybody’s having fun. That type of attitude is what we’re looking for and what we need.”
A week ago, the Suns had won three straight — including impressive victories over Dallas and Atlanta — and were beginning to feel good about themselves for the first time since the latest foundation-shaking trade that sent D’Antoni mainstays Boris Diaw and Raja Bell to Charlotte for Jason Richardson.
Until their current slide, which includes consecutive road losses to the Celtics and Knicks and a home loss to the lowly Timberwolves, there was unanimity within the organization to ride through the rest of the season with the roster intact and resist the urge to make any more major changes. But the recent trend is so disturbing that rival executives believe the Suns have quickly changed course and are “re-evaluating” that position.
At various times this season, the Suns have conveyed a willingness to move backup point guard Leandro Barbosa — another D’Antoni favorite — if the right deal came along. Given Phoenix’s lackluster play of late, CBSSports.com has learned that the organization might now be open to considering a much bigger deal — one involving Stoudemire.
Having played five games in seven nights including two sets of back-to-backs, the Suns’ elder statesmen — Shaq, Nash and Grant Hill — wouldn’t admit it, but they were tired. One might have expected a pick-me-up from Stoudemire, the team’s youngest star at 26. Instead, Stoudemire gave the Suns nothing in consecutive losses at Boston and New York, shooting a combined 6-for-24 — including 0-for-7 against the Celtics.
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