After Tons Of Hand-Wringing, Amare Stoudemire Likely Staying In Phoenix

For the second straight year, Amare Stoudemire was the big fish in the pool at the NBA Trade Deadline. For the second straight year, it looks like he’s not going anywhere.

Fanhouse first reported yesterday that Stoudemire was likely to stay in Phoenix, quoting Stoudemire himself, coach Alvin Gentry and a couple sources. ESPN’s Marc Stein confirmed Fanhouse’s report just now with a quote from owner Robert Sarver indicating he met with Stoudemire last night to tell him he’s likely staying put.

This isn’t exactly a good thing for either party. Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski tweets that Stoudemire’s agent and Suns GM Steve Kerr had “several tense conversations” last night about this. ESPN’s Chad Ford quotes a source saying Stoudemire is going to be upset about this. Fanhouse, who wrote earlier that Stoudemire was considering not opting out of his contract this summer, asked Stoudemire again last night, and Stoudemire said nothing had changed on that front. In other words, it appears we’re headed toward an unsavory divorce.

For more on the Amare situation, check out SB Nation’s Suns blog Bright Side of the Sun, who has been tracking this news all day.