With the moves made last week, and the extension with Steve Nash expected to be finalized this week, things are starting to take shape for next year's squad. Amar'e Stoudemire is recovering from a minor eye surgery to clean some things up and should be able to resume activities in a week or two. The interview with him in the Republic this morning did little to provide optimism for anything past the upcoming season. Amar'e said that the conversation between his agent and Steve Kerr went phenomenal although an extension was not even discussed so it's hard to imagine how great the talks actually went. Ric Bucher did post on Twitter that Amar'e to Golden State was "dead" so that is a positive sign, while rumors have been floating around of the Suns desire to remove STAT from the trade market altogether. As a Suns fan, my biased opinion would be for them to hold on to Amar'e and try and make one last run at the playoffs. However, the current team isn't built to compete with the top tier teams in the West. With that being said, the business side of me would let Amar'e enter the season with that chip on his shoulder that he always seems to harbor. That chip will only allow him to increase his trade value with All-Star caliber play in the Suns first half of 09-10. If the team is out of the mix come January, then blow it up again and call it a done deal. Re-building is obviously in the near future for the Suns one way or the other. The question is whether Sarver will give the them one more chance. By the looks of the past few days, it looks like he will, for the short-term.

Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported that 4 teams are apparently involved in the potential Shawn Marion sign and trade deal between the Dallas Mavericks and the Toronto Raptors.  The Memphis Grizzlies are the rumored third team, with the fourth still unknown at this time.  As I said before, as much as I love Shawn Marion, and would love to see him finish his career here in the Valley, there was nothing to justify his return for himself.  With what transpired over the last year and a half with the organization as a whole, what free-agent wouldn't be inclined to take his act to a team with the opportunity to contend?  If a team like Cleveland still has their mid-level exception available, then why would I consider going back home to re-build, with the chance that Steve Nash may not be around long anyway.  With Jason Kidd inked for another 3 years, (which was stupid on Cuban's part, but he's been known to panic) Marion will have the opportunity to exploit his ability in a system somewhat similar to here in PHX.  I know Suns fans don't want to hear this but if I was Marion, coming home to Phoenix would be last on my wish list.  

With the likelihood of Amar'e Stoudemire becoming an ex-Phoenix Sun seeming to grow by the day, I thought I would post a snippet from an NBA post about a month ago.  Judging by what we h ave been hearing recently, I have to think that Amar'e to G.S. would rank up there with the top 3 worst Suns trades ever.  I did leave Barkley's trade to Houston off the list due to the fact that Charles wanted to leave anyway, and Jerry tried to get as many bodies as possible in return.

From: Left Coast P.O.V.

Reminds me a lot of the Phoenix Suns 3 worst trades in franchise history.

• 1983 - Dennis Johnson sent to Boston for Rick Robey. Who is Rick Robey you ask? Read about his "Life after the DJ Trade."
• 1995 - Dan Majerle sent to Cleveland for John “Hot Rod” Williams, when they could have had Scottie Pippen the year before. Remember at the '95 All-Star game in Phoenix, they interviewed Pip in the locker room and he mentioned how good he looked in purple.
• 2001 - Jason Kidd sent to New Jersey for Stephon Marbury. J Kidd famously found out about being traded from a Taco Bell employee at the drive thru in Paradise Valley. He then responded by leading the Nets to the Finals two consecutive seasons.

Let me know what you think?  Give me some feedback, and if there are any trades I failed to mention that should be, by all means. 

Last week's salary dump of Shaquille O'Neal for Sasha Pavlovic's expiring contract and what's left of Ben Wallace, was a move Suns fans had seen coming in an effort to trim the massive payroll.  Many saw it as nothing more than an admission by the front office of their miserable short-comings with the entire Marion/Shaq deal.  However, with the continued trade speculation swirling around Amar'e Stoudemire, it appears that Steve Kerr and Robert Sarver are not yet finished trimming off some extra fat.  Chris Broussard did report that the Suns are discussing an extension with Amar'e which I also touched on briefly @ SunsInsider.   Sun Tzu apparently held what he billed as his "going away party" at the Mondrian Hotel in Scottsdale last weekend.  Yet on Monday STAT is seen and heard at Lifetime Fitness pledging his allegiance to Phoenix.  And to top that off, @Amareisreal sends tweets this morning saying he will possibly take a pay cut to join the Lakers and win a championship.  Normally I wouldn't pay it any attention except for that it is the second time he has made mention of the Lakers, though it's hard to imagine L.A. even being interested in an injury-prone 26 year old when they already have Pau Gasol and their own injury-prone young center in Andrew Bynum.  But if I am understanding this correctly: Amar'e is apparently prepared to be traded somewhere, though he truly wants to remain in Phoenix, but only if the price is right, yet he would play for less for the Suns biggest rival?Such is the world we live in today I suppose.   

There was an interesting article in the Republic this morning regarding the future of Amar'e Stoudemire with the Suns. His agent, Charles Grantham, is pleading with Steve Kerr for an answer, one way or the other on whether or not STAT fits in the Suns future plans. Does anybody really see the sense in giving Amar'e an extension valued at over $20 million a year given his injury-riddled past? Don't play me cheap like Sarver, I would love to see Stoudemire stay in Phoenix for quite sometime, but his desire to be the man on any given team appears to outweigh his desire to win. The Amar'e Stoudemire who averaged 37 points a game against Tim Duncan in the '05 playoffs would surely merit such an extension. However the microfracture/torn iris that has cost him more than a season and a half raises quite a few eyebrows. This seems to be developing into a lose/lose situation for the Suns. Trading Amar'e right now will not net you equal value in return, while giving him a max extension is just as risky. If STAT isn't happy with either situation, he will end up forfeiting his $17 million for 2010-11 by opting out and leaving on his own. As much as I chastise Steve Kerr, this is definitely a moment where I would rather not walk in his shoes. No matter which direction the organization chooses to proceed, there will undoubtedly be backlash from Suns faithful regardless.