http://dimemag.com/2012/01/nba-rumors-knicks-bulls-and-warriors-potential-destinations-for-dwight-howard/

The above article suggests that the Knicks might be interested in trading for Dwight Howard (who isn't?) with a package centered around Amar'e Stoudemire. Here are a few thoughts on that potential trade:

1) If the Knicks had Anthony and Howard, they'd need some floor spacing, the article suggests Chandler can play power-forward but all three of those guys operate best on the block, a certain way to stagnate an offense.

2) The trade as proposed probably wouldn't net the magic enough back to let them contend, but wouldn't allow them to rebuild either, leaving the magic in a lower-seed no-mans land (sound familiar?)

3) Howard on the Knicks would basically ensure Deron Williams became a free agent. I can't see any situation where Howard declines to take more money to play in New York with Carmelo Anthony (a guy he once said would be the guy in the league he'd most like to play with). Leaving Deron Williams as the only Marquee free-agent and no big-markets with cap space, meaning that he'd then have to choose between smaller markets with the deciding factor most likely being the quality of their supporting casts.

These thoughts led me to come up with the following piece of rosterbation

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There has been a lot of chatter lately about the Suns moving Steve Nash. Most ESPN commentators think we should trade him immediately, most probably to the Lakers for Luke Walton and a 2nd round draft pick in 2038. There's also more talk about the Suns in general, should they make a move, should they stay put, will they make the play-offs, if they make the play-offs will they advance or get swept out of the first round? These questions will most likely last until the trade deadline, despite the fact that we just kicked Celtic ass on National TV last night. I thought I'd chuck my two pence into the conversation in bullet point form.

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Over the offseason Miami basically gave away Michael Beasley (the 2008 2nd overall pick) to Minnesota for a conditional second rounder to clear up cap-room for their free agent haul. Beasley was mentioned in Suns trade rumors for amar'e stoudemire the last two seasons, but nothing ever came to fruition as a result of questions over Beasley's immaturity and dubious off court actions.

This season Beasley seems to be rounding into his own as a player, putting up 20 points and 5.3 rebounds a game on 47% shooting, although he's still a poor defender. My question is, considering the moves we made this summer, do you wish the Suns front office had made more effort to pick up Beasley? Would Beasley's maturity problems and potential chemistry issues be worth the risk of getting a lottery pick talent for free?

There are three ways we could have picked him up, assuming Minnesota would have accepted the same offer from the Suns as they did from Minnesota:-

-aquire Beasley instead of Hakim Warrick, sending Minnesota a 2nd rounder and absorbing his $5million dollar contract into the trade exception instead of using it on Hakim Warrick

-Aquire Beasley in addition to our other Free Agent aquisitions, using the remaining trade exception

-aquire Beasley instead of Turkoglu, keeping Barbosa for a later trade

Some Stats:-

Beasley: 20ppg, 5.3rpg, 1.44steals+blocks, 1.6 apg, 47% shooting

Turkoglu: 9.6ppg, 3.3rpg, 1.25 steals+blocks, 1.8apg, .448% shooting

Warrick: 13ppg, 5rpg, .63steals+ blocks, o.9apg, .643% shooting

I know it's way too early for speculation (there's a post on the main page that surmises as much) , but i wanted to vocalise a thought and decided this was the best place to do it.

Note: This is not a post advocating the firing of Alvin Gentry, please don't criticise me in the comments for suggesting we fire Gentry because that isn't what i'm doing, in fact i'm doing the exact opposite of that.

Usually when a team struggles in a season there are a few avenues that team management can go down to try and improve on their mistakes.

1)  they can try and make a move to get better

2) the  moves made over the summer are considered, if it seems the GM made mistakes in building the team then they usually find themselves looking for a new job

3)if the moves seem sound, then the coach will be replaced to have a new voice in the lockeroom

Seriously: i don't want Gentry to go, if you only read up to here, assume i want him fired, then go straight to the comments and call me a d*ck then it's going to upset me.

4)they can make a move to get worse, trade away expensive talent, develop the young players, and aim for a high draft pick

5) They can keep the coach and system which doesn't fit any of their players, continue to place trust in the worst Gm in the league, only play their best player 24minutes a game, and sign some more point guards in the offseason (the minnesota timberwolves approach)

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Just saw this on the ESPN rumours page so i'm not sure how credible it is, but surely this sort of thing doesn't just come out of the ether and there must be some truth behind it. We could absorb his expiring contract with the rest of the STAT trade exception and get a free first rounder, albeit probably the 29th or 30th pick. I wouldn't expect Vujacic to ever play with us due to the Dragic beef and quite frankly we have no need for him but we could either bounce him to another team, buy him out, or (my personal favourite) bench him and make him Dragic's personal towel boy.

All jokes aside a $5million expiring contract is probably worth more than a trade exception as it can be combined with another player (like J-Richs expiring contract) in a trade unlike the TPE which has to be used on its own. There aren't all that many desirable and available players at $5million but there are sure to be oppurtunities during the season to take back a bad contract and a Star player if we have nearly $19million in expiring contracts to send back to a team wanting salary relief. There could also be the opportunity to aquire more first round picks from a team wanting to dump a bad contract before free agency as OKC did this year when it absorbed Morris Peterson from New Orleans and got the 11th pick in the draft, we could do a similar thing by sending Vujacics contract to a team gearing towards free agency (like Indiana, New Jersey, New Orleans) before the february trade deadline.

Here's what i know about the Pacers from a recent internet trawl

• Other than Danny Granger they have no other star players on their roster, but some interesting young guys with potential in Roy Hibbert, Tyler Hansbrough, and Paul George
• The Pacers are in the conundrum of not being good enough to make the playoffs, but being too good to  win a high draft pick to improve. They drafted at #10 in 2010, #13 in 2009, #11 in 2008, and #11 in 2007. Couple this with a pretty poor track record in the draft from larry legend and you've got a blueprint for a team that hasn't managed to improve from the draft like the Blazers and Thunder.
• The team is gearing up for a big free agent run in the summer of 2011 with about $45million in salary coming off the books after this season, but indiana isn't exactly a premier free agent destination.
• The Pacers biggest needs are at Point Guard and Power Forward.

With this information it isn't completely out of the realm of possibility that the Pacers would be willing to trade Danny Granger for young talent and expiring contracts. This should set up the pacers with a high draft pick next season and even more cap space than projected which could see them drastically improve in the 2011-12 season.

Here's my suggested trade:

Phoenix Gets: Danny Granger, TJ Ford, one of Brandon Rush/Dahntay Jones, one of Josh McRoberts/Solomon Jones

Indiana Gets: Goran Dragic, Jason Richardson, Earl Clark (and maybe Jared Dudley but preferably not)

http://games.espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=22n46tg

Pros for Phoenix

• Granger is a certified all-star averaging 25/5/3 last year. He can play anywhere from SG to PF, is a great three-point shooter, and although he wasn't the most efficient player last year (42% from the field and 37% from three) that efficiency is likely to improve with less shots and better oppurtunities with a much better supporting cast in Phoenix than in Indiana.
• TJ Ford is a more than seviceable backup for Nash with career averages of 12ppg and 6apg and although he's overpaid his contract expires after this season.
• Both Jones and Rush are decent perimeter defenders and either would be a decent addition to our formiddable bench

Cons for Phoenix

• Dragic is the only decent backup Nash has ever had in Phoenix and is supposedly the heir apparent. Although Ford would be a decent backup for the upcoming season, after his contract expires next summer we could potentially have the same problems again.
• The trade doesn't solve our biggest need of a true Power Forward, although Granger is a better rebounder than Turkoglu.
• We'd have nearly $20 million a season for the next four seasons committed to two guys who both play best at Power Forward, although Granger can also play the 2 pretty well 

Potential line-up following trade

PG: Nash/Ford

SG: Childress/ (Dudley/Rush/Jones depending on trade)

SF: Turkoglu/ Hill

PF: Granger/ Warrick/ Lawal

C: Lopez/ Frye/ Collins

Thoughts?

With all the trade suggestions for J-rich today how about the Suns going after Paul Millsap. With the Jazz's aquisition of Al Jefferson he isn't needed as much in Utah as when it was believed he would need to start when Boozer bolted. J-rich would provide a scoring complement to Deron Williams in the Utah backcourt this year and then provide financial relief after that which the Jazz supposedly want. To make the Jazz willing to give up Millsap we'd probably have to include a big in the trade, the best bet would be a signed and traded Lou Amundson or Earl Clark (i'd probably push for a future first round pick if we included Clark)

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Our roster as it currently stands is (outside of Lopez) pretty small and has a glut of wing players. Here is the roster as it stands at the moment:-

PG- Nash/Dragic/Reynolds*

SG- J-Rich/Childress

SF- Hill/Clark/Turkoglu/Dudley

PF-Warrick/Lawal*/Collins*

C-Lopez/Frye

*= not currently signed, not guaranteed to make the team

We only have two positions which are basically set in Center (with frye and Lopez) and Point Guard (with Nash and Dragic),  the SG, SF and PF positions are currently stacked with "tweeners" who can play multiple positions. Now supposedly we brought turkoglu in to play PF, but i'm not a big fan of the idea as i don't think he has the strength/rebounding ability to be able to compete on the defensive end as a 4, i also think we need a capable big guy at the PF spot to take some of the pressure off the developing Lopez, i think throwing him into a Dwight Howard Role too early (center surrounded by shooters) is not only going to hinder his development but will also hinder the Suns success as a team.

With all the wing players we have clamouring for minutes combined with no standout PF i think the best course of action would be to trade J-Rich (and his valuable expiring contract) for a capable starting big guy who can take the pressure off Lopez while he develops and give Nash the best spot at competing for a championship before he retires. Now I'm not delusional enough to think that we can turn Richardson's expiring contract into a Chris Bosh/Amar'e Stoudemire/Josh Smith caliber player, but there are certainly teams out there that would be willing to give away a decent big guy for financial relief. Once a trade like this is completed we'd have a much more balanced rotation along the lines of this:-

PG- Nash/ Dragic/Reynolds*

SG-Childress/Dudley

SF/Turkoglu/Hill/Clark

PF- New Big/warrick/Lawal*/Collins*

C-Lopez/ Frye 

But who could we get with J-Rich's expiring contract? I have a few Ideas...

Jason Richardson to Cleveland For Antawn Jamison

Why the Suns Do it

• Jamison is a floor spacing big but can rebound better than Turkoglu and has more size to defend opposing 4s (although he's not a great defender by any means).
• He should thrive in the pick and roll/pick and pop game with both Nash and Turkoglu excelling at running that play.
• His contract expires at the same time as Nash's allowing a smooth transition if Nash retires.

Why the Suns don't do it

• Jamison is 34 and being paid about $25million over the next two seasons.
• Not great defensively.

Why the Cavs do it

• Jamison was brought in to appease LeBron, and now that he's left and the Cavs are rebuilding he doesn't really fit into their plans.

Jason Richardson to New Orleans for David West and James Posey

Why the Suns do it

• West is an all-star power forward who thrives alongside Chris Paul, if the Hornets are willing to dump him for salary relief then its almost a no-brainer the Suns would want to be in the mix
• Like Jamison, his contract only lasts two years so if Nash retires we aren't left with West if we have to rebuild

Why the Suns don't do it

• All-Star PFs don't come cheap, if the Suns want West then they are almost certainly going to have to take back the bad contract of James Posey, who is being paid around $12 million for the next two seasons and doesn't really fit in Phoenix with our glut of wing players.

Why the Hornets do it

• The Chris Paul trade rumours are a big sign that the franchise is in financial trouble, by picking up J-Rich the hornets get financial relief next season and get at least some value back on the court .

Jason Richardson and Earl Clark to Detroit for Richard Hamilton and Greg Monroe

Why the Suns do it

• Monroe is a talented rookie prospect drafted seven overall, he easily has the most potential of any of the guys we could get by trading J-Rich.
• Hamilton excels at moving off ball-screens and would probably thrive playing alongside Nash and Turkoglu

Why the Suns don't do it

• The only way the possibility of acquiring monroe emerges is if the suns agree to taking back Hamilton's mammoth contract of over $30million the next 3 years.
• Picking Up Hamilton now means we'd have tied over $20million a season to over 30guys in Turkoglu and Hamilton for the next three years.
• Even by taking Hamilton's contract we'd probably also have to give up one of our young prospects. Most likely would be Earl Clark but the Pistons might want Jared Dudley (at this point i'd consider Dragic and Lopez as untouchable)
• We'd lose any financial flexibility we'd have in the summer of 2011

Why the Pistons do it

• They dump the ridiculous contract of Rip Hamilton 

There are some other PFs we could probably get with Richardson's contract, notably Troy Murphy, Elton Brand, or Emeka Okafor. However the three trades suggested above are the best combination of fit in our system and all are probably available.

I know its too early for this, being that free agency doesn't start until July 1st and we're still knee deep in playoff games, but lets just explore the options for what we could do if amar'e leaves in free agency or gives an indication to the front office that he isn't coming back.
 

When potential trades fell apart at the deadline, Amare was furious and vowed to bolt Phoenix this summer when he could become an unrestricted free agent, a source close to the process told ESPN.com

...

"Amare feels like the organization disrespected him. Amare loves his teammates and has really enjoyed playing for the team these last few months, but he's reluctant to commit to Phoenix long-term."

http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/16104/source-amares-return-to-suns-unlikely

Chad Ford,admittedly not the most keyed in basketball journalist out there, has a report that amar'e is unlikely to come back to Phoenix in free agency, which is plausible given the fact we've shopped him for the last two years and seem unwilling to give him the max-contract he so desires.

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Despite the Suns awesome season this year it doesn't look like we are going to get any award recognitiion. So this got me thinking, which player is the Suns' MVP, sixth man, MIP,etc.

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So according to various reports, the Suns have offers on the table from Cleveland and Miami for Stoudemire.

Miami- Offering Beasley, expiring contracts, first round pick in the teens (also have another first rounder in the 20's)

Cleveland- Offering Hickson, expiring contracts, first round pick in the late 20's (probably the last pick of the first round)

Beasleys contract is about 3 million more a season than Hickson and they both end at the same time.

[Note by Seth Pollack, 02/16/10 3:05 PM MST ]

The latest is the Miami deal might be for both the Heat and Raptors first round picks and I would assume (hope) that expiring from Miami is Haslem who could help the Suns for the rest of this season.

According to an Arizona republic article today, this is the final year of Steve Kerr's contract as GM of the Suns. This brings about some interesting factors which could affect a potential trade of Amar'e Stoudemire. 

Does Kerr want his last notable action as Suns GM (i'm assuming his contract expires after this season before free agency or the draft) to be the trading of a starting all-star center? Any trade we make with STAT is almost certainly to reduce our win total for this season, something that won't look good to either Sarver or (if Kerr doesn't stay with the Suns) any other owner who may be inclined to offer Kerr a job.

If Kerr waits out the season without trading Amar'e, will losing him for nothing reflect badly on Kerr? Probably not as much, especially if Kerr's contract has already expired by the time amar'e formally opts-out on June 30th. I don't think that Kerr would do anything to negatively affect the future of the team just to help him keep his current job/get a new job next year, but its yet another plot line in the Amar'e Stoudemire trade show. 

So the rumours of a trade between Philly and the Suns with Amar'e and Iggy as the main components have been heating up recently (today was the first mention of it in the national media), and the majority of Phoenix fans on Bright Side of the Sun (including myself) are hailing it as the best possible deal for STAT. However the acquisition of Iguodala (whether or not a deal goes down) won't be smooth sailing and there will be some definite pitfalls to go along with the positive aspects of an Iggy trade.

Important Note: This is NOT a trade post, all i'm doing is looking how Andre Iguodala would fit in with the Suns. Not how we'll look without STAT or any other player who is traded either to us or from us as we don't know who these players will be.

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If we took Curry and Jeffries back in a Stoudemire trade with the Knicks, don't you think they'd give us ENOURMOUS value for him just to get them of their books.

Lets face it, if we have to trade STAT then we're not going to get much value for him because he might opt out but to the Knicks he's valuable because he's likely to stay there. And you might be thinking that we shouldn't pick Curry and Jeffries up because of their huge contracts, but after this summer they become huge EXPIRING contracts, possibly the most valuable type of contract.

So here's my trade suggestion:

Suns Get: Eddy Curry, J. Jeffries, Wilson Chandler, David Lee, Toney Douglas, Jordan Hill

Knicks Get: Amar'e stoudemire, Jason Richardson.

Suns do it because they get young talent in Chandler, Douglas and Hill (and Lee if he stays). Knicks do it because they replace two completely unproductive players for Richardson (and he's got a smaller contract than Curry+ Jeffries combined) and get Stoudemire to boot. Hell they might not even listen to who they're trading for and just say yes when they hear we're offering to take Jeffries and Curry of their hands.

The other day i had a horrible realisation, the Phoenix Suns as they are currently constructed seem to be a middling playoff team at best and only stand to get worse in the next few years. Our star point guard turns 36 soon and (despite current performance) can't possibly keep it up for ever, our star power forward can opt-out after the season and become a free-agent (and in all probability will), our starting small-forward is 37 and looks positively drained after about 25 minutes playing time,  our shooting guard is a pillar of inconsistency ,our center is pretty-much useless if his shot isn't falling, and our unprotected 2010 first-rounder is in the hands of the most talented young team in the league.

The best case scenario for our team at the moment is a second-round playoff exit, but a first round exit seems much more likely given the teams currently in the top four seeds (LA, Dallas, Denver and San Antonio- which of these teams do you see us beating in a seven game series).

The worst-case scenario is that we don't make the playoffs and Amar'e opts out and signs somewhere else leaving us considerably worse next season. And don't go thinking that if STAT leaves we'll have $17 million to go after another star PF, because we're over the cap and we'll actually only be able to sign someone for about eight million, so get those thoughts of Bosh/Boozer/Lee out of your head and face up to the realisation of Tyrus Thomas/Hakim Warrick/Al Harrington because thats all we'll be able to afford.

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