by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni
The main talking points in Dallas and around the League this past weekend went as follows: the rough weather conditions around All-Star weekend, the wretchedness that was All-Star Saturday night, the record crowd at Cowboys Stadium, and of course, the possibility of Amar’e Stoudemire joining the Cleveland Cavaliers.
The Stoudemire story is the only one with legs, and for now, we all must play the waiting game as Phoenix and Cleveland circle one another awaiting to see if it’s worth pulling the trigger. Or something.
Those checking in on to the rumor mill include LeBron James and Amar’e himself. The Plain Dealer caught up with both of them last night following the ASG:
“I’m aware of the talks just like everybody else,” James said. “I don’t get caught up into it until I hear from the GM that the deal has actually happened. He’s one of the premier athletes we have in our game, We’ll see if it happens.”
“I haven’t heard anything, nothing solid yet,” Stoudemire said. “I don’t think that deal is done yet, so I can’t comment on that at all.” What Stoudemire did comment on, however, was the prospect of playing with James and once again with Shaquille O’Neal. There has been speculation that Stoudemire may not favor teaming up with Shaq, but Stoudemire said he enjoyed playing with him in Phoenix.
“I played with (James) in the 2004 Olympics and it was a great experience,” Stoudemire said. “I had fun playing with Shaq when he was in Phoenix. He was a player I grew up watching when I was a kid. Best of luck to him and the Cavs.”
Miami and Philadelphia are also reportedly in talks with the management team in Phoenix regarding Stoudemire’s availability, but Cleveland is believed to be the leading candidate to land him.
All anyone can do for the time being is wait and simply imagine what the Cavs would look like with Amar’e Stoudemire in their lineup. It’s a little frightening, to be honest with you.
