by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni
With the Trade Deadline now less than a month away, and Amar’e Stoudemire’s free agency this summer looming, the number of teams willing to play ball with management in Phoenix is reportedly growing.
Stoudemire’s days in Phoenix appear to be numbered (a situation that’s not exactlly new), and now it’s just a matter of trying to figure out which uniform he’ll be wearing next, and when.
The Arizona Republic takes a look at STAT’s possible future employers:
A league source said Golden State, Minnesota and Cleveland have shown interest in acquiring Suns power forward Amar’e Stoudemire.
Major hang-ups in a possible deal are the Suns’ need to get good value in return and the other team’s need to feel secure in knowing it has a chance to keep Stoudemire, who can opt out of his contract this summer.
Stoudemire has said he wants to play for a title contender but prefers to stay with the Suns, who met with his agent Thursday.
Stoudemire in Cleveland would be the most compelling case, but a pairing with Shaquille O’Neal has already failed spectacularly. And I don’t trust Mike Brown to figure out how to make the two co-exist on the court.
According to Yahoo!, the number of teams blowing up Steve Kerr’s cell phone is even bigger: Chicago, Miami, Philly and New Jersey have all reportedly expressed interest in the star forward.
None of the reports seem to suggest that a deal is anywhere close to being done, and there’s a belief that Stoudemire would like to stay in Phoenix. But, where’s there’s smoke, there’s usually a bit of fire.
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