All Signs Point to Amare Moving On From Suns

The Suns are on the skids, and not coincidentally, so is main man Amare Stoudemire. From The Arizona Republic:↵↵⇥The frustrations with Stoudemire are not solely about offense, although Sunday’s 30-point game was only his third of the season. He had 21 30-point games last season under Mike D’Antoni, whose Knicks host the Suns today, and 13 of the 21 came after Shaquille O’Neal was acquired in February.↵⇥
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↵⇥There are ongoing issues with Stoudemire’s lapses on defense and rebounding. His mistakes on rotations and weak-side help can’t be numerated, except that they are part of how the Suns are giving up more points than any potential playoff team. Since Thanksgiving, the Suns have held three opponents in the 90s.↵↵I don’t think this is yet a Chris Bosh situation. You don’t get the sense that Amare’s being openly blamed and alienated -- yet. But let’s look at things objectively: Amare, while he thrived when initially stuck at PF next to Shaq, has been generally less of a force this season. What’s changed? No more Mike D’Antoni. While Stoudemire’s attitude and work ethic have always been at times perplexing, and the “lapses” something the old Suns lived with, this passage describes a far more grave problem.↵
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Time to face facts: As this Suns team finds its identity, Amare is having more and more problems at both ends of the court. Steve Nash, supposedly the key to unlocking his inner offensive beast, hasn’t looked himself this season. In short, Stoudemire is a far more likely candidate than LeBron or Wade to change teams in 2010. And, I’d say, a far bigger wild card than Bosh or Dirk Nowitzki. Get him in the right system, with the right set of responsibilities, and he’s a truly dominant presence -- yes, even in some aspects of defense. But this year’s underwhelming showing is evidence that Phoenix is no longer home for Stoudemire.↵
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↵So even if his stock may be dropping -- he may not even make the All-Star team -- Amare could still make a massive difference for the right team, perhaps even more than Dirk or Bosh. What remains to be seen is if, when it’s time for Stoudemire to make that decision, this will factor into it. Or, correlatively, if some sneaky team will concentrate more on wooing Amare than the other, less risky, superstars.↵