Thoughts on potential Cavs-Suns trade?

[ATL DirtyBird]

Cavs would get Amare, while giving up JJ Hickson and Big Z. Thoughts?
Not a huge fan of Amare, but this is definitely an upgrade. They were our nightmare before, now they really are.

[evildallas]

I think it actually weakens the Cavaliers defensively and doesn't make them appreciably better offensively given the way their lineup is constructed. I'm also not sure how this works out in terms of chemistry. All in all I think I'd rather they get Amare than Antwan Jamison at this point because I think Jamison is stronger on the boards, has more range on his shot, and might play tougher D.

I'm still troubled by the general theory that they get Z back after a buyout. The league really needs to kill that loophole.

[raleigh]

I'm still troubled by the general theory that they get Z back after a buyout. The league really needs to kill that loophole.

Agreed on this point.

Don't agree that it doesn't make them better on offense, assuming Z returns. There's simply no way that Amare isn't an improvement over Hickson. (It's debatable that he'd be better defensively because Hickson is pretty raw in that regard).

I still think this trade will involve a third team.

[evildallas]

Individually Amare is better than Hickson offensively, sure. My thought is that it doesn't translate as well from paper to the court because of the Lebron-centric offense. I'm happy if the ball is out of Lebron's hands even if it goes to Amare. I don't think they can change successful integrate a prominent offensive PF into the game plan on the fly (how many plays are run for Varajeo and Hickson?) and greatly increase the performance of the offense. Not to mention the impact of another alpha personality on a lineup that has Shaq willingly sacrificing his role and attention.

I could be wrong and Amare might fit in seemlessly, but I just don't see it working down the stretch given personalities, styles, and game plans. I think it works better with Jamison because he would be clearly 3rd or 4th option and isn't potentially trying to shine for a max deal.

[HoopsGuru25]

Amare probably dominates the ball less than any 20 point scorer in recent memory. He's like the anti- Iverson when it comes to offense as he rarely dribbles the ball more than 2 times on any given possession. He's also athletic enough to the point where you can get him to play passable team defense if need be ala Mo Williams.

I still don't think this trade is going down though. The rumored trade I've been hearing is about 40 cents on the dollar. The chance to draft JJ Hickson type of prospect and/or acquire the 30th pick comes around every single year.

[raleigh]

I saw a chart recently that showed the difference between Kobe and LeBron ORtg vs. USG%.

Kobe's ORtg didn't improve all that much by him being less involved. LeBron's ORtg was astronomical when his usage was closer to 20%, IIRC.

[BAMABIRD]

Amare to the Cavs is supper scary, especially once Mo Williams gets back. Amare will add another dimension to the Cavs offense. I know the word is that he doesn't play much defense but if you think about the Phoenix teams he's been on, they were offensive minded teams. Nobody plays defense for the Suns. Now he want become the defensive player of the year or anything but in Mike Browns system, he will play some defense. I wish it was a way atl could've made a deal for Brendan Haywood.

[Macho Man]

Amare to the Cavs is supper scary, especially once Mo Williams gets back. Amare will add another dimension to the Cavs offense. I know the word is that he doesn't play much defense but if you think about the Phoenix teams he's been on, they were offensive minded teams. Nobody plays defense for the Suns. Now he want become the defensive player of the year or anything but in Mike Browns system, he will play some defense. I wish it was a way atl could've made a deal for Brendan Haywood.

He won't play D anywhere he goes, because he doesn't want to and he can't. His offensive skill set is the only good thing about this trade, he's considerably better than Z and JJ combined. From a basketball stand point, however, Troy Murphy or Antawn Jamison make 100x more sense, because they can stretch the floor, but if Lebron wants to play with Amar'e, Lebron will get Amar'e. Either one of the 3 PFs will be an upgrade there. Will it make them better at guarding Pick and Rolls though? Nope.

[D21]

I'm still troubled by the general theory that they get Z back after a buyout. The league really needs to kill that loophole.

And it seems that ti will be the same if they don't get Stoudemire, but get Murphy.
This rule is just stupid.

[HMFFL]

Sources say that Amare Stoudemire has no interest in playing for the Cavaliers, and that the Cavs have started looking at other options.
Antawn Jamison is one of those other options, and while this doesn't mean that Amare is definitely not going to Cleveland, it no longer seems nearly as likely to happen. Link

[evildallas]

^^^ I'd read a lot of people theorizing it was a smoke screen to get either Washington to bite on a Jamison deal, but this is the first I've heard of Amare having no interest in it.

[LL Cool Scott]

You people are fooling yourselves. If Cleveland gets a legitimate 2nd option for Lebron, be it Stoudemire or Jamison, they might as well cancel the EC playoffs. It will be OVER. They might sweep all three rounds of the EC playoffs.

Our best scenario at that point will be to hope that we win the division and draw Boston in the 2nd round. That way we probably make it to the EC Finals and JJ probably resigns with us.

[evildallas]

There's tons of guessing and misinformation out there (especially as people without info still need to turn in columns), but logic dictates that after leading it ride last year and wasting the expiring deal of Wally that this year Cleveland makes a deal. All we can do is hope that the move backfires on them in some way. To me the likelihood of an ill fit or an injury is highest with Amare. Jamison is the safest investment. I'm still upset that everyone is sure Big Z will get bought out and return to the Cavs which is getting to eat your cake and have it too.