Phoenix Suns Unlikely to trade Amare Stoudemire

Heading into the All Star Break, Phoenix Suns’ forward Amare Stoudemire was considered all but gone by most NBA observers.  It was well known that the team was looking to make a move, as much in an interest of cutting salary than anything else.  At the same time, Steve Nash and Shaquille O’Neal were considered ‘untouchable’.  Stoudemire was the odd man out, and the presumption was that he’d be dealt by the NBA trade deadline.

In the wake of the dismissal of head coach Terry Porter, that’s no longer the case.  The Suns are now almost certain to keep Stoudemire in hopes that he’ll become an integral part of interim head coach Alvin Gentry’s up-tempo style.    GM Steve Kerr said as much in his comments to reporters without mentioning Stoudemire specifically:

"Everyone feels like the coaching change is the move we decided to make for these last 31 games. Obviously anything is possible, but we feel that it's going to be this group that goes the rest of the way. ... We think the team is going to stay the same. We look at this as a 31-game season."

The Chicago Bulls were considered the most realistic destination for Stoudemire, but Phoenix balked at the inclusion of Tyrus Thomas in a package with Drew Gooden.  Detroit pitched a deal for Rasheed Wallace, but didn’t have any younger players interesting to Phoenix to make it work.   Sacramento Kings’ owner Joe Malouf was one of the few NBA executives willing to speak ‘on the record’ but his thoughts echoed most of the teams involved:

"We looked at it. Never say never, but right now, no."

So for now—and most likely for the rest of the season—Amare Stoudemire is part of the “new look” Phoenix Suns with the hopes that Gentry can turn the team’s fortunes around.  Phoenix will play the LA Clippers in a home and home series starting on Tuesday and then host the Oklahoma City Thunder on Friday night.