Catching up with the Phoenix Suns rumors this off season and who should be kept around for next year?

There have been many rumors surrounding the Phoenix Suns since they missed the playoffs this season. Some of these rumored trades would actually help the team, but some of the options are only opportunities to cut payroll for the oncoming season and further destroy the team. Some of the biggest names involved in these rumors for the team have been Amare Stoudemire, Shaquille O’Neal, Steve Nash, Leandro Barbosa, and Jason Richardson.

 Shaq Rumors 

Shaquille O’Neal has not been shy about the fact that he would not mind playing for another team other then the Phoenix Suns and is interested in a contract to extend him for one to two more years. Some of the rumored teams to be interested in Shaq are Cleveland Cavaliers, Dallas Mavericks, and New Orleans Hornets.

Cleveland has reportedly offered Ben Wallace (who might request a buyout or retire) and Sasha Pavlovich who has a non guaranteed contract. The Suns could potentially get out of both players and save money off payroll this year. This is a bad deal for the Suns and I would not expect it to happen for these players. They would get nothing for Shaq.

Another of the rumored teams interested in Shaq are the Dallas Mavericks. One of the rumored packages would send Jerry Stackhouse expiring contract and Erick Dampier. Dampier is guaranteed for the next two years at over 23 million. This again would be a horrible trade for the team and they would essentially be giving Shaq up for a smaller expiring contract and a slower less effective center. If the Suns have any talks with Dallas they should absolutely involve Josh Howard but it is rumored Sarver does not want to do business with Cuban.

The other rumored option would send him to the New Orleans Hornets in exchange for Tyson Chandler who is owed $11,850,00.00 guaranteed and a player option the following season for $12,750,000,00. The other end of the trade would include Peja Stojakovic who has an even larger guaranteed contract for two years at over $29,000,000.00. Peja is an excellent 3 point shooter and effective at spreading the defense but like Chandler has struggled with injuries. Tyson Chandler would be a more effective defensive center for the team if he was able to stay healthy for a full season and playoff run but it’s unclear if that will happen. This would also be a free agent killer for the team for the next two years which is expected to be one of the best free agent markets in many years. There are many players that are available within the next two years that could play major roles on the team and push them towards a championship. With Shaq expiring $20 million dollar contract that would give the team enough money to make a bid at any of the big name players.

Whatever ends up happening with Shaq the team needs to remember the value of his expiring contract with the free agent market, If they do decide to part ways with the big cactus they better get substantial value back for him or it could lead to a another bad decision by Suns management.

 Amare Stoudemire Rumors 

Another name on that list has been all-star forward Amare Stoudemire. He has danced around this off-season from city to city planting his seed of changing a franchise. Well, according to him. He is the most valuable asset the Suns hold and has the potential to be great. He however at his point in his career is only interested in playing on one side of the court. It was a huge disappointment he was not willing to play in the Olympics. Every player that came back from that gold medal team was a substantially better overall player and the experience could have changed him into the player he wants to be. That was the biggest mistake of his career up to this point.

The problem with Amare is he is in a contract year and will definitely be looking for a max deal with his next contract. At this stage in his career and with what he has showed the Phoenix Suns he is not deserving of a max contract. It takes a leader that dominates on both sides of the floor at all times to deserve that type of a contract. Too many players are getting these large contracts now and are not deserving of them.

If Amare reached the potential he has then he might deserve that contract at some point. The best deal that is heavily being discussed would send Amare Stoudemire to the Washington Wizards for the 5^th overall pick in this years draft and a package that could consist of Antawn Jamison or Caron Butler and additional filler. This would be a great trade if constructed properly. The problem would be in Antawn Jamison being the other pivotal piece in the trade instead of Caron Butler. Antawn Jamison is guaranteed more than 40 million dollars over the next three years. Antawn is a great player and defensive and rebounding upgrade over Amare but not for what he is owed through his contract. The best scenario for the Suns for Amare would be to receive Caron Butler who is guaranteed fewer than 21 million for the next two years. He would bring a versatility and defensive toughness to the team that they desperately need.

With the Suns already short on big men, giving their best one up for a small forward could further compound problems at initial first look. But with the Suns then owning the 5^th and 14^th overall picks in the draft they could fill those holes. They could look at acquiring any of the potentially great point guards in; Stephen Curry, Tyreke Evans, Jrue Holiday, Johnny Flynn, Brandon Jennings, Ty Lawson, and even Rick Rubio. You never know who could fall to the fifth overall pick. Then they could still use the 14^th pick for a Power Forward. Some of the candidates for that position could be DeJuan Blair, Jordan Hill, Earl Clark, James Johnson, and B.J. Mullens. Depending on which route they wanted to take they could get two very talented players to begin to rebuild their team.

 Steve Nash questions 

Another Player involved in the trade rumors is Steve Nash. There are a few team interested in acquiring the crafty veterans services. Some of those teams include Portland Trailblazers, Toronto Raptors, New York Knicks, and Dallas Mavericks. Steve Nash is a great player on the offensive side of the court but can not come close to guarding the quick and powerful guards in the NBA today. He is still one of the best shooters and offensive facilitators in the game. He just needs a strong team to back up his defensive inconstancies. In the right situation he could push a team over the edge to a championship. The Suns have attempted contract negotiations but Nash is holding out too see what the roster looks like closer to the start of the season. If He does not feel this is the right situation any longer he will not resign with the team and that might not be bad as long as the Suns get value back for him.

Steve Kerr has expressed several times the teams desire to keep Nash in uniform to finish out his career. Keeping Steve Nash on this team would equal another disastrous season. This team has already proven that as a group they do not have the ability to win a championship and are in no way close to it. If the team waits another year they will only be watching there veterans become less tradable. Amare Stoudemire, Steve Nash, Shaq, and Jason Richardson should ALL be available.

 What is the next step? 

They already have good talent and young role players to build off of in Goran Dragic, Leandro Barbosa, Jared Dudley, Lou Amundson, and Robin Lopez. With the addition of some other great players via trade and the draft this could become a team that can compete with the teams of the future like the Thunder and Blazers.

Now is the time with this team to make intelligent moves and rebuild the team with young talented defensive oriented players that want to hustle and give everything they have to win and prove themselves. As well as a group of younger veterans that still are willing to work hard and win games. There is a huge free agent market ahead of them and the potential to pick 5^th and 14^th overall in the draft. This could be a huge stepping stone to the rebuild of this franchise and this opportunity should not be wasted.