Carmelo Anthony is a black hole on offense. He holds onto the ball as valuable seconds of the shot clock becomes devoid. Amare Stoudemire is also a player whom is considered devoid of ball distribution skills.

Did anybody not see this coming? If you look at the Denver Nuggets, and how dramatically improved they are after shipping Anthony to the Big Apple, it reinforces the theory of Melo being cancerous to team chemistry.

Stoudemire has always had a rep for putting up tons of shots, and not passing the ball back out, or moving it in general. Unlike the example of Melo, the Knicks were actually playing an overall higher caliber of basketball while Stoudemire was the lone black hole on the Knicks roster. Then again, they had a solid supporting cast with Chauncey Billups, Danilo Gallinari and Wilson Chandler to compensate as well as move the ball around the black hole (Amare) and pound the ball in when they deemed so.

In short, these two have been in the league far too long for this to work out, no matter what anybody is saying. These old dogs are too engrained in their ways, and it’s unfortunate that Tyson Chandler is going to spend the remaining years of a long contract having to watch the ball stop on offense. It could have been a good thing.

I do not think Baron Davis is going to be the man who steps in and turn things around. I don’t take crazy pills, so there is no way I am going to buy into this ideology. I’ve always liked Boom Dizzle’s game, but I think he has lost a few steps since the “We Believe” era in Golden State.

Something will have to give, or else Knicks fans will have to painfully sit through an interstellar collision of negative energy fields both highly consummate of the ball, with 3 teammates standing around watching things implode.

What must happen is the Knicks must trade one of these offensive black holes if they want to have a chance to make some noise this or any future year. It will likely need to wait for another season, in order for the post-black-hole-implosion-fall-out.

They can get a lot of players in return for either Stoudemire or Anthony. Draft picks, youth, expiring contracts. The brass has the skills to make something happen, and they should. Otherwise, this season will be further sucked into the black hole.

Amare Stoudemire’s days as a member of the Phoenix Suns are coming to an end.

Amare had played all 8 years of his NBA career with the Suns but will now be playing in New York after allegedly agreeing to sign a 5-year fully guaranteed contract.

Miami had displayed interest but also addressed concerns about all 5 years being guaranteed, based on Stoudemires history of injuries.

So, is New York’s move wise?

Will the ghost of Isiah Thomas haunt the Knicks again?

New York basketball just got a lot better.

If not, The Knicks have acquired a premier power forward to play alongside sharpshooter Danilo Gallinari, and it will be interesting to see what other moves the Knicks will be able finagle once Amare is secured.

Then again, Isiah’s ghost my pop out of nowhere and poke Amare in his good eye or kick him in the knee. Stranger things have happened.

The main question this raises is whether or not this rule LeBron James out of he Knicks future.

All rumors indicate emphatically towards a big “YES” on LeBron being a “NO.”

The saddest thing for me will be seeing how Steve Nash is going to cope with life without Amare. Sure Hakim Warrick is decent, but come on!

Amare Stoudemire played his finest basketball game of the 2009-10 season during game 3 and it could not have arrived at more important moment for the Phoenix Suns. He has faced controversy due to his discord laden comments directed towards Lamar Odom after game 1.

This season has shown us how Amare has persevered past many personal disruptions ranging from family troubles as well as a potential mid-season trade rumors, and he now has the Suns on the right track in the Western Conference Finals.

Kobe, Odom, Gasol, no problem!

After failing to back up his talk and stop Odom in game 2, he finally made good on his word during game 3.

Amare dominated the Lakers in game 3 by exploding for 42 points and 11 rebounds. Stoudemire got to the line 18 times while the Lakers as team combined for a total of 20 free throw attempts. That is complete and absolute dominance.

Of course as always we must tip our caps to Steve Nash, who rocked at setting up Amare rather well.

If the Suns continue to get this sort of output from Stoudemire this series is far from over. Just ask any Laker Nation fan, and you could have a written, signed and sworn document attesting the Suns were primed to be vanquished after their performance in games 1 and 2.

If Amare maintains this level of effort, which is more or less playing as if he’s the best power forward in the NBA, the Sun might not have set just yet in Phoenix.

Not only is he talking smack to Lamar Odom and not backing it up, not only is he trying to keep his mother out of jail, but now Amare Stoudemire can add yet another new skill to his ever-expanding list of talents within his repertoire: NBA Western Conference Finals game 3 ticket salesmen.

Stoudemire revealed via twitter that if you are interested in buying some tickets to game 3 at the U.S. Airways Center, you had better let Stoudmire be your middle man:

We just SOLD OUT of tickets for Game 3. If u want playoff tickets go to razorgator.com. Stay tuned for Game 4 tickets! http://bit.ly/c2TdXN

Check out my NEW FB STORE!! Only 6 hrs left to get a great deal on playoff tickets for Game 3. Go Suns! http://bit.ly/c2TdXN

Go to my FB Store to get a great deal http://bit.ly/c2TdXN RT@vancerunsxc

Check out my NEW FB STORE NOW!! @razorgator hooked it up! http://bit.ly/c2TdXN

Hey! @razorgator is hooking up playoff tickets for my fans. STAY TUNED!!!!!

Amare is using his Twitter account to lure you in, then navigate you to his Facebook account, where you can then purchase tickets from a third party vendor, Razorgator Tickets, to close the deal. Talk about a sophisticated level of web navigation jsut to buy a couple tickets to a game.

Why not bypass all this madness, and just go with someone easy and painless like Stubhub.com directly?

AMARE_TIX_000

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If Amare thinks this is a simple and convenient way to save his fans money on tickets, lord save those who will try to negotiate a contract this summer. He might be better suited training circus animals to jump through hoops. That is a lot of navigating for selling something.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe in the gesture of what Amare is trying to do here. He could be sitting at home regurgitating some messages that are sent to him from his handlers over at Razorgators headquarters, or perhaps they are in fact accessing his Twitter and Facebook accounts remotely.

I believe in my heart he is trying to do something good for his fans, but at the same time I just find sit downright annoying when someone sells their fans tickets to a game they are playing in.

Amare is being paid $16,378,325 million this season to play basketball and lead the Suns to the promised land. Selling tickets a staunch way to accidentally insult us. I might buy into discounts on a Stoudemire jersey, or signature shoes, but pushing your tickets on me t is where something inside me loses it.

Amare should seriously reconsider his gig moonlighting selling tickets for Razorgator, and focus on trying to shut down Lamar Odom because if he doesn’t, there won’t be any Game 6 tickets around for him to push. As it stands the Suns are on the verge of being swept out of the playoffs.

I’m sure all NBA fans would prefer their max salary star athlete not waste precious playoff time doing anything other than perfecting their game,  watching tape to evaluate how they can turn this series around, or resting so they can give it everything they have for game 3.

Suns fans must share the opinion that Amare should spend all his energy trying to win a game rather then worrying about saving his fans a few bucks.

You never know though, Amare might be using the cash from this deal to pay his constantly reckless and long-troubled mother’s bail.

Steve Nash has a hurt hip. Tim Duncan has ailing knees. There are many things that could be written in an attempt to elaborate the potential outcome of this second round Western Conference playoff series between the San Antonio Spurs and the Phoenix Suns, but no other factors will have a larger impact.

Steve Nash and Tim Duncan share similarities in that their teams will ride their performances and perform accordingly. It’s the same old song and dance, however, the dancing part is getting harder these days as these savvy veteran’s bodies continue aging and deteriorating.

How's that hip doing Nash?

Suns First Round Synapsis

Nash did manage to gimp around the court as the Suns eliminated the Blazers. He was the inspirational leader leading a team without a center, possessing only one strong defender in Grant Hill, defeating a Portland team playing without its best player.

Realistically, can anyone argue that Brandon Roy was nowhere near his regular self?  Additionally, how would argue the Blazers roster was so depleted by injuries that it didn’t resemble Swiss cheese?

Spurs First Round Synapsis

Tim Duncan was hindered by knee problems allowing Dallas’ plethora of bigs like Erick Dampier and Brendan Haywood to slow him down and somewhat contain him, yet the Spurs managed to ride the hot hands of George Hill and Manu Ginobili to eliminate the Mavericks.

The Mavericks had all their players active, and even though Dirk Nowitski and company played well, they were not good enough to beat the Spurs.

Major First Round Performance Difference between Spurs and Suns:

Even when the Spurs best player is not 100%, the Spurs can still manage to overcome a top notch team like the Dallas Mavericks.

Do you think the Suns would have been able to defeat the Mavericks? I truly doubt it.

That being said, here are a few crucial questions I asked myself in deliberating the outcome of the series, eventually convincing myself that the Spurs will devour the Suns.

How do the Suns contain or stop Tim Duncan?

Duncan and the Spurs face off against a Suns team lacking any dominant, defensive-minded big men that will occupy space in the middle or put any significant pressure on Duncan. Expect Duncan to cause severe damage in this series.

How will Nash deal with his hip injury and continue to remain effective?

Nash is one of the best point guards in the game, hands down, but will Nash and his sore hip have anything left in the tank to finish games after chasing George Hill and Tony Parker around for 40 minutes?

Running on a bump hip is one thing, but having to crouch down into a defensive stance while moving full speed laterally while also trying to stay in front of lightning quick players like Hill and Parker is an entirely different story.

Having to defend either player will take a huge toll on Nash’s injured hip, possibly leading to extended time on the bench due to soreness or because of foul trouble by being caught out of defensive position.

George Hill has been on fire lately, and as soon as Parker is inserted off the bench, the Spurs are tossing another certified NBA starter against the Suns second unit if Nash cannot log big minutes.

How do the Suns stop the Spurs from having their way inside, and then outside?

Duncan is one of the best passing big men to ever play the game, and will surely make the Suns pay when they collapse on him with nimble passes to wide open Manu Ginobili, George Hill, or Matt Bonner. Yeah, I said it, Matt Bonner.

Good work fellas.... It's Bonner time!

Western Conference Round 2 Playoff Outcome Summary:

I will honestly be very surprised if the Suns can make this series last longer than 5 games. That being said, who would have counted on the Suns posting a 54-28 record this year, based on how they played the year before. If Nash can shake off his injury he can make the impact to maybe help the Suns win a second game, but that is about it.

Look for the Spurs to shine like Ginobili’s ever-expanding bald spot as they make their way into the Western Conference Finals.

Expectations that the Portland Trail Blazers would have any chance in the playoffs after Brandon Roy was sidelined with microscopic surgery on a torn meniscus were slim to none.

However, in game 1 Andre Miller matched Steve Nash nearly point for point and assist for assist, giving Blazer Nation hope while leading a Portland attack exposing a monumental weakness in Phoenix’s armor.

It is safe to say that Portland fans have all but forgotten the growing pains the team experienced after Miller signed a 3-year deal last summer.

Miller is making Portland fans forget the growing pains.

It always pains me when a team cannot live up to the namesake of this blog, but I must point out how poorly Phoenix failed at protecting the paint, which is the cardinal sin to this blogger.

If Phoenix cannot immediately reverse things and adhere to a drastic change in defensive mentality things could be real bad, real quick, for the Suns.

Amare Stoudemire is the Suns only hope of stopping anything in the middle, but he has been historically inadequate in this capacity.

Robin Lopez, who I liken to Sideshow Bob after eating angry pills, was the Suns heart and soul of enforcing defense in the post.

Unfortunately for Phoenix, Lopez is out indefinitely after sustaining a back injury during the end of regular season and is not returning in any foreseeable time frame.

After Stoudemire and Lopez the Suns depth chart are left with only two options: Channing Frye and Jarron Collins.

Collins is so limited offensively that it cripples the Suns. Ironically, Frye’s best defense is to try to combat the Blazers by chucking up loads of 3 point attempts. Both are tragic options.

The Suns allowed Andre Miller and Jerryd Bayless to combine for 49 points on 16 of 27 field goals and 16 of 19 free throws.

Bayless was crucial for the Blazers, supplying direly needed offense to offset the absent Brandon Roy, and his play will be pivotal in Portland surviving long enough in the playoffs to allow Roy to return.

Marcus Camby owned the boards for Portland, snaring 17. This should be a consistent trend during this first round of the Western Conference playoffs. If the Suns cannot find away to rebound (no pun intended) from this glaring weakness, Steve Nash and company might be watching the playoffs at home fairly soon.

The Cleveland Cavaliers are becoming the epicenter of NBA trade talk. While deals are starting to materialize, rumors surrounding Amare Stoudemire, Antawn Jamison, and Corey Maggette are starting to get some legs under them.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas is Clevleland’s largest trade chip, with his $11.6 million contract. The intention and hope is he will be waived and return to Cleveland in 30 days.

Realistically, does Cleveland need to make a deal? They have the best record in the NBA, after all. Why risk destroying the chemistry that obviously worked well enough to get them here?

Does everyone forget that they annihilated the Lakers back on Christmas day, 102-87? That is great chemistry we are talking about here.

Here is a brief breakdown on what each player potentially represents to the Cavs and their chemistry.

I understand what Amar’e Stoudemire offers Cleveland: Another offensively skilled big man to combat against the Lakers length during a potential 7 grueling games against the Lakers in the NBA Finals.

However, Stoudemire is somewhat of defensive liability, due partially to never having to develop into a good defender because of Phoenix’s offense structure. I consider that a major asterisk.

It is also rumored that Miami is taking the lead in all Stoudemire trade discussions.

Corey Maggette is the worst option for Cleveland. He is the ultimate team chemistry killer. Just watch him play, and you should soon agree.

8 out of 10 times, he puts his head down, and forces his way to the rim to draw fouls. The other 2 out of 10 times, he gets an assist or a turnover. The numbers don’t lie, he averages exactly 2.5 turnovers and 2.5 assists on the season.

You might be thinking, “Gee, what’s wrong with that? Drawing fouls hurts the other team, and gives us free throws!” I concede this to be true, however, it murders overall team motivation when he does it consistently, and looks to pass once he has left himself no other option.But this causes teammates to incur a substantial dip in motivation.

Selfish players kill team chemistry. Just watch a Warriors game once and watch the body language of the other 4 Warriors once Maggette has the ball. A lot of standing and watching going on.

Do you think LeBron would want to stay in Cleveland knowing Maggette is under contract 3 additional years after this season, and after Maggette murdered the team’s chemistry?

Antawn Jamison looks like the best trade prospect for the Cavaliers. His reputation for being a leader and a great teammate precede him. He is the best fit that would not ruffle feathers and is conscious enough to know his role.

He would help Cleveland win 4 more games, according to John Hollinger’s calculations. Jamison is unselfish, a great rebounder, and deadly from downtown, all valuable assets come playoff time.

However, the Wizards will likely seek future draft picks, and some form of youth to dump Jamison and his contract. It is unlikely they will get that from Cleveland.

Which player do you think is the best fit? Take the poll!

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post's poll.

Amare Stoudemire’s name scorched the NBA trade rumor talks this All Star Weekend. An otherwise lackluster weekend featured the NBA Slam “Flunk” contest, a boring game of horse ending in a 3 point shootout, and the rookies emerging victorious over the sophomores in the Rookie Challenge.

The most excitement came from, other than a 7-player trade between Dallas and Washington, the words “Stoudemire” and “trade” dominating the rumor buzz.

All Star fire sale coming soon to an arena near you. (Credit: picpp.com)

The latest talks have Amare heading to Cleveland, Philadelphia, or Miami. They also involve potential 3-team deals allowing Phoenix to ditch maximum salary while acquiring as much young talent and future draft picks as possible.

Cleveland and Philly have the best assets to swing the deal, but Philly has the one trade chip the Suns covet most: Andre Iguodala. However, talks with Philadelphia have quieted as the Cavs have recently made the more serious offer.

Amare  heading to Cleveland in a traditional 2-team deal will not serve the needs of Cleveland or Phoenix well. It actually has me quite puzzled to tell you the truth. Other than a fantasy basketball roster, I can’t see this making the Cavs or the Suns better, other than a last-ditch, proof-of-commitment-brown-nosing-attempt to please LeBron before the summer.

Cleveland wants a stretch 4. Amare is not a stretch 4.  He can hit from 15-18 feet, but he is not a deep threat outside compared to Troy Murphy or Antawn Jamison, who consistently drain threes and extend defenses. Stoudemire is a traditional power forward, with an exceptional pick and pop type game.

Cleveland invests their ancient back up center Ilgauskas and promising 21 year-old J.J. Hickson while Phoenix loses a proven big man who works within the “Run n’ Suns” system. Phoenix lives to run, a style of play which Big Z is ill-suited for, end of story.

Hickson, however, could thrive in Phoenix’s uptempo game. I smell a buyout with “Big Z” immediately fleeing back to Cleveland as fast as he can.

The largest concern I have with this deal: slowing the pace will hinder Amare’s game, as it did last year.

When the Suns changed their dynamic to accommodate Shaq, Stoudemire’s numbers dipped significantly. If Danny Ferry thinks he and LeBron James can irradiate Shaq/Amar’e compatibility issues from the ghosts of Phoenix past, then more power to them. With all the marbles on the line, is this deal worth that risk?

The Cavs are banking on Stoudmire’s playoff experience to help their quest to rise out of the east and storm into the finals. Is Big Z, J.J. Hickson and some scraps truly a viable enough solution for Phoenix to pull the trigger? Obviously they need to slash cap room, but with Phoenix currently ranked as the 7th playoff seed, how would the Suns maintain for the remaining 30 odd games left?

The bottom line: Cleveland has the assets to secure the deal, unlike Miami. If Philly makes Andres Iguodala available to Phoenix all other trade discussions will evaporate faster than you can say Samuel Dalembert, whose insanely large contract is undoubtedly being bundled into the deal.

Amare Stoudemire is a hot name isurfacing n trade rumors with just under 2 weeks remaining before the NBA trade deadline. The New Jersey Nets, Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers and a handful more teams are rumored to be investigating what it will take to acquire Stoudemire.

For certain teams, landing Stoudemire represents a scenario dramatically increasing a shot at the title: Cleveland, Miami, and Chicago. In the cases for Miami and Chicago, this is more realistic next year if they can retain Amare past this season, more free agents would consider signing with their team.

Whereas the Cavs would have a shot this season if they could liquidate players Zyndrunas Ilgauskas with a youngster like J.J. HIckson, for example.

Ya know Craig, New Jersey is looking good next year. (Credit: picpp.com)

Teams like New Jersey or the Golden State Warriors are looking to liquidate contracts and overhaul rosters already ripe with young talent.

The Warriors seem determined to trade away draft picks and players with huge upside with maturity issues (think Anthony Randolph) in order to purge their roster, and start over in 2010-11 Warriors fans are quite used to this scenario (Think Chris Webber, Mitch Richmond, Antawn Jamison, Troy Murphy, and more), and Phoenix would not be sending Amare to a team that could hurt them in the West this year.

Of the teams allegedly in the Stoudemire sweepstakes, there are two franchises I find possessing the most “right pieces” to facilitate what it would take for Phoenix to ship Stoudemire out of town.

Amare is expecting a departure. (Credit: picapp.com)

Miami Heat

Michael Beasley is the centerpiece of the package Miami would have to offer up in order to claim Amare. The most sensible trade for Miami would include Udonis Haslem and Dorell Wright, both whom are expiring contracts, and would immediately clear roster space for 2010-11 free agency.

Phoenix would also want some draft pick considerations to to sweeten the deal. Beasley’s game is currently not near the same stratosphere as Amare’s, howver, his upside and young age are desirable qualities for a team looking to stay competitive in the West as they start their life after Stoudemire.

Haslem gives Phoenix a tough rebounding presence and Dorell Wright can give quality backup minutes, and can hit the 3, which suits him for the Suns uptempo game. Beasley is under contract for 2 more years and could flourish in the uptempo environment.

Phoenix has the option of letting Wright and Haslem walk if they don’t like what they see.

The upside for Miami is that if they can retain Amare past this year,  Dwyane Wade and LeBron James might both consider signing with Miami. That is a downright frightening potential “Big 3″ for Miami. If traded, Amare and Wade could gel together for the remainder of this year, and as their comradeship grows, so will the future of the Miami Heat.

New Jersey Nets

The New Jersey Nets have a wealth of young talent. Having only won 3 games thus far this year, they have a great chance at landing John Wall via the Lottery. Which basically means they stink, in a less sugar-coated way of telling the truth.

If New Jersey acquires Amare, they would likely trade Bobby Simmons’ ridiculous contract bundled with a combination of Yi Jianlian, Courtney Lee, Chris Douglas-Roberts. Basically, anyone other than Brook Lopez and Devin Harris is on the trading block.

The main advantage New Jersey has over anyone else is that owner Mikhail D. Prokhorov is willing to spend. If he is anything like fellow Russian Roman Abrovovich, owner of English Premier League team Chelsea, a luxury tax will be a small bump on his road to acquiring talent capable of winning a championship.

A new arena in Brooklyn will be another factor for potential free agent signings. If the Nets have a new stadium in a stylish new location with Harris, Lopez Stoudemire and (possibly) John Wall, how could someone not consider playing for New Jersey?

Wade, LeBron, and the free agent class of 2010 would have to entertain a huge new market in Brooklyn, New York. Brooklyn is a spot historical for professional sports. Who would not want to be a part of bringing that back to New York?

]]> http://protectthepaint.com/2010/01/26/amare-stoudemire-potential-trade-possibilities/feed/ 0 http://protectthepaint.com/2010/01/21/2010-all-star-starters-announced-on-tnt/ http://protectthepaint.com/2010/01/21/2010-all-star-starters-announced-on-tnt/#comments Fri, 22 Jan 2010 01:34:38 +0000 Adam Sedie http://protectthepaint.com/?p=3670

The 2010 NBA All-Star starters were named live today on TNT at 7:00 PM EST.

There has been much discussion about issues with the voting, focusing specifically on Tracy McGrady, whom played in only 6 games, averaging 3 points a game this season. He is currently at home, exiled from the Rockets as they seek out a suitor for a trade.

Allen Iverson has also been a topic of massive debate. AI has played for two teams and conferences this season, and after failing in Memphis, foudn himself back in Philly, and is about to be named to his 11th all star game. He is averaging 14.8 points, 4.5 assists, and 3 rebounds a game. Those are hardly All-Star caliber stats for a 76ers team with a losing record of 13-28.

Iverson fails in comparison to the Easts best guard, Rajon Rondo, who is averaging 14 PPG, .527 FG%, 9.6 APG, 4.1 RPG, 2.5 SPG, on a team whose winning record is 27-13.

Here are the voting results for the starters:

• Carmelo Anthony (Forward)
• Tim Duncan (Forward)
• Amar’e Stoudemire (Center)
• Kobe Bryant (Guard)
• Steve Nash (Guard)

• Kevin Garnett (Forward)
• LeBron James (Forward)
• Dwight Howard (Center)
• Dwyane Wade (Guard)
• Allen Iverson (Guard)

It is very fortunate that the Western Conference’s Steve Nash leapfrogged Tracy McGrady, ousting him in the waning moments to overtake the starting guard position. It saved the league further embarrassment after Allen Iverson was voted in.

Here is a list of players notably deserving to start:

WESTERN CONFERENCE

Chris Kaman

If not Chris Kaman, Tim Duncan should have been listed on the ballot at the center position. Both players are having substantially better years for their teams than Stoudemire. Kaman has been a beast this year, and has been leading the Clippers to respectability this season.

Kevin Durant

Durant is the reason to move Duncan to center. Durant as one of the starting forwards only makes sense. Durant is the league’s third leading scorer, and his team is in playoff contention this season after only winning 23 games total last year.

The fact that he is in Oklahoma obviously hurts his chances due to low national visibility, the only reason that logically explains, albeit unjustly, Durant’s exclusion from the Western Conference starting line up.

EASTERN CONFERENCE

Rajon Rondo

Rondo has experienced some of the worst bias in fan voting I have ever witnessed. Rondo has been nothing less than the best Point Guard in the Eastern Conference all season long. He is member of one of  the best teams in the East. He averages 5 more assists per game shooting 10% better from the field than Iverson.

Rondo has helped his team overcome injuries to Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett and continue to win to the tune of a 27-13 record.

Aren’t All-Stars supposed to be star players on winning teams? Out of fairness to any other player starting this years All-Star game, Iverson is the only player on team with a losing record.

Ironically, the 76ers have as many wins as Boston has losses: 13. One would hope that fact alone should make voters rethink whom they vote for.

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