POSTED: Feb. 16 -- 7:51 p.m. ET
Stoudemire
J.A. Adande: With rampant speculation that Miami is trying to pry
Amare Stoudemire from the
Phoenix Suns before the
Cleveland Cavaliers can get him, here are two possible scenarios.
According to an NBA source, the Heat are offering
Daequan Cook,
Quentin Richardson,
Dorell Wright,
Mario Chalmers and draft picks to the Suns. Cook is the only player among that group who is under contract for next season (Chalmers has a team option for $847,000). It is believed that the Suns would rather have a package from Cleveland that would include
Zydrunas Ilgauskas,
J.J. Hickson and a draft pick, with the young Hickson as the most appealing part of the package.
Another league source said the Suns would like to attach
Jason Richardson to a Stoudemire trade, which would relieve Phoenix from having to pay Richardson's $14 million salary next season. The combined $29 million of outgoing salary from Stoudemire and Richardson this season would be too difficult for Cleveland to match to make a trade work under the salary-cap guidelines. Miami, however, could add the $23 million expiring salary of Jermaine O'Neal to the previously mentioned offer and come within the 25 percent range of matching salaries. I have yet to hear the Heat are willing to do so --- in fact a source said, "I'd be surprised if Miami took on [Richardson's] contract" --- but the possibility exists.
That would have obvious appeal to the Suns, allowing them to escape from luxury-tax land next season and positioning them to go after a major free agent this summer.
The Suns would be looking at nine players under contract for a total of about $33 million next season:
Steve Nash ($10.3 million),
Leandro Barbosa ($7.1 million),
Grant Hill ($3.3 million player option),
Channing Frye ($2 million player option),
Goran Dragic ($2 million),
Earl Clark ($1.9 million),
Robin Lopez ($1.9 million),
Jared Dudley ($2.2 million) and Cook ($2.2 million).
The Heat would be stuck with Richardson's contract and could potentially have Stoudemire opt out and leave them as a free agent. But they would also have Stoudemire's Larry Bird rights, enabling them to offer a longer and more lucrative contract than any other team. And they would have demonstrated to
Dwyane Wade that they would do whatever it takes to bring another All-Star to play alongside him.
