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Several credible reports have surfaced surronding the ongoing trade talks between New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers.
The trade would involve sending six-time NBA All-Star Amare Stoudemire to the Philadelphia 76ers.
The Knicks are rebuilding the whole team right now. It all started when they hired Phil Jackson as team president and acquired Derek Fisher to call the shots on the hard court. That rebuilding phase didn’t stop when they successfully re-signed Carmelo Anthony. Now, they are pushing forward and trying to trade some of their that unfortunately won’t be useful in their future plans.
Amare Stoudemire, who spent four seasons with the New York Knicks, won’t be a part of the new team Phil Jackson and Derek Fisher is forming. The Knicks are trying to clear more cap space so they can have room for improvement for this season and beyond. They do believe that trading Stoudemire is the best and only way they can get some financial flexibility that they badly need.
Given his age and history of injuries, the 12-year veteran power forward is considered a financial risk for the franchise. With his production right now, no other team might seriously entertain the idea of acquiring him via trade talks. But the 76ers are thinking of a great use for him.
According to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders:
What’s far more likely is that the long rumored Amar’e Stoudemire to Philadelphia deal gets done at the deadline. The Sixers take on Stoudemire’s $23 million salary cap number, which pushes them way over the minimum. They would only owe him roughly 30 percent of his remaining contract, so they’d end up paying him $7 million in cash and likely extract a draft pick or a rookie scale player for their troubles.
Flexibility in the NBA is currency – both figuratively and literally. The 76ers will likely meet the floor; they just are not incentivized in any way to do it before the trade deadline.
The trade will happen not because of Amare Stoudemire’s skills and talent, but because of the salary cap issues that both team are having problems with. If this deal can materialize, it will be really beneficial for both teams financially.
Last season, Stoudemire only posted an average of 11.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 0.6 blocks per game. This is far from his All-Star caliber average of 21.4 points, 8.9 rebounds, and 1.4 blocks per game with the Phoenix Suns.
Although the Knicks are offering Amare in a trade, they might not do it right away. They will surely use him for a few games and see if he can become a valuable member of their rotation. If Stoudemire can remain healthy and the Knicks can get a realistic shot for the playoffs, they might keep Amare until the end of this season. If things go wrong with Stoudemire’s health and production and the Knicks falls out of contention, expect a trade between Philadelphia and New York.
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