Smell Like Billy Madison Just Left A Burning Bag On Your Porch? That's Amar'e

With the Phoenix Suns making Amar’e Stoudemire available everywhere but Craigslist, it begs the question: why are they willing, let alone eager, to unload a 26 year old big just entering his prime? It’s not often, though not without precedent (Chris Webber, anyone?), that a 6’10”, 250 lb, 4-time All-Star is on the block when he quite possibly has his best basketball in front of him. Does this say more about the state of the Suns, who are 28-23 and struggling to hang on to a playoff spot out West (currently a game behind Utah, who might pair a healthy Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer for the first time this season after the break), or Stoudemire, who is averaging 21 and 8 in a down year? What teams should be interested in the services of Amar’e?

Let’s start with Phoenix. Every fan of the NBA (outside of San Antonio) knows that the Suns got screwed in the 2007 playoffs. Had the Suns not been shorthanded in game 5 they might have gone on to win that series and been fortunate enough to face, and manhandle, a clearly overmatched Cleveland Cavaliers squad.

Ah, revisionist history. The Suns did have to play game 5 without Stoudemire and Diaw and they lost the series, setting the stage for their franchise-altering 2008 season, which included a trade to bring in Shaq, suddenly decide that defense was helpful in a quest to win a championship, and that Seven Seconds Or Less (SSOL forevermore) was not helping the defense or aiding in winning (of course your defense gets worse when you trade your best defender, Shawn Marion, for a guy who probably moves more in his sleep than while he’s defending the pick and roll, but I digress).

Mike D’Antoni is forced out; enter Terry Porter. This transformation, and identity crisis, was furthered earlier this season when Phoenix shipped Bell and Diaw to the Bobcats for Jason Richardson. Didn’t Porter want his team to play defense? Good idea sending away Bell, your best remaining defender, for a guy known as a scorer, but not for doing the little things that add up to wins.

Sorry to repeat what you already know, but I guess that makes it easier to see why the Suns would be so desperate now. Steve Kerr has decided that the only player who isn’t going anywhere is Steve Nash, meaning their window is nearly closed. This is not a roster that can compete for a title this year, and Kerr knows it. Nobody wants Shaq and his $20M/year salary for this year and next. The only piece they have with value is Stoudemire, and it’s said that they want a talented young player (preferably a forward), expiring contracts, and draft picks in exchange for him. Apparently, this would somehow make them championship contenders while Steve Nash can still keep his drool in his mouth.

I will quickly record here my thoughts on Amar’e Stoudemire.

The Good: He is an elite talent who, despite multiple knee injuries (microfracture surgeries are harder to come back from in basketball than Tommy John surgeries in baseball), appears to have fully recovered and can be an All-Star caliber player for 4-6 more years, perhaps even longer. He is difficult, if not impossible, to defend on the pick and roll or the fast break. He has the ability to regularly hit midrange jumpers spotting up or off the dribble. His ability to knock down free throws is a plus, especially considering his physical offensive play and propensity for drawing fouls.

The Bad: He wants to be “the man.” Typically, this is a good thing in your most talented player, as it shows a desire for greatness and success. In Stoudemire’s case, however, it just means he wants to make the most money on the team and get the most shots. When I think of someone being “the man” on their respective team, I think of someone you can go to on the offensive end in clutch situations (in addition to their consistent production throughout the course of a game and season), can defend his position at an elite level, is a leader with a good attitude, and makes his teammates better. Stoudemire is not interested in playing defense, does not appear to have leadership qualities, and may or may not make the game easier for his teammates.

So where should he go? Miami? Detroit? Dallas? New Jersey? Portland? Chicago? There aren’t a lot of teams in the league that couldn’t use a player like Stoudemire. It would be foolish for the Heat to include Beasley, however, and impossible to get Amar’e otherwise. I don’t think Kerr is interested in obtaining Rasheed Wallace (especially as a rental). I doubt very much that Dallas or New Jersey can make a deal happen, unless Kerr likes someone on one of those rosters more than I think he does.

That leaves Portland and Chicago as the most fitting destinations (not necessarily the most likely). The Blazers’ offer might include LaMarcus Aldridge, Jerryd Bayless, and Raef LeFrentz’s $12.7 million expiring contract. This trade makes sense for both teams, in my opinion. The Blazers would be getting someone to take the scoring load off of Brandon Roy, divert pressure from Greg Oden in his basketball maturation, and Oden could in turn take defensive pressure off of Stoudemire. A team that is already winning games would potentially take the next step from good to great – the hardest step for any NBA franchise to make. Phoenix wouldn’t be losers in this deal either, as they would acquire a PF with a team concept, a young and explosive ball handler to take some pressure away from Nash and play a little defense at the point, and an expiring contract – everything they hoped for. The Suns wouldn’t be contenders this year, but another good year from Shaq and Nash along with the development of Bayless and Aldridge could bode well for 2010.

What about my Bulls? As you probably guessed in reading my rudimentary scouting report on Amar’e, I’m less than thrilled by the prospect of having him in the windy city. If the Bulls trade away Tyrus Thomas or Noah with Gooden and a first they become a playoff team with Stoudemire. Unfortunately, they would be a low seed in the playoffs with minimal chance of winning a series and the possibility that Amar’e will be gone after just over a year (and if he isn’t it would be because the Bulls overpaid him). If Chicago has to give up Thomas and Noah then the trade would only be marginally helpful even in the short-term, and potentially devastating to the franchise long-term. The possibility of a Rose-Stoudemire-Deng triumvirate is only mildly exciting as a Bulls fan, as I think only Rose is capable of holding his own against elite players of his respective position. This isn’t to say that Tyrus Thomas or Joakim Noah will ever be stars in this league, far from it (especially in Noah’s case), but having Thomas and Noah wouldn’t preclude the Bulls from acquiring other talent, whereas the presence of Stoudemire (with the contract he wants) would.

In most scenarios I am completely behind the Bulls making a trade. They are a team with no identity outside of Rose and no hope of being very good as currently constructed. I would love to see them get rid of Hughes, Gooden, or both and maybe even get a basketball player in return (addition by subtraction is acceptable). What I don’t want, however, is to sacrifice an unwritten future for a present that has MEDIOCRITY stamped all over it.

Derrick Rose is my Barack Obama

And you thought this blog would only be about sports.

Just kidding - I imagine the picture alone is clear indication that I have no intention of talking politics.. just trying to capitalize on Barack Obama as a symbol of hope.

In case it wasn't obvious from my worship of all things Michael Jordan, my two favorite basketball teams are the Chicago Bulls and North Carolina Tar Heels. I will talk about both of those teams frequently, I'm sure, but this post is only about Chicago.

Back to Obama. Unfortunately, there are many similarities between our downtrodden economy/struggling nation and the woebegone Chicago Bulls. Both recently are experiencing new leadership from a (relatively) young man who came out of virtual obscurity (Rose was not the most highly touted prospect coming out of HS, or the early front runner for the #1 overall pick, and Obama wasn't a serious Presidential candidate until at least the 2004 DNC). The nation, especially the economy, and the Bulls both will likely get worse before they get any better. Whether or not you think Obama can lead this country to prosperity largely depends on your political leanings, and I won't disclose mine here, but there is little doubt that the Chicago Bulls will be better because of Rose's presence.

As of this post, the Bulls are 22-29 following a 115-114 OT loss against the Dallas Mavericks, leaving them 2 games out of the 8th spot in the Eastern Conference, having just gone 4-3 in their seven-game "ice show" road trip.. but you aren't here for facts.

First, a step back.

When the Bulls won the 2008 NBA draft lottery I was ecstatic because that meant they would either have the rudder to steer their sinking ship or a prodigious post scorer to take pressure off of everyody else. With the rule changes a few years ago favoring perimeter players, and seeing what guys like Chris Paul and Deron Williams did for their franchises, I hoped that John Paxson would end his streak of stupidity and take Derrick over Mr. Beasley. I loved what I saw out of Rose in the NCAA tournament, at least when I wasn't worried about a potential championship game matchup in which he would dismantle Ty Lawson. In the Elite 8 against Texas there was no doubt who won the Augustine-Rose matchup, or who had more NBA potential, and it was easy to see the unselfishness and committment to winning and getting better that every coach, GM, and fan wants on their side. Besides, the only thing Chicago knows to do with talented forwards is trade them before their prime for nothing (see: Brand, Elton; Artest, Ron; Chandler, Tyson; Miller, Brad; Aldridge, LaMarcus; it hurts too much to continue.. but at least we don't have Eddy Curry hahahahaha).

Back to the present.

Nearly everything I have seen from the Bulls this season has made me want to vomit (my only hope for Vinny Del Negro is that he doesn't go down as the worst coach in NBA history), but Rose has been nothing but encouraging. The unselfishness, committment to winning, and desire to improve is more evident than ever, given that he's played more NBA games than college games already. There is really nothing more important than that, but what has me giddy is that despite Rose's biggest shortcoming, his lack of a consistent jump shot, he is shooting 47% from the floor. He is being given space and dared to shoot it, yet he gets to the rim seemingly whenever he wants.. and with such grace! When he can consistently burn people for giving him that space by hitting jumpers, which won't take longer than one or two offseasons, he will be unguardable. He could be a bigger, stronger Chris Paul - which nearly makes me orgasm. Even if he never gets that good, he will undoubtedly be some kind of amalgamation of Rajon Rondo and Tony Parker, which isn't a bad consolation.

The Bulls are serious contenders to get bounced in the first round by Boston or Cleveland as the 7 or 8 seed this season, almost entirely because of Rose. I don't want to bet against my team, and now that Milwaukee is depleted it's easier not to, but I honestly don't see it happening. I don't believe in the Knicks, as a general rule, but Mike D'Antoni will get that bunch of bums into the playoffs before the Bulls somehow, and New Jersey has a stud (Devin Harris) and Clark Kent (Vince Carter: he could have been Superman, but never doffed his suit to show the S on his chest - with the notable exception being the Sydney Olympics in general and the below Frederic Weis dunk specifically) to pair with an emerging Brook Lopez, which adds up to more wins than what the Bulls will finish the season with.



Once Chicago can unload 75% or more of its horrendous roster and get players who don't just want to shoot 25 times to score 20 points.. and spurn over-generous contract offers for tales of sugar plums dancing in his pea-brained head (I'm looking at you, Ben Gordon)...



Sorry, what was I saying? Right, right - once the Bulls rid themselves of flea-ridden dogs (like Ben Gordon) and have basketball players, Derrick Rose will be exactly the kind of leader that I want running the team, and giving LeBron James a run in his quest to match or exceed MJ's title total.

That was quite a bit more than I intended to post, so I will quit while I'm making some semblance of sense.. maybe? More on LBJ's quest for championships later.



P.S. If it seems like my ripping of Ben Gordon is excessive, then you are not a Bulls fan. I only have such disdain for him because of the promise that he once showed, and the fact that it is his attitude and not talent that prevents him from helping the team reach its goals.