Is Cleveland big enough for Amare & Shaq? - TrueHoop Blog - ESPN
For the Suns, the Stoudemire-Hickson trade would be something of a last resort.
The Suns have been hoping to land more than just Hickson and financial relief for Stoudemire. In particular, the Suns are still holding out hope that Philadelphia will come to the table and agree to a deal sending Andre Iguodala and Samuel Dalembert to Phoenix. The Suns have sweetened their offer to the 76ers by including Leandro Barbosa in a package with Stoudemire. Also possible is a three-way trade that would send Hickson and Barbosa (along with Ilgauskas) to Philly, Stoudemire to Cleveland and Iguodala and Dalembert to Phoenix.
Expect the Suns to turn up the heat significantly on the Sixers on Monday.
The Miami Heat remain very interested in Stoudemire and are trying to find a third team to help improve their offer to Phoenix. Though Amare is amenable to going to Cleveland, Miami is his first choice.
Meanwhile, Cleveland remain interested in obtaining either Antawn Jamison of the Washington Wizards or Troy Murphy of the Indiana Pacers. According to an official from one of those two teams, the Cavs said on Sunday that a Stoudemire trade was not a done deal and the team was still evaluating its options.
If these rumors are to be trusted at all, I would bet that Amar'e is dealt somewhere this week and that the Cavs will in fact be getting some kind of upgrade. Chad Ford goes on to speculate that the Cavs might even be willing to deal Shaq (for Jamison?) if they get Amar'e.
Don't rule out the option of Danny getting involved as the 3rd team in a deal that moves a big name player to another team. We have expiring deals and are willing to take on salary for an upgrade. Barbosa anyone?