Amare Stoudemire Trade Not Guaranteed to Get Cavaliers Over the Hump

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Feb 15, 2010

Amare Stoudemire Trade Not Guaranteed to Get Cavaliers Over the Hump This isn't the first time the Cleveland Cavaliers have made a big splash on the trading block in an effort to shake up the supporting cast around super-duper-hyper-uber-megastar LeBron James. And there's a good chance it won't be the last, either.

The news that surfaced this weekend of the Cavs pursuing a trade for Amare Stoudemire, the 27-year-old Suns big man with five All-Star appearances, should come as a surprise to no one. This is in fact an annual ritual in Cleveland — roll the dice, bring in new blood, and give LeBron a chance to thrive in a new environment. Cleveland GM Danny Ferry has been trying this every year, and it hasn't won him a championship yet.

After making the Finals in 2007, they made a huge splash at the deadline in 2008, shaking up their entire roster with a three-team trade that brought in Joe Smith, Wally Szczerbiak, Ben Wallace and Delonte West.

They went deep in the playoffs again in '08, but it wasn't enough — they again had to make a big move to breathe some life into the franchise. So they picked up the phone and called Milwaukee, swinging a trade of Smith and Damon Jones for Mo Williams.

Another deep playoff run, another rejection of the status quo. Again, Ferry had to shake things up. So long to Wallace; welcome, Shaquille O'Neal.

Every time Ferry has made a move, it's worked out fine. No matter how much talent he gives up, the franchise always survives, and with LeBron leading the way, the Cavs always find ways to win, no matter who's around him. But in all his years of trying, Ferry has never made that perfect deal to get his team over the hump. He's never delivered that coup de grâce. And with LeBron's three-year, $60 million contract set to expire this summer, Ferry is running out of time to put together a true winner.

Acquiring Stoudemire would shake things up more than any of the deals he's made before. Simply put, Stoudemire would be the biggest impact player to arrive in Cleveland since the team drafted King James in 2003. And while a guaranteed 20 points and eight rebounds a night obviously looks like a good thing on paper, there are both pros and cons to bringing in such a dynamic player.

Stoudemire is used to being the leading scorer on his team. That's been his role since grade school, and it's still his role in Phoenix. He wants to take 15 shots every time he takes the floor, and he's never had it any other way.

That wouldn't be his role in Cleveland. If you watch the Cavaliers offense, you know that every play revolves around LeBron — he wants the ball in his hands, he wants his teammates setting picks and screens to create his shots, he wants to control the offense at every opportunity. That's how it's always worked with LeBron, ever since he first arrived in the NBA.

It's not impossible for the two superstars to work together. But it's a lot to ask, 54 games into the regular season, for them to learn on the fly how to make things work. And not only that, but you're trying to build around a core of big men led by Shaq and Stoudemire — one guy is too old to defend against a good low-post scorer, and the other has simply never cared enough. You're giving up a lot defensively, especially if the potential Stoudemire trade involves giving up Zydrunas Ilgauskas.

Would Stoudemire make the Cavs better? Maybe. It's not a certainty, though, and it's a very big gamble to take when you're already the best team in the Eastern Conference.

The Cavs aren't just leading the East at the All-Star break. They're running away with it. They're 43-11 in February, seven games up on Orlando, Atlanta, Boston and the rest of the pack. They've got room to breathe and then some.

At this juncture, there are really only two NBA GMs that can say to their fans, "We're happy to stand pat with our current team and just coast to the Finals in June," without inciting a riot. There's Ferry in Cleveland, and there's Mitch Kupchak with the Lakers. That's it. There's no one else.

And yet for some reason, Ferry isn't making that statement. In fact, he's turned in the opposite direction — he looks almost desperate to make a deal.

On paper, it would look like the East's best team dealing for a five-time All-Star in his prime would be game over. The rest of the conference could just pack it up and go home. But not with the Cavs, and not with Stoudemire. There are a lot of red flags to make you wonder whether this is really a good fit — starting with the fact that Stoudemire may not be too keen on Cleveland in the first place.

In Boston, this trade really isn't cause for alarm. The Celtics have the strength defensively to match up beautifully with the revamped Cavs, and there's no reason to think Stoudemire makes the matchup any more difficult. Should these two teams meet in the second round of the playoffs, or potentially in the Eastern finals, the C's will be ready.

We've been wondering for months now whether a big trade will come along at this week's deadline to shake up the balance of power in the Eastern Conference. And even if this Stoudemire deal happens, we'll still be waiting. This trade will once again give LeBron James a new costar in Cleveland, but it leaves a lot of questions unanswered in the race for an Eastern Conference title.

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