More Trade Rumors

Rumors rumors rumors, the NBA is abound with rumors. I came across two more this weekend that appear to have legs, so I’d like to break them down for you. Again, it’s vitally important to be prepared for the action around the trade deadline and equally important to wait for some sort of confirmation to these rumors before acting. From what I can tell, the Kevin Martin – Josh Howard deal still has legs, especially given Martin’s recent slump which is being attributed to a lack on cohesiveness on the floor. Still, moving too early would have you sitting on Josh Howard right now and receiving near zero production from him. Ideally we ink that deal as close to it happening as we can. Now let’s take a look at two other superstars who appear to be on the move: Amar’e Stoudemire and Caron Butler.

Apparently the Suns are fully aware that Amar’e will likely leave next year during free agency, and thus rather than not get anything in return for him, they’d like to deal him off before the deadline. The Bulls, the Heat, the Sixers and the Nets have all popped up as potential landing spots. All I can tell you about this situation is that it doesn’t sit well with me. While it’s obvious that Amar’e is a very talented individual, it’s equally obvious that he excels both in the system of the Suns and playing alongside Steve Nash. His quickness and ability to cut to the hoop mesh well with Nash’s ability to work the ball quickly up the court and inside. Given the way the Suns have made it almost certain that he’ll be gone, and given how well Amar’e has played lately, I think now would be an ideal time to shop him. If you were lucky enough to snag him on the cheapy cheap early in the season when I issued the buy low, your return has been enormous and now is a good spot to cash in. There are a lot of targets to go after, one I particularly like would be asking for KG +1. All the news out of Boston is that KG feels ready to finish the season strong. He’ll offer a similar stat line to Amar’e, and the +1 on your deal will be icing on the cake.

Whatever happens, the Suns will be without their leading scorer, which opens up a vacuum that needs to be filled. Obviously the player they get in return will help fill that hole, but you gotta like both J-Rich (especially with Barbosa out) and Frye to see more looks at the basket.

It’s no secret that the Wizards are on the hunt for a true point guard. One potential trade has them shipping Caron Butler to the Minnesota Timberwolves, who have said that no player on their squad is untouchable. I love this setup. If you followed the NBA at all last year, then you’re definitely familiar with the ability of current bench PG Ramon Sessions. Playing for the Milwaukee Bucks last year, Sessions had a very respectable line of 12.4 points and 5.7 dimes, adding in 1.1 steals per game too. I was a bit surprised when they shipped him off to Minnesota (obviously because they liked Jennings) and even more surprised to see how little Minnesota used him. Sessions is a true point guard and it’s highly likely that he’s also available on your FA wire. Whether the Wizards make the move to swap Butler for Flynn or Sessions, in the end Sessions is the winner. He’s simply too good to be left on Minnesota’s bench.

So couple these two deals in with the last one we spoke of. My advice? If you own Amar’e, I’d be shopping him right about now. Nothing less than a Tier Two players should come in return. I really like targeting KG in your deal as eh should offer the same stat line. If you have room on your bench, both Sessions and (if he’s available) Frye would also be solid additions. I’ll do my best to stay atop these deals as we near the deadline to keep you ahead of the pack.

What are you hearing? Are their any deals that seem imminent that you think we should cover?