Amare Stoudemire to be Traded to Miami?

A few years ago, Amare Stoudemire was one of the best big men in the league, but he has become injury-prone. Despite his full return to shape, the Phoenix Suns are no longer the contenders that they used to be. Last season, they even missed the playoffs without him. Now that he is back, they are still only an average team. The Suns have a reason to be upset with Stoudemire and he has a reason to be upset with the Suns.

One team that Amare Stoudemire has no issues with is the Miami Heat. He is a free agent at the end of this season and he may very well leave the Suns with nothing and sign with Miami. With the Heat struggling to keep Dwyane Wade happen, Pat Riley would love to land a player like Stoudemire on the team. Ever since the beginning of the week, there have been rumors of Stoudemire being traded to the Heat.

Most likely, he and Dwyane Wade would come together to form a strong dynamic duo. Right now, the Heat are holding the final playoff spot, but there is a lot of basketball left to be played and a Wade-Stoudemire duo would be very hard to stop. The reason that the Heat hold a losing record heading into the All-Star break is because they do not have a consistent big man. Jermaine O'Neal, who has a contract worth $20 million, expiring at the end of the season, was expected to be that lift for Wade, but he has been a major let down.

There has been talk of other teams wanting Stoudemire, but the ones receiving the most press are the ones involving Amare Stoudemire being traded to Miami. With Stoudemire also being a free agent after the season, this is something to look out for. As opposed to O'Neal's $20 million contract, Stoudemire's is worth $23 million. There would be more cash available for the Heat to offer more money to a player such as Chris Bosh, or even LeBron James. But, most likely, Pat Riley would execute the trade in the coming days and see how the experiment turns out.

If a move is made for Amare Stoudemire and the Heat also pull something off for Ray Allen, as rumored, the Heat could easily catch Atlanta, and maybe Boston to land the third seed in the East. If not, they would still be a tough opponent in the playoffs and headed into next season.