CIMO. Posted February 13, 2010 Report Share Posted February 13, 2010 Dallas -- At the moment, All-Star Weekend is turning into an elaborate game of Spy vs. Spy. The amount of information and disinformation flying around is at a fever pitch as teams jostle for position in escalating trade talks. The Cavaliers, as would be expected, are right in the middle of it. According to multiple league sources, the Cavs have put their interest in forwards Troy Murphy and Antawn Jamison on the back burner for the moment and are getting serious about a higher-profile name, Phoenix Suns All-Star Amare Stoudemire. Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry and Suns General Manager Steve Kerr, former teammates and friends who have already collaborated on big deals, met this afternoon in Dallas. Suns owner Robert Sarver and Cavs owner Dan Gilbert are also in town and are on the labor relations committee that met. Sources indicate the Cavs, who first started talking to the Suns about their high-profile big man last month, are advancing talks to bring him to Cleveland. It is possible there are discussions that would make it a larger deal. The Arizona Republic reported earlier this week that the Suns were hoping to get a team to take the contract of guard Jason Richardson in addition to Stoudemire to complete any deal. That has been a sticking point in talks with other teams, but it isn't clear whether the Cavs would be willing to swallow such a package. They have the assets to pull it off if they are able to use Wally Szczerbiak in a sign-and-trade deal and the expiring contract of Zydrunas Ilgauskas. The Suns are also believed to be interested in J.J. Hickson, who has had a breakout sophomore season. Sources said the Cavs have advanced in discussions with the Pacers as well and could make a deal for Murphy if other deals fall thought. The Cavs still maintain an interest in Jamison and Yahoo! Sports is reporting they are competing with the Boston Celtics to trade for him. The Wizards, according to multiple reports, appear to be headed for their rebuilding as a deal to send forward Caron Butler to the Dallas Mavericks for guard Josh Howard may be getting close. But for now, it seems the Cavs have eyes for Stoudemire. It is a stunning situation considering Stoudemire didn't mesh with Shaquille O'Neal last season when both were with the Suns. He's averaging 21.2 points and 8.6 rebounds this season. He has one year at $17.6 million left on his contract but can opt out of it and become a free agent. http://www.cleveland.com/cavs/index.ssf/20..._intensify.html In another article he mentions there may be interest in Rip Hamilton too (ugh). Out of all these I have to say I'm most interested in Troy Murphy. Probably won't have to give up much more than Z (who will probably be bought out), and he provides the least amount of risk. We know he can hit jumpers and rebound, and he only has one more year on his contract. Amare would be great if we get him re-signed, but I don't see him as "the piece" for a title run this year, especially if it means losing Hickson. Side note - I'm a huge Jason Richardson fan. I'd love to get him in a more minor deal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CIMO. Posted February 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2010 Here's one from Pro Basketball Talk... The hits from Adrian Wojanrowski's twitter page just keep on coming. He is now reporting that the Cavaliers and Celtics will go "head-to-head" for Antawn Jamison, and that the Cavaliers are "very involved" in talks for Amare Stoudemire. The key to the Cavaliers completing a deal may be sophomore forward JJ Hickson. The 21-year old prospect had perhaps the best game of his career last night, scoring 20 points in a win over the Magic. Hickson's play has been a revelation in the last month or so. The question is whether Danny Ferry will use this as an opportunity to sell high or thinks that Hickson fits into the Cavs' long-term plans. The Cavaliers are currently enjoying a 13-game win streak, and Ferry may be cautious about tinkering with the team's chemistry. Ever since Ferry took over as GM of the Cavaliers, he has managed to pull off trades while giving up almost nothing by way of assets. After Joe Smith returned to the Cavs at midseason last year, they effectively got Mo Williams for Damon Jones. This summer, all they had to give up for Shaquille O'Neal was Sasha Pavlovic and Ben Wallace. The Cavs are definitely in "championship or bust" mode this season, but they may have an eye on the future in their deadline dealings. Stoudemire is only 27, and could give the Cavs a young core that would entice LeBron James to stay in Cleveland even if the Cavs have a disappointing playoff run. For that same reason, the Cavs could be reluctant to give up Hickson for a man 12 years his senior. Another wrinkle in a Cavs deal for Jamison is the issue of Zydrunas Ilgauskas' buyout. The Cavs are expecting that whichever team trades for Ilgauskas' expiring contract will buy him out and allow him to return to the Cavaliers. However, the Cavs' past history with the Wizards franchise has them worrying that Washington would not do them the favor of buying out Ilgauskas. What happens with the Cavaliers before the trade deadline could come down to how many risks the conservative Ferry is willing to take with the roster of the NBA's best team. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cambridgeho Posted February 13, 2010 Report Share Posted February 13, 2010 Thanks for the info. All I know is, there is 6 days until we know. I don't think the Celtics would be much better with Jamison. They are just straight up old and breaking down, its unfortunate but true. I am really curious as to see if Stoudamire will gel in time with the team. I like Troy Murphy and think he is not a bad option at the 4. Well who knows whats going to happen, there is so much smoke in the air to figure any thing out. I Just want a damn Championship in Cleveland for once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ_Browns Posted February 13, 2010 Report Share Posted February 13, 2010 i always hate this time of the year because there are a whole bunch of rumors. i just hope danny only makes a move if it's the right one and we don't hurt the teams chemistry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CIMO. Posted February 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 Here's one from ESPN's biggest (if not only) Cleveland supporter, Chris Broussard The Cleveland Cavaliers and Phoenix Suns are closing in on a deal that would send All-Star forward Amare Stoudemire to Cleveland, according to sources with knowledge of the negotiations. The Cavaliers would send Zydrunas Ilgauskas and J.J. Hickson to Phoenix in exchange for Stoudemire, one of the league's most dominant big man. While Cleveland remains in talks with several other teams, the club, from management down to the players, has settled on Stoudemire as its first choice. The ball is in Phoenix's court. The Suns are mulling whether the financial relief provided by Ilgauskas's $12 million contract and the young and talented Hickson are enough for them to part with Stoudemire. Cleveland believes the addition of Stoudemire would all but seal LeBron James' re-signing with the team when he becomes a free agent this summer. The Cavaliers are also prepared to sign Stoudemire, who has one year and $17 million remaining on his contract, to a long-term contract extension once the season ends. The Suns will likely waive Ilgauskas, which would allow him to be re-signed by Cleveland after 30 days. Cleveland is also talking with Washington about acquiring Antawn Jamison, as well as Indiana about Troy Murphy. Meanwhile, Golden State is trying to entice the Cavs into taking Corey Maggette for Ilgauskas. http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4913305 At some point in the 13-game Mo-less win streak, I've lost interest in Jamison. He'd be a good fit for this title run, but he's not a piece for the future and his contract is too long and too expensive. We've been hurting from bad contracts ever since we signed Larry Hughes. Amare may not be as good a fit for this year...but he's still Amare, and he'd be a piece to build around, unlike the 33 year old Jamison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ_Browns Posted February 14, 2010 Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 Here's one from ESPN's biggest (if not only) Cleveland supporter, Chris Broussard http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=4913305 At some point in the 13-game Mo-less win streak, I've lost interest in Jamison. He'd be a good fit for this title run, but he's not a piece for the future and his contract is too long and too expensive. We've been hurting from bad contracts ever since we signed Larry Hughes. Amare may not be as good a fit for this year...but he's still Amare, and he'd be a piece to build around, unlike the 33 year old Jamison. i'm all for this deal! amare is better than jj and who knows if jj is the truth or if he's the next inconsistent, up and down player like drew gooden. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cambridgeho Posted February 14, 2010 Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 i'm all for this deal! amare is better than jj and who knows if jj is the truth or if he's the next inconsistent, up and down player like drew gooden. Looks like we will never know, JJ will be a good player for years to come, if he developes a jump shot, he will be really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CIMO. Posted February 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 From Windhorst's twitter... Sources say no Stoudemire trade today, he's playing in All-Star Gm for PHX after all. But Cavs hoping for yes or no by early in week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ_Browns Posted February 14, 2010 Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 Looks like we will never know, JJ will be a good player for years to come, if he developes a jump shot, he will be really good. don't get me wrong, i like jj, but the cavs are trying to win RIGHT NOW. i think amare would give them a better chance at success in the posts season than jj. he has experience, unlike jj and i would worry about how jj would play in the post season. he makes way too many mistakes and has a bad case of the fumbles. stuff like that can kill a team in win or go home circumstances. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ_Browns Posted February 14, 2010 Report Share Posted February 14, 2010 From Windhorst's twitter... Sources say no Stoudemire trade today, he's playing in All-Star Gm for PHX after all. But Cavs hoping for yes or no by early in week. i didn't necessarily expect this trade to get done today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TN Browns Backer Posted February 16, 2010 Report Share Posted February 16, 2010 There are a lot of rumors going around. The problem with Amare is his chemistry with Shaq, which apparently we would have no issue trading him despite giving Big Z to the Suns (apparently they would release him and he could re-join after 30 days back to Cav's). The Shaq part of that deal bothers me, because I like him in our offense, he is a good complimentary player and has started to fall into the team. I worry about adding Amare and whoever else they pick up into the chemistry of the club Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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