Kelly Dwyer has a reasonable explanation of why Phoenix would unload Amare this early, a few weeks before the trading deadline. I can't imagine the Spurs parting with Ginobili, who is in a way their fire, their heart and soul. (That would make Tim Duncan their brain.)

But with the current system in the NBA, the Suns almost have no choice but to deal Amare, a 20-10 guy who has never consistently impressed me. Is he really worth $18 million next year if he stays? I don't know. He has his share of 11-5 games, too many for a player with that kind of paycheck, but I'm an old fut who tolerates the tattoos-'til-I'm-one-giant-ink-blot mentality, but doesn't embrace it.

If Amare stays, that's good news for the Suns, sorta. But if he goes, they've got some serious young talent to work with in Lopez, Dudley, Amundson, etc. Barbosa will return in a month (wrist surgery) and Dragic ... fantasy stats aside, good basketball teams are consistent teams, and consistency comes from repetition, character (yes, winners practice well) and knowing The Secret (re: Bill Simmons).

Another blogger, Seth Pollack, theorizes a Stoudamire-for-Maggette trade, one that would be strictly for clearing cap space. It would leave Phoenix with too many wings and not enough post scorers, but they'd adjust enough to still be competitive. Or become horrific.

If Amare goes in a deal, he'll make his dough and the Suns will get something in compensation rather than nothing as a departing free agent. Really, it could be a worse scenario. Phoenix could opt to keep Amare, who is young, and trade Steve Nash, who is old and expensive and the only player in the NBA I'd pay big money to see play live. That would risk major outrage in Phoenix, but if the Knicks offered enough, I wouldn't put it past Suns ownership to do the (fiscally) right thing.

I wish the old (circa 2005) Suns had stayed together and hadn't been robbed by corrupt officials during the playoffs. I also wish there was a new Loyola Marymount-style team in college basketball every single year. I wish teams would play the game the way James Naismith intended.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder. But if Nash is expelled from Phoenix, it would be a double treat to see him wind up back with Mike D'Antoni and a sidekick like, say ... King James.

In the quest for a title, anything is possible. MJ already proved that six times.

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