It’s getting to be about that time when rumors fly.
The Los Angeles Clippers, Portland Trail Blazers, Phoenix Suns and Toronto Raptors are also expected to pursue bought out Amar’e Stoudemire.
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) February 16, 2015
Some quick thoughts:
Stoudemire hasn’t been good for a while. He’s injury prone, he’s lost his explosiveness and he still hasn’t learned how to play help defense. He hasn’t done much to impact the Knicks, who are 10-43.
On a more nuanced level, Stoudemire can’t shoot from outside of the paint and isn’t quick enough to show on pick-and-rolls. Those two skills are prioritized in the Raptors’ defensive. He’s basically only useful on post-ups and pick-and-rolls, but if the Raptors were interested in more of that, they could just increase Jonas Valanciunas’ usage.
What Stoudemire could do, however, is be a big presence under the basket on the cheap. He’s somewhat decent when he plays a defensive anchor role that doesn’t necessitate him moving too much and could play backup center to essentially replace Tyler Hansbrough. I’m kinda grasping for straws here.
An added wrinkle is the Raptors’ cap situation. Toronto is pressed up against the luxury tax and would not be able to take on Stoudemire at the veteran’s minimum without crossing over the line. That would then necessitate another move to shed salary, like a stretch provision or a salary dump.
Long story short, it’s really not worth the hassle.
