And, uhm, no thanks. Never have been, never will be an Amare fan.

But I would gladly sacrifice him (or, preferably Hawes) on the altar of Amare. I’d imagine Brad/Salmons/JT for Amare would be a reasonably attractive offer if they wanted a young replacement.

The problem is, what a risk. Let’s not forget that Amare is a microfracture survivor and that he could easily bolt for less money/more endorsements in NYC in 2010.

At the same time, we could pay him the most when he opts out, and he’s only 26, same age as Kevin. Superstars don’t generally trade hands

Would combine to currently average 48 points on 31 shots per game, with a combined average of 14-16 from the line per game. Efficient.

Steve Kerr may just be dumb enough to take an aging Miller and filler for him.

On another note Amick was on Khtk the other night and mentioned the Portland might be interested in something the kings have. What, I have no idea, but it sure sounds intriguing.

More to the point, Stoudemire’s inability or unwillingness to meet Porter’s defensive demands are no longer so easily disguised. Stunningly, he has averaged 5.7 rebounds in the last 11 games. Phoenix is one of 12 teams allowing more than 100 points per game, and of those, only Denver has a clear path to the playoffs.

“We’ve got to defend,” O’Neal said, leaving little to the imagination in what seemed to be an indictment of Stoudemire’s defensive play. “We’ve got to be there when the rotations call for us to be there. … You’ve just got to be there and you’ve got to want to play defense.”

This is ugly shit on both ends. Shaq was never that defender he should have been. He got by on his talent much of his career. My my how the world turns in the Valley of the Sun. And giving up JT? No friggin thanks to that nonsense. I’d rather JT turn into a role player than acquire a lazy selfish incapable of maturing Amare Stoudemire (He’s not 20 anymore).

ME WANTEE.

Amare’s scoring averages have fluctuated through his career, not counting his rookie year and the 05-06 season, but this might be the chance for the Kings to get a superstar. Hate to trade JT and hope he wouldn’t have to be included, but if we get STAT and bring in a high lottery pick this season it might be worth it, with around $6-8 million left for free agency next season.

Pros:
-Amare is 26, about to enter the prime years of his career
-Quotes like this that make me think he’d be a great offensive fit for the Kings:

“You want to play organized basketball, but you do want to have some type of playground atmosphere — the type of attitude where guys can’t stop you and everybody’s having fun. That type of attitude is what we’re looking for and what we need.”

Cons:
-I would not want to trade away JT or Hawes
-Amare has always seemed like a bit of a headcase and a whiner (like Kenny Thomas, but with talent)
-red squiggly lines from spell check every time I type “Amare”

I’m not trying to compare him to Webber too much but the similarities are there. I’d personally be glad to take him on. However, I have on issue. The reason Webber came here and thrived when he couldn’t do it elsewhere is due in huge part to Rick Adelman. Amare mentioned how much he loved the free wheelin’ style of D’Antoni. That’s very similar to what Adelman’s Kings go to do, albeit with much more control. Wouldn’t an Adelman like offense be more conducive to Amare playing well? Doesn’t that also help Kevin a lot?

So my question is, isn’t having Amare play well here dependent on our coach? If so, who is that coach Kenny Natt? Do we go for Eddie Jordan maybe?

Agree with the Webber comparisons, not in terms of the player per se, but the type of risk we need to take. Get Flip Saunders (who coached KG) in the summer, and see what you can do.

over Amare any day of the week.

I’ll say what I said in the Boozer thread. I am against trading either Hawes or Thompson when they are so young in their career and we don’t know how good they are going to be offensively or defensively. Bringing in Amare brings your ceiling next year to a 6th seed and a 1st round exit with him most likely bolting in free agency. Wow, sounds exciting! The time will come when the Kings will “go all in” with a move or signing to contend for a championship, but it shouldn’t be this year.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but watching the team this year is a bit like eating shit sandwiches. Acquiring Amare or Boozer is like talking about switching to a nice pastrami or turkey. What I’m hearing from a lot of people is “Well, I don’t know. How is the shit prepared?”

(Huge debt to David Sedaris for borrowing his analogy).

If we picked up a Boozer or Stoudemire now and add a solid starter/star in this year’s draft, we’re done

I don’t agree with the premise. The idea is to consistently improve. I don’t think adding either of those guys necessarily means we’re done.

If we don’t pick up a top-tier talent now, we get the solid starter/star this season and then figure to be bad again next year to add another. And hopefully next season’s draft is deeper and we can get that super-star.

The problem I have with this is that it involves a lot of hope. Hoping Thompson and Hawes pan out. Hoping a top three pick in a bad draft isn’t a complete bust. Hoping that next year’s draft is better. A LOT of things have to fall into place for this type of plan to work. Of course, acquiring either of those two guys involves hoping they can stay healthy. I suppose I’m more willing to take a risk on somebody proven than hoping that a half dozen other pieces have to fit absolutely perfectly.