Amare On the Move If Phoenix Rebuilds? Thabeet to Slide?

May 23rd, 2009 by Andrew Wamboldt

In a radio interview, Amare Stoudemire made his intentions clear, that he doesn’t want to be a part of the Phoenix Suns’ rebuilding project, if that is the route they decide on taking.

On going future years without a ring:

“That’s definitely not the business. That’s definitely not what I’m trying to do. I’m trying to win a championship now. And, if the Phoenix Suns are trying to do that and they wanna put the right pieces together to win a championship, we can, but if not, you’ll find me elsewhere.”

This is great news, as the Suns are not really in a position to compete right now. Steve Nash and Shaquille O’neal are old, and no longer at a level where they can make the Suns be among the league’s elite. Compound this with Phoenix’s money problems, and rebuilding looks inevitable.

Hasheem Thabeet To Slide?

In other news, Ian Thomsen of Sports Illustrated, believes that Hasheem Thabeet will slide down into the bottom half of the top ten.

My best guess, based on what I hear from teams, as well as the importance of individual-skills workouts, is that Thabeet isn’t going to be one of the top picks. He’ll slide into the bottom half of the top 10, where he’ll become an excellent value for some fortunate team.

When the rumor broke from Jonathon Givony that the Bulls were looking to move up into the top 10, I stated that I didn’t believe that we would move up just for Dejuan Blair. Thabeet becoming available in the picks 6-10 range would support this. The Bulls’ biggest weakness right now is their interior defense, and the 7′3″ shotblocking phenom from UConn would instantly shore up this weakness. If the Bulls move up in the draft, I think Thabeet is the target.