Lamar for Amare – Would You Do it?

The Lamar Odom contract negotiations are starting to drag on, which normally wouldn’t alarm me.  However, when the Lakers pulled the old switcheroo with Ariza and Artest I am beginning to wonder if the team is really intent on signing their enigmatic forward.  Logic would certainly dictate that they are and the extended dealings are a result of the Lakers simply trying to get the most cost-effective deal from Odom.  But still, I can’t help but wonder if Mitch Kupchak doesn’t have another move up his sleeve.  Amidst my musings over Odom’s situation an idea struck me that could be very interesting: what if the Lakers swapped Lamar Odom for Amare Stoudemire?

Before any “mainstream” media pundits lambast me here, this is merely a notion I came up with, though there is evidence to suggest such a trade could, however unlikely, be consummated.  Many of us recall Amare tweeting via his Twitter account a few weeks ago that he was on his way to the Lakers, be it a hoax or just wishful thinking from Stoudemire, there is certainly reason to believe Amare has some real aspirations to don the Laker Forum Blue and Gold.  On the flip side, Phoenix was rumored to be one of the first teams interested in bringing Odom on board, only they never were considered a serious contender due to a lack of cap room.  Suddenly this isn’t sounding so far-fetched, eh?

Making a trade work would be a lot easier than you might think Amare is going to make $16.3 million last year and Odom is asking for $10 million per year in his new contract, in order to cover the rest of the gap the Lakers just need to toss in Adam Morrison’s expiring contract and Jordan Farmar.  That gives the Suns the financial relief they want in Morrison and Farmar’s expiring deals, a capable frontcourt player in Odom and a potential point guard of the future in Farmar.  The deal may not be on par with Golden State offering up half of their team for Amare, but it should at least make Phoenix think, especially if they think highly of Jordan Farmar and their financial woes are as extreme as many believe.  If the Suns need the pot sweetened, tossing in a first round pick should be more than amenable to the Lakers who have had little use for them recently anyway.

That price strikes me as perfectly acceptable to the Lakers and possibly one of the better offers the Suns will receive since Amare has a few red flags on his resume.  There is the obvious concern over his surgically-repaired knee and his retina problem.  Paying $16+ million to a one-eyed big man with a bad knee could be considered a real backfire.  The other issue is that Stoudemire has an opt-out clause at the end of this coming season and is almost certain to exercise it.  That leaves whatever team acquiring him in a bad position of having to sign him to a contract extension or risk losing him after just one year.  For the Lakers, this shouldn’t be such a problem since Amare has declared his desire to join the Lakers, making him more than amenable to working out an extension, possibly before the trade is even consummated.

The real question the Lakers have to ask themselves is if swapping Odom for Amare is really worth the risk and financial commitment, especially since they are currently trying to lowball LO in contract negotiations.  Amare should be a nice complement to Gasol and Bynum since Amare isn’t really a low-post scorer instead using his athleticism to take other big men off the dribble or knocking down 15-footers.  This is largely akin to what Lamar Odom can do on offense, only Amare is far more prolific and assertive than Odom.  What Amare can’t do is pass and act as a point forward, something Phil Jackson very much likes doing with Odom.  And while Odom is not exactly known for his defense, he is hardly a liability, something that Amare can be at times (those times being from the start of the first quarter to the end of the fourth).  There is also the question of who would come off the bench in a trio of Amare-Gasol-Bynum.  Bynum is the obvious choice based, but it is the kind of move that could stifle his evolution as a player and could also cause him to make a fuss in the locker room.

Those are definitely concerning problems, but Amare is such a devastatingly talented player that passing him up based on a few relatively minor fears would be asinine.  Teaming him up with Kobe, Gasol and Artest would be positively nightmarish for opposing defenses.  Just imagining it almost makes me feel sorry for the rest of the NBA… almost.  As sad as it would be to see the Lakers lose two of their post-season heroes in the same summer, adding Amare would definitely cushion the blow.

Tags: Adam Morrison, Amare Stoudemire, Jordan Farmar, Lamar Odom, trade rumors