Stoudemire for Iguodala Deal Bad For Both Teams

The trade rumors for Phoenix Sun Amare’ Stoudemire have persisted for some time now, but there have recently been rumblings of the All-Star being swapped along with Leandro Barbosa for Andre Iguodala and Samuel Dalembert.

While the probability of this exchange is not quite clear, it would certainly shake up the rosters of each squad.  Here’s the impact of such a move:

Leandro Barbosa...doing what he does best...

For Philadelphia – They would basically be saying “we don’t want defense anymore.  We’ve already tried that and it hasn’t gotten us anywhere.  Time to try something new.”

And, in theory, they’d be right.  But what’s would be very interesting about bringing Stoudemire into town would be his pairing with Elton Brand.  Brand has been an big-time underachiever in Philly, with a big-time price tag.  With Stoudemire on the roster, that would be two similar types. 

Stoudemire, like Brand, makes scoring the ball his main priority.  Defense is merely a concern for the rest of his teammates.  And please don’t confuse shot-blocking with defense.  Stoudemire will block some shots, but you can forget about him moving laterally to contain ball penetration.  Or making the proper, on-time rotation when it’s required (other than to block shots).

And what does Leandro Barbosa bring to the table?  A guy who will jack it up anytime he touches it.  He certainly isn’t gonna play any defense.  As a matter of fact, he might as well spell his name “Leanro” because he ain’t got no “D”.  It’s a shame that a player, who many regard as the fastest in the NBA, is consistently abused by the opposition.

Wherever he plays, Andre Iguodala will bring his crazy athleticism.

For Phoenix – Andre Iguodala is a good all-around player.  He’s not the guy to take your franchise to the next level, however.  That’s the main reason that the Sixers are willing to part with the young, extremely athletic swingman.  Offensively, he’s still very raw, and for years media pundits have been predicting a break-out season for him.  I just don’t see it coming.  But from Phoenix’s perspective…as long as they have an able-bodied Steve Nash, he should fit perfectly into what they do.  In many ways, he’s a less-skilled version of Grant Hill.

Center Samuel Dalembert is a good shot blocker.  He a slightly above average rebounder.  Just about everything else he does needs improvement.  Dalembert is seven feet tall with long arms, and that’s hard to replace. 

What’s the bottom line for this potential deal?

Phoenix picks up some defense and loses some offense.  Steve Nash has the ability to make Dalembert look better on the offensive end (as hard as it may seem).  But Nash (and the Suns) would greatly miss Stoudemire’s fiery play and versatility on the offensive end.  They would have no interior go-to-guy.  

Philadelphia turns into a bad shooting team with reduced defense.  That can’t be good for Sixers fans.  With guards like Allen Iverson and Louis Williams (who both play matador-style defense) and no Dalembert to cover for their mistakes, things will get ugly real fast.

Phoenix would get the better deal here, but ironically, it probably wouldn’t make them a better team.