Keep your eye on Sacramento closer to the draft, especially if the Suns decide to put
Amare Stoudemire back on the market.
Outside of Memphis'
Rudy Gay, Sacramento had the pieces Phoenix wanted most when the Suns still were open to dealing Stoudemire.
The Kings ultimately were unwilling to part with a combination of expiring contracts, rookie forward
Jason Thompson and their No. 1 pick in the June draft -- which could well end up being the No. 1 overall pick in the draft -- for Stoudemire.
Even after a flurry of trades that reduced its committed 2009-10 payroll from $66 million to $45 million, Sacramento wasn't willing to give up that much for Stoudemire. The Kings, while certainly tantalized by the idea of pairing Stoudemire with high-scoring swingman
Kevin Martin, were unsure they could convince Stoudemire to stay in the summer of 2010 as a once-reluctant
Chris Webber was convinced. Giving up such a high, fan-frenzy-generating sort of pick ain't easy, either, when Sacramento obviously has been stripped down to Martin, Thompson,
Andres Nocioni and little else talent-wise.
Just don't forget what Kings co-owner Joe Maloof told us recently when we asked about Stoudemire: "We looked at it. Never say never, but right now, no."
