Report: Rockets Made Late Offer for Amar'e Stoudemire

Amar'e Stoudemire ended up staying in Phoenix at the trade deadline, but it wasn't for a lack of suitors. The Cleveland Cavaliers and the Miami Heat both had extensive discussions to try to pry STAT away from the Suns, but in the end, neither team was willing to include enough to get the deal done -- at least from the perspective of Steve Kerr.

We had heard about the Suns' talks with the Heat and the Cavs for several days, but as it turned out, a surprise third team apparently came into the mix late on Thursday as the trade deadline approached. According to ESPN.com, that third team was the Houston Rockets.

As is often the case in these situations, details are sketchy, and a bit conflicting.

One story has the Rockets offering Shane Battier, Luis Scola, Brian Cook's expiring deal, and multiple draft picks for Stoudemire. Despite the fact that there isn't a team in the league that values Battier as highly as Houston does, this seems like a deal the Suns might have considered. If, you know, it was based in reality.

The part about this one that makes zero sense is the reason that it supposedly fell apart: Phoenix allegedly wanted the physical examinations for the involved players waived so that "the trade went through in time," which was something Houston wasn't willing to sign off on.

In time for what?

It's not like the physicals need to get completed before the trade deadline, so this line -- which the report claims is the whole reason that the deal didn't go down -- makes me more than a little skeptical.

Now, the flip side of this report (which is mentioned in the same ESPN.com piece, by the way) makes a little more sense. That one says the Suns are the ones who initiated the talks with the Rockets, and that Houston refused to give up the Battier-Scola-draft picks combination in exchange for Stoudemire.

If the the Rockets were indeed talking to the Suns at the eleventh hour, that's probably the way it went down.

Since the one thing that these conflicting stories have in common is the Suns' willingness to make this deal in both of them (again, allegedly), from the Rockets perspective, should they have done it?

Probably not.

No one values draft picks more than Daryl Morey, mainly because few are able to turn them into legitimate, productive talent as quickly. (After all, the man sits atop our Swagger Rankings for a reason.) So multiple picks leaving Houston in any deal is going to cause some hesitation.

And while Stoudemire is an elite offensive talent, Scola can score just fine, and he's historically been a more tenacious rebounder. Battier isn't that great, but he does provide some solid perimeter defense, so that's a hole that might hurt the Rockets more in the long run than the addition of Stoudemire would help.

There were plenty of options on the table for the Suns if they were truly eager to get some closure on Stoudemire's situation, which has now survived it's second consecutive trade deadline -- and might be on its way to a third -- without being resolved. But the team opted not to trade a quality product on the court for short-term financial relief. And at a time when clubs are often doing the exact opposite, that's something that the fans in Phoenix should truly appreciate.