You could go all the way back to the 2002 NBA Draft to when the Houston Rockets first had interest in Amar’e Stoudemire, but things really picked up in the summer of 2009 when there was buzz that the Rockets and Suns had talked about a deal for Stoudemire.
A year ago, at last season’s trade deadline, the Rockets and Suns neared on an 11th hour deal that would have brought Stoudemire to Clutch City, but there were two conditions that killed the swap — Stoudemire wouldn’t sign an extension nor would he take a physical.
Obviously things worked out just fine for the 6-foot-10 forward by choosing New York. He’s currently second in the league in scoring at 26.4 points a night, showing that he didn’t need Steve Nash to succeed, and he has gained a lot of respect around the league for helping turn around a franchise that has been on life support for several years.
But was his future almost with the Rockets?
“Houston was definitely high on the radar this summer,” said Stoudemire. “They really, really wanted me to join their team, but it didn’t work out that way.”
The point is relatively moot since the Knicks put together a financial package that blew away anything the Rockets would have been willing to give a player coming off of microfracture, but with Stoudemire lighting up the Big Apple and the Rockets in desperate need of a star, it creates an interesting debate.
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