3 weeks ago, Suns fans and writers alike were acting as if the sky was falling down on Planet Orange. The Suns lost their GM Steve Kerr to greener pastures over at TNT, their loyal front office executive David Griffin was let go and Amar’e Stoudemire signed with the New York Knicks for 5-years and $100 million.

This was the same Steve Kerr that organized the Kurt Thomas, Shaquille O’Neal and Mike D’Antoni debacles during his tenure. However after one run to the Western Conference Finals his vilification was gone and he was now a savior of the franchise? Which brings us to Amar’e “Pioneer” Stoudemire. The Suns offered him a deal worth $96.6 million over 5 years, however the final two years were based on minutes played and could be voided if his fragile knees popped again. In Stoudemire’s defense for leaving, I would have done the same thing. A guarantee for $100 million is tough to pass up. However, if winning was so prevalent in his mind as he has alluded to time and time again, while go to one of the most beleagured franchises in the NBA?

For Robert Sarver and the Suns guaranteeing that much money to a oft-injured player would have been pure stupidity. As much as I love Amar’e Stoudemire’s thunderous jams and freakish athletic ability, committing that much money would have handcuffed the organization for the next 5 years. There is still the looming question of whether Amar’ewas worth a maximum contract. Obviously market demand dictated that he was, however I am still not convinced. In the biggest of series, one that would have propelled the Phoenix Suns to the NBA finals against a Boston Celtics team that is slow and may have had trouble with the Suns pace, Stoudemire mustered a measly 6 rebounds per game. In terms of Power Forwards, I have personally only seen a few players worth maximum money. The max players in my mind are the ones that can get it down in crunch time. Ultimately, isn’t all about winning in the playoffs? Stoudemire’s numbers in his career during the playoffs have been solid 24.2 PPG and 9.2 RPG. However, upon comparing him to the greats at his postion his is still a tier below the best. Tim Duncan: 23.0 PPG, 12.4 RPG, Karl Malone: 24.7 PPG, 10.7 RPG, Kevin Garnett: 20.0 PPG, 11.2 RPG, and Elvin Hayes 22.9 PPG and 13.0 RPG. As you can see, Stoudemire’s rebounding numbers in the playoffs simply don’t compare to the greats at his position. A maximum contract should be reserved for someone at least great at their position.

When Mike D’Antoni left the Suns, everybody left the team for dead. After the Terry Porter debacle (also Kerr’s fault), Alvin Gentry has stepped in and in my opinion exceeded the Mike D’Antoni era. Gentry has developed one of the best benches in the NBA while still keeping the run andgun offense led by Steve Nash in the forefront. Now, Stoudemire has left andonce again the Suns are left for dead? Not so fast. This team revolves around Steve Nash not Amar’e Stoudemire. People don’t seem to remember how pedestrian Shawn Marion has become without Steve Nash feeding him the ball. Granted, I believe Stoudemire is better than Marion, but watch his shooting percentage plummet next season. I don’t say scoring as Stoudemire is literally all New York has got and he will shoot a lot more than he did in the Suns fluid offense.

The Suns have re-loaded perhaps to a level even better than with Amar’e. The additions of Hakim Warrick, Josh Childress and Hedo Turkoglu have bolstered an already dynamic Suns offense. The Suns bench could likely compete with a lot of NBA starting lineups. Here is their current bench in case you have forgot. PG: Goran Dragic, SG: Josh Childress, SF: Jared Dudley, PF: Hakim Warrick and C: Channing Frye. 2nd round draft pick Gani Lawal and Earl Clark are likely to fill out this bunch. With these additions and the loss of Amar’e Stoudemire I will predict the Suns again win 50-54 games and make a run in the playoffs. I feel bad for Amar’e, he is going to be a pioneer on a Knicks team that wins 30-35 games in the East next season.