Andrea Bargnani was wide open on the wing, but Melo ignores him and takes a contested shot. Bargs has been a much better shooter (50.9% to 42.4%) than Melo this year, and there’s a wide open lane for him to either drive or make an entry pass if he doesn’t want to shoot. Just an awful play by Melo.

Amare Stoudamire, never known for his defense, inexplicably made one of the worst defensive plays you’ll ever see. Pistons guard Peyton Siva got the ball about 8-9 feet from Amare, near the 3-point line. Amare looked at him but then turned his back to look at the hoop, assuming Siva was going to shoot. Siva puts the ball on the floor and drives right by Stoudemire, but N.Y. was bailed out on the play when the rookie point guard was called for travelling. Watch the play:

New York is now 3-8 for the season, losing to Detroit, 92-86, on Tuesday and falling to Indiana in overtime, 103-96, Wednesday. Anthony scored 30 points against the Pacers, but needed 28 shots to do it. Anthony has made just 18 of his 48 shots in his last two games.

The Wizards came into their game against Minnesota desperate for a win, and squeaked out a tight come-from-behind victory, 104-100, after trailing by 12 at halftime. They were playing well over .500 ball with Wall in the lineup last year before ending the season on a six-game losing streak. The team traded for center Marcin Gortat before this season started, eying a possible No. 6 or 7 seed in the playoffs. But poor shooting (43.3%, 20th in league) and awful defense (104.1, 26th in league) has plagued them so far.

Wall (14 points, 16 assists) kept up his top-notch distributing, now second in the league at 9.8 assists. Nene had 20 points, five rebounds, four assists and was 7-for-12 from the field. Bradley Beal poured in 25 points to lead Washington in scoring. Kevin Love had 25 points, 11 boards and four assists for the T-Wolves.

The Rockets destroyed the Celtics, 109-85, behind newly emerging stud power forward Terrence Jones (24 points, nine rebounds, two blocks, and 10-for-12 shooting). In his last five games, Jones is at 12.2/10.0/2.4 blocks, 53.2% as the Twin Towers lineup of Dwight and Omer Asik has quickly been discarded — Asik now seeking a trade. The ragtag Celtics shot 32.3%, as their starting backcourt of Avery Bradley and Jordan Crawford combined to go 6-for-30 (20%).

Sacramento got by Phoenix, 107-104, at home as DeMarcus Cousins (more below) was montrous inside and Ben McLemore (19 points, five rebounds) and Isaiah Thomas (19 points) chipped in as well. A shin bruise kept Eric Bledsoe out for the Suns, but Gerald Green (23 points, four assists, two blocks) had a fine effort in his place.

In a rather forgettable game, the Heat beat the Hawks, 104-88, even though Dwyane Wade rested. Atlanta had 24 turnovers in the game, and the only performance worth noting for either team was 15 points and 10 rebounds from Hawks backup PF Mike Scott — no relation to the Houston Astros star pitcher from the mid 1980s who shares the same name.

The Michael Jordan Award  — DeMarcus Cousins —  27 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 9 FTM, 4 steal, 2 block, 0 treys, and 9-for-18 shooting…While the consistency isn’t quite there yet – three of his first 10 games this year have been sub 12 points and sub 8 rebounds – Cousins (21.8/9.7 this year) is slowly becoming a regular 20/10 guy who can sprinkle in a few dimes, thefts, and fly swats. I’ve seen him make very nice passes before, but this year he’s only averaging 1.5 assists per game after coming in at 2.7 last season. But regarding steals (1.9) and blocks (1.5), he’s been splendid so far. He’s also shooting 47.8%, a career-high. As for his team, they’re now starting rookie SG Ben McLemore and ex-UCLA defensive specialist Luc Richard Mbah a Moute at SF, after trying guys like Patrick Patterson, John Salmons and Marcus Thornton in the starting lineup alongside Cousins and Vasquez, the only Kings to start all year.

The Nikoloz Tskitishvili Award —  Markieff Morris —  3 points, 0 rebounds, 0 assists, 3 FTM, 0 steal, 0 block, 0 treys, and 0-0 shooting in 11 minutes…He also accumulated five fouls in those 11 minutes. The inconsistency of the lesser players in the NBA is fascinating. Remember a week or so ago and I was talking about how impressive this guy was over his last four games (22/8, 69% shooting). Now, in his last three games, he’s grabbed just 10 total rebounds while making only four of 17 shots. His twin brother Marcus (they’re both Suns) was quite nice for Phoenix last night, though. He poured in 19 points in only 24 minutes, though it was rather hollow – 3 rebounds, 0 dimes, steals, and blocks.

The Allan Houston Hollow Man Award — J.R. Smith — 18 points, 1 rebound, 2 assists, 2 FTM, 1 steal, 0 block, 2 treys, and 7-for-15 shooting in 34 minutes…J.R. has only played five games so far this year after sitting out the first few games while still recovering from left knee surgery. The early returns are ugly, like most of this season for N.Y. He’s shooting 27.9% on 68 total shots, with just 11 dimes.

Todd Robinson is the publisher of Speedburner on Sports. Click here to read more of his articles.

The Knicks could be without star forward Amare Stoudemire for Game 3 against the Heat. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

It went from bad to worse for the New York Knicks on Monday night, and it brought a whole new meaning to the warning sign that says “Break Glass In Case Of Emergency.”

Moments after dropping to an 0-2 hole in their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series with the Miami Heat, Knicks forward Amare Stoudemire reportedly cut his left hand while punching a fire extinguisher case in the locker room.

Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports wrote that paramedics and team doctors from the Knicks and Heat were immediately called to the locker room. Blood was visible on the carpet when the locker room doors opened for reporters. Stoudemire reportedly received stitches and eventually left the arena with his left hand bandaged and his arm in a sling. If you’re a Knicks fan, that’s not exactly the image you want to see. The Knicks are already having a hard time scoring against the Heat defense with Stoudemire in the lineup, and now it’ll only get harder.

Stoudemire later apologize for his actions through his Twitter account. He wrote: ”I am so mad at myself right now, I want to apologize to the fans and my team, not proud of my actions, headed home for a new start.”

Well, the good news is Stoudemire is not too hurt to tweet. The bad news is he may not be available to play in Game 3 when the series shifts to New York. The Knicks, who have not won a postseason game since 2001, are already playing without starting guard Jeremy Lin and rookie Iman Shumpert, who suffered a season-ending ACL injury in Game 1.

Knicks center Tyson Chandler told TNT’s David Aldridge that Stoudemire “has a laceration” and is “probably going to be out.” Then Chandler caught himself and softened his comment by saying, “I don’t know how bad it is.”

Chandler’s teammate Carmelo Anthony said he didn’t know what happened and had no idea what went on in the locker room.

”You never want to hear anyone gets hurt,” Heat guard Dwyane Wade said. ”Hopefully [Amare] gets better. We want all their guns on the court.”

Point guard Jeremy Lin and head coach Mike Woodson have the Knicks is position to make a push for the playoffs. (GETTY IMAGES)

Mike Woodson has a reputation as a good coach around the NBA.

He was a solid head coach in Atlanta where he took over a team that won 13 games in his first season in 2004-05, but he was able to turn around the Hawks and had them making three straight playoff appearances by the time he was fired in 2009-10. Atlanta decided he wasn’t capable of taking them any farther and decided to let him go on May 17, 2010, after the Hawks lost to Orlando in the second round of the playoffs. It was the second straight year they had lost in the second round.

However, Woodson didn’t stay unemployed for very long. He missed out on the Detroit Pistons head coaching position when the team hired Lawrence Frank, but he was hired on Aug. 29, 2011, by the New York Knicks primarily as a defensive coach.

The Knicks needed a coach who would hold the players accountable. The Knicks players had been reportedly tuning out Mike D’Antoni and he had no choice but to resign. He saw the writing on the wall in Gotham.

The Knicks have now won eight of their last nine games with Woodson as the head coach. Sandwiched in there was a lazy loss to the Raptors, but in this shortened 66-game season, those will happen. In the nine games since Woodson has taken over, N.Y. has allowed 79 points four times and is allowing just 84 points per game. On Monday, they allowed just 80 points to the Bucks, who are led by the dynamic backcourt of Monta Ellis and Brandon Jennings. And on Wednesday, they pulled off a huge win when they beat Orlando, 108-86. The Knicks job got a little harder with Amare Stoudemire sidelined indefinitely with a bulging disk.

The Knicks had a winning streak earlier in the season with Amare and Carmelo Anthony out when Linsanity took off. Melo had 28 points and 12 rebounds in the game against Milwaukee. He also had 26 points and five assists against the Magic. Maybe, he will finally realize his potential as a leader and take charge of this team. Other players will need to step up and perform under pressure, but with a coach who is preaching defense, this just might have a chance at working. Iman Shumpert had an excellent game against Orlando with 25 points, seven rebounds, and four assists. Steve Novak also continued his breakout season with 16 points on 6-of-11 shooting.

The players are responding to Woodson in a positive way and they are just 2.5 games out of first place in the Atlantic Division. The Sixers have nine of their last 11 games on the road and the Celtics have a killer schedule to close out the regular season with games against Miami, Chicago, San Antonio, Indiana, Orlando, and Atlanta. Coaching changes are always awkward in the middle of the season, but this move might be just the move the Knicks needed to make. And so far, the players certainly have shown a passion and fire they lacked under the other Mike.

Darren Jacks is a contributor to OneManFastBreak.net. Send him an email to djroxalot@hotmail.com.

Carmelo Anthony is struggling to fit in Mike D'Antoni's system. (GETTY IMAGES)

A month ago the New York Knicks were riding a seven-game winning streak and the entire basketball world was going absolutely bananas over Jeremy Lin. Fast forward to March 12 and the Knicks are now on a steep downward spiral like roller-coaster on Magic Mountain.

The Knicks are mired in a six-game slump, losers of eight of their last 10 games, and fading fast in the Eastern Conference. What’s the difference between now and February? I’ve got two words for New York fans: Carmelo Anthony.

According to ESPN’s Chris Broussard, the Knicks’ locker room is in turmoil as many of the players as questioning head coach Mike D’Antoni’s ability to lead this team. It’s not a big surprise that D’Antoni – who resigned on Tuesday amid reports that he had lost the respect of his players – is getting the bulk of the criticism, but a bigger chunk of the blame should go to the Knicks’ high-maintenance superstar Carmelo Anthony.

Since Anthony rejoined the team on Feb. 20, the offense that was moving and grooving with Lin running the show has become stagnant again, just like how it became stagnant since the Knicks acquired Anthony from Denver last season. This is what Knicks fans were afraid of when Anthony returned. With ‘Melo out, the Knicks put the ball in Lin’s hands, ran D’Antoni’s pick-and-roll sets and he was able to spread the wealth and keep everyone involved. With ‘Melo in, Lin has deferred too many times and has become hesitant, and when you hesitate in the NBA you are toast. Lin’s confidence has waned and he’s not playing with the same fire like he was a month ago because he doesn’t want to step on ‘Melo’s toes.

Sure most teams have loaded up on Lin and have figured out he doesn’t drive to the basket as fast going to his left (which is something Lin is trying to work through). This is where Anthony is supposed to step up and take pressure off Lin. Instead, the Knicks are back to the dreaded isolation plays and stand-still basketball that plagued them in the past.

When the ball moves, the Knicks are a dangerous team because: a) defenses can’t load up and defend just one side of the court, b) it makes it difficult for teams to defend the high pick-and-rolls and the drive-and-kicks, and c) it discourages one-on-one plays.

Anthony is a notorious ball-stopper and he’s struggling to fit in D’Antoni’s offense. And he certainly doesn’t mesh well with fellow All-Star Amare Stoudemire. It’s almost like they’re competing against each other for shots, which puts a lot of pressure on the point guards – whether it’s Lin or Baron Davis – to keep them happy. This is the biggest flaw in Carmelo’s game. He was a ball-stopper when he was in Denver, and he’s an even worse ball-stopper now that he’s the main attraction in New York.

Amare and ‘Melo both like to operate around the free throw line. But when they don’t get the ball on offense they tend to loaf on defense. It’s quite obvious that Anthony and Stoudemire have no interest in playing defense, something the Knicks were doing better with during their winning streak. During their winning streak, which occurred when both stars were sidelined due to injuries, defensive-minded guys like Jared Jeffries and Bill Walker got more playing time. With Jeffries and Walker, the Knicks were much improved defensively and neither player demanded the ball on offense, allowing Lin to run the offense freely without having to force feed the ball on the wings.

Anthony is a very strong figure on and off the court, so when there’s a tug of war for the basketball, he’s going to win more often than not. When he crosses halfcourt, he’s already looking for Lin to feed him the ball. At this stage of his young NBA career, Lin simply doesn’t have the credentials to wave off ‘Melo. And because D’Antoni doesn’t like confrontations, it ultimately led to his departure.

This is a huge dilemma for the Knicks because management has invested a ton of money on Anthony to excite the loyal fan base. But it’s obvious that for the Knicks to win a championship, they need to shed some of their me-first players and Anthony is right on top of that list.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.

All-Stars Amare Stoudemire (left) and Carmelo Anthony are struggling to find a common ground in coach Mike D'Antoni's offense.

In Gotham City, Batman always rules while Robin plays second fiddle. Batman owns Wayne Enterprise and Wayne Manor, has the coolest Mancave, and drives the Batmobile. Do you ever see Robin driving the Batmobile? I don’t think so. The unwritten rule of Gotham implies that Batman never has to take a backseat to anyone.

When it comes to the New York Knicks, the same fictitious law applies. Since the arrival of Carmelo Anthony, the Knicks have become HIS team. Melo takes the majority of the shots, he’s the No. 1 option on offense, and he’s the main attraction at Madison Square Garden. So, where does Amare Stoudemire fit in the Knicks’ playbill? Because ‘Melo is such a strong figure on and off the court, Amare has been snubbed like a Hollywood supporting actor. When you watch the Knicks, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out who is Batman and who is Robin. But this wasn’t the case last season when the offense went through Amare.

As The Man, he averaged 25 points per game, taking almost 20 shots per game and shooting 50% from the field. He also gave more of an effort on the defensive end, as he blocked 1.9 shots. Stoudemire was such a force his name was brought up in the MVP race.

How things have changed in just a few short months.

Stoudemire has lost his starring role on the team and now relegated to the supporting cast. All those plays called for Stoudemire have been redirected to Anthony. All those isolation sets that were drawn up for Stoudemire are now being called for Anthony. Through the first quarter of the 2011-12 season, Stoudemire’s shot attempts are down (from 19 to 15) and his scoring average has taken a huge hit (down from 25 to 18). Meanwhile, Anthony leads the team with 20 shots attempts per game and averaging nearly 24 points, which easily tops the team.

When the Knicks acquired Anthony from Denver, coach Mike D’Antoni thought he could work in both ‘Melo and Amare in his player-friendly offense. Instead, Anthony and Stoudemire are competing for shots in D’Antoni’s system. Anthony is gobbling up all the best shots, leaving Stoudemire with the crummy ones. So far, New York is not big enough to house two superstars with giant egos.

Last season when Stoudemire was heavily featured and he had a decent point guard in Raymond Felton to feed him the ball off screen-and-rolls, the Knicks offense was clicking on all cylinders. This season, the Knicks’ screen-and-roll game has been dicey at best because the guard play has been very shoddy. The run-and-gun, 100-point games have been replaced by a very dull, uninspired basketball that usually ends with Anthony jacking up a shot after dribbling the entire 24-second shot clock. So much for D’Antoni’s seven-seconds-or-less mantra.

The dream season that started so promising has turned into a nightmare. D’Antoni’s job is on a week-to-week basis, while Stoudemire is turning into Charles Smith. It got so bad for Amare that ‘Melo even felt sorry for him at one point. He went out of his way to try to incorporate Amare into the offense that he took just seven shots, scoring one point, in the Jan. 24 game against the Charlotte Bobcats. That generosity lasted just one game as ‘Melo went back to Sir Shoot-a-Lot the next game.

What the Knicks need is a veteran point guard (a Commissioner Gordon) to keep Amare and ‘Melo in check, someone who also knows D’Antoni’s system and would love to have one more shot at winning a championship. Jeremy Lin may have solved the problem for now, but he still has to prove it for an entire season. Lin-mania has gripped New York and he may have saved D’Antoni’s job – for now. Lin’s future will depend on how the Knicks finish the season. If the Knicks reach the second round or conference finals, Lin could be that long-term solution. If not, don’t be surprised if D’Antoni makes a phone call to Steve Nash and dangles one of his stars (‘Melo or Amare) in trade talks in the offseason.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.

The latest installment of this very expensive pickup game is Saturday night’s exhibition game in Miami featuring a team led by LeBron James against a squad headed by Heat teammate Dwyane Wade.

Team LeBron has some serious star power on its roster. Scheduled to play with LeBron are Heat forward Chris Bosh, Boston Celtics guard Rajon Rondo, Atlanta Hawks guard Jamal Crawford, Memphis Grizzlies forward Rudy Gay, Houston Rockets guard Jonny Flynn, Philadelphia Sixers guard Lou Williams, guard Damon Jones (LeBron’s former teammate with the Cleveland Cavaliers), Cavs rookie forward Tristan Thompson, and Oklahoma City Thunder stars Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant. It’s interesting that LeBron picked up Durant on his squad because the last high-profile exhibition game had James going head-to-head with Durant, who has been on a tear this summer.

Team Wade features Heat guard Mario Chalmers, Dallas Mavericks forward and D-Wade’s good friend Caron Butler, Wade’s former Heat teammate and current Golden State Warriors forward Dorell Wright, New York Knicks stars Carmelo Anthony and Amar’e Stoudemire, New Orleans Hornets guard Chris Paul, Washington Wizards guard John Wall, and Thunder guard James Harden.

In the end, Team Wade outlasted Team LeBron, 141-140, in overtime. It was a typical offseason exhibition game. Lots of dunks, lots of alley-oops, lots of breakaways, lots of one-on-one, and very little defense. Somewhere in New York, David Stern is chuckling.

The former Suns All-Star center/power forward and the newest franchise player in NYC says he’s excited to be part of the New York culture and vows to dominate this season by “going after it.”

“I’m fierce. I play with passion, I play with determination. Sometimes they call me a bully around the basket,” boasted Stoudemire, who later explains that he doesn’t feel any added pressure as the centerpiece of the Knicks.

Stoudemire certainly has accepted one of the leadership roles. “In order to be a great team, there’s more than one leader,” he said. Watch the whole interview:

To view other exclusive bonus clips, including interviews with young sensation Danilo Gallinari and newly acquired point guard Raymond Felton, visit www.MSG.com/our-teams/knicks-season-preview-bonus-clips.

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With a new starting lineup for this season, Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni is ready to take the court with his star players in hopes of a magical NBA season. All it takes is some practice and a couple of basketball spells. Check out D’Antoni in this magician’s outfit and enter MSG.com’s photo caption contest. The funniest captions for the photo featured below will be shared with Coach D himself on The Mike D’Antoni Show on Oct. 26 at 8 p.m. EST on MSG.

The New York Knicks are banking on Amare Stoudemire to be the face of their franchise.

New York Knicks conditioning director Greg Brittenham recently organized a three-minute running drill at the Knicks practice facility with a little twist. He has players tossing a football around to keep things light and interesting. Amare Stoudemire, wearing his familiar No. 1 jersey, picked up one of the footballs and fired it across the court with ease. First down Knicks!

Though it was nice to see that Stoudemire’s right arm is good enough to fling a football a good distance, the Knicks won’t be asking the 6-foot-10 power forward to be passing the ball this season; they’d rather see him be on the receiving end of passes from teammates and rocking the rim with his signature tomahawk dunks.

There is an air of optimism around the Knicks these days, and it’s all because of the man wearing No. 1 in a Knick uniform. The Knicks haven’t had a legitimate All-Star big man who can severely affect the game on both ends since – dare I say – Patrick Ewing. Stoudemire is a game-changer; a career 21.4 scorer and arguably one of the best finishers in the game.

Knicks GM Donnie Walsh and head coach Mike D’Antoni targeted LeBron James all summer, but when Plan LBJ didn’t materialize they immediately went to Plan A … Amare.

Stoudemire left Phoenix and signed a five-year, $100 million contract with the Knick, reuniting him with D’Antoni – his former coach with the Suns. Stoudemire is re-energized by the fact that he is now, without a doubt, the leader of an NBA franchise and the headliner at the world’s most famous arena. Though he was an All-Star in Phoenix, he was always in the shadow of Steve Nash. Now, Stoudemire is front and center with the Knicks.

“He’s always been one of the best players in the league,” D’Antoni said of Stoudemire, now entering his eighth season in the NBA.

“I don’t want to talk about the past but I do know one thing, the leadership he has shown and the intensity that works out and the dedication that he has brought [to the Knicks], you do not get better than what he’s doing right now. It’s a credit to him and he’s come a long ways,” D’Antoni continued. “I’ve always been impressed with his talent. That’s been off the charts. But his leadership right now is off the charts.”

D’Antoni said Stoudemire began working out at the facility in early September and hasn’t stopped since, setting the tone for the rest of the squad. “He has been one of our hardest workers,” the Knicks coach said.

His presence can only help the young players on the roster, including guard Toney Douglas and budding star Danilo Gallinari, who had a breakout season in 2009-10. In his first full season in the NBA, the 22-year-old Gallinari averaged 15 points per game and made 186 3-point shots. Those numbers will only get better now that Stoudemire will be patrolling the paint.

The Knicks also upgraded their point guard position by acquiring veteran Raymond Felton. The former Bobcats guard will be asked to run D’Antoni’s uptempo, shooter-friendly offense, which fits his game a whole lot better than Larry Brown’s walk-it-up, halfcourt style.

It remains to be seen if Stoudemire’s rise to power in the league was greatly influenced by Nash. The only way Amare can disprove that is to get the Knicks back into playoff contention. And if he does that, then he’ll be officially named king of New York.

According to reports, Dirk Nowitzki will remain with the Mavericks.

For those keeping score, it’s 4-1 in favor of teams retaining their own free agents.

As of July 5, four big-time free agents have have decided to stay with their old teams: Dirk Nowitzki, Paul Pierce, Rudy Gay and Joe Johnson.

The only free agent who has officially signed with another team is Amare Stoudemire. Yahoo! Sports and TNT’s David Aldridge have reported that Stoudemire has accepted the Knicks’ contract offer worth $100 million spread across five years. Stoudemire will be reunited with coach Mike D’Antoni, who coached him in Phoenix.

Yahoo! Sports also reported that Johnson will re-sign with the Atlanta Hawks, a six-year maximum deal that is close to $120 million.

Nowitzki recently accepted a four-year deal worth somewhere in the neighborhood of $80 million to remain with the Dallas Mavericks and Pierce agreed to a four-year, $60-million deal to stay in Boston. Gay was the first big-name free agent to agree to terms, as he reportedly received a five-year, $80-million contract from the Memphis Grizzlies last Thursday when the free-agency period officially got underway.

The return of head coach Doc Rivers certainly persuaded Pierce to stay put, and the Celtics are also in negotiations with shooting guard Ray Allen, who has also expressed his desire to stay in Boston. This means that the Celtics’ vaunted starting five are all expected to be back next season to make another run at a title (barring center Kendrick Perkins fully recovers from knee surgery).

What was supposed to be the summer of massive exodus has turned into an offseason of status quo. Of course, things could change in a heartbeat especially if that someone – ahem! LeBron James – decides to spurn his hometown team and play elsewhere next season.

But, that hasn’t happened yet and it’s not expected to happen until the end of the week, according to several reports. James is mulling over offers presented to him by NBA teams with a ton of salary cap room: New Jersey, New York, Miami, the L.A. Clippers, Chicago and Cleveland.

Wade met with the Bulls twice and has told people close to the situation that he is seriously considering playing for his hometown team. The Heat have already told Wade that they are prepared to give him the max deal and have promised him a roster upgrade.

Others who are noncommittal are Dwyane Wade, Chris Bosh and Amare Stoudemire, although Stoudemire recently was offered the maximum contract of five years, $100 million by the Knicks. Stoudemire is reportedly meeting with Knicks head coach Mike D’Antoni, his old coach in Phoenix, on Monday to hash out some past issues.

The Suns have reportedly re-signed forward Channing Frye and also acquired forward Hakim Warrick, so it is highly unlikely that Phoenix will bring back Stoudemire, who has played his entire career with the Suns.

Joe Johnson has a standing six-year max offer from the Atlanta Hawks, a deal that could be worth $120 million. Johnson remains mum about his situation, obviously waiting for LeBron and D-Wade to make their moves. Johnson has also drawn interest from the Knicks, as D’Antoni prepares to go to Plan B in case LeBron signs with Chicago or Cleveland – which is more and more apparent.

ESPN’s J.A. Adande wrote that the Toronto Raptors have not been enamored with the way Bosh has been publicly “enjoying himself” too much and using his Twitter account to tell his followers on his status. Bosh is asking for a max contract, but he can only get it if the Raptors agree to a sign-and-trade deal.

At the end of this long, drawn-out process, money will prevail. Players are taking advantage of the current labor deal because they are anticipating that the new collective bargaining agreement won’t be as player friendly.

The Lakers held Amare Stoudemire to 7-for-20 shooting in Game 6. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

In what may have been his final game in a Phoenix Suns uniform, Amare Stoudemire walked off the court disappointed.

Although Stoudemire scored a team-high 27 points in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals, the Suns’ All-Star center didn’t have the type of game worthy of a maximum contract this summer. He struggled from the field (7 for 20), grabbed just four rebounds and, more importantly, his team lost in six games and is now out of the 2010 NBA playoffs.

Stoudemire can opt out of his contract on July 1 and become an unrestricted free agent. He is among an elite class of potential free agents – LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, Joe Johnson and Chris Bosh heading the list – who could change the landscape of the league.

But Suns All-Star point guard Steve Nash, Stoudemire’s teammate in Phoenix for the past six seasons, told reporters on Saturday night just minutes after Phoenix was eliminated by the L.A. Lakers in Game 6 that he prefers the Suns to stay intact, and that includes re-signing Stoudemire.

“I feel a great source of pride for me to be able to play with these guys, ” said Nash, who scored 21 points and had nine assists in a losing effort. “They’re such great people, great teammates that have committed absolutely to what we’re trying to do. We’re a good team. We had a real legitimate chance to beat the Lakers and get to The Finals and play for a championship.

“It’s pretty clear I’d like to keep the group together. I’d like to keep it together and keep it going.”

Suns coach Alvin Gentry and Steve Nash enjoyed a solid season, but fell short of reaching the NBA Finals. (NBAE/GETTY IMAGES)

During his postgame news conference following the loss to the Lakers, Nash also endorsed Alvin Gentry as the right coach to lead the Suns to a championship.

Nash may be the face of the franchise and the two-time league MVP, but it’s Stoudemire’s presence in the middle and his ability to finish at the rim off pick-and-rolls are what separates the Suns from becoming the Golden State Warriors. Stoudemire and Nash form the NBA’s best pick-and-roll combo in the league, and it would be difficult for Phoenix to find a suitable replacement.

Stoudemire has repeated all throughout the playoffs that there’s a 50-50 chance he’ll be back in Phoenix, the only franchise he has played for in his eight-year NBA career. He upgraded it to a “good possibility” that he’ll return to the Suns after the Game 6 loss, but it may depend on how much the Suns are willing to pay him and for how long.

“There are so many ways to structure a deal and what have you, but it’s very important to have a sense of security,” Stoudemire told The Arizona Republic.

Stoudemire has one year left on his current deal that pays him $17.68 million. He admitted that all the trade rumors the past two years have really bothered him and could ultimately be the reason why he leaves. But Stoudemire also said that his relationship with Suns management greatly improved after he was not dealt last February.

Expect Stoudemire to test the free-agent market this summer as he waits for the Suns to make him an offer he can’t refuse. In the end, Suns owner Robert Sarver may have to overpay his already overpaid superstar in order for the Suns to keep their title hopes alive.