Amare to the Cavs gulp title.

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Cleveland Cavaliers intensify trade talks for Phoenix Suns All-Star Amare Stoudemire
By Brian Windhorst, The Plain Dealer
February 12, 2010, 7:45PM
View full sizeJoshua Gunter / The Plain Dealer
Phoenix Suns All-Star Amare Stoudemire, right, could be teammates with Cavaliers center Shaquille O'Neal if a deal is completed. According to multiple league sources, the Cavs are getting serious in trade talks for Stoudemire, who is averaging 21.2 points and 8.6 rebounds.
Updated at 10:53 p.m.
DALLAS, Texas -- At the moment, All-Star Weekend is turning into an elaborate game of Spy vs. Spy.
The amount of information and disinformation flying around is at a fever pitch as teams jostle for position in escalating trade talks. The Cavaliers, as would be expected, are right in the middle of it.
According to multiple sources, over the past few days the Cavs have had advancing talks with the Phoenix Suns about All-Star forward Amar'e Stoudemire. It is not the only player they have interest in -- there are still long-term-target forwards Antawn Jamison of Washington and Troy Murphy of the Pacers out there -- but it seems the Cavs are focusing on Stoudemire.
View full sizeMichael Conroy / AP
Pacers forward/center Troy Murphy, right, reportedly is a player that interests the Cavaliers.
Cavs General Manager Danny Ferry and Suns General Manager Steve Kerr, former teammates and friends who already have collaborated on a big deal to bring center Shaquille O'Neal to Cleveland, met Friday afternoon in Dallas. Suns owner Robert Sarver and Cavs owner Dan Gilbert also are in town and are on the labor relations committee that met.
Stoudemire has the option to become a free agent after this season, which has led the Suns to explore trade options for him. Also, there is a way to structure a trade between the teams that could put the fiscally sensitive Suns under the luxury-tax threshold, which would be a major motivating factor in the deal.
Also a subject of trade rumors last season, Stoudemire was trying to ignore the stories on Friday.
"I understand it is a business and I never get too riled up or out of control with rumors being spread," said Stoudemire, who is averaging 21.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per game for the Suns.
"We've won five out of our last six despite all the trade talk."
The Cavs, sources said, still are leaving other options open. With every GM, owner and numerous agents in town, there are rumors and smokescreens everywhere. Friday morning, for example, a rumor from Yahoo Sports! popped up that linked the Boston Celtics to the Washington Wizards in a deal for Wizards forward Caron Butler and Jamison.
By nightfall, there were numerous reports that Butler was about to be traded to the Dallas Mavericks instead.
The Cavs are believed to still have talks open with the Pacers for Murphy and the Wizards for Jamison, plus options for three-team deals. But sources indicated the Stoudemire talks were the most advanced.
It is a bit of a surprising attraction. While there's a chance the Cavs could pick up a former first-teamer in a money-based deal, Stoudemire and O'Neal didn't have great on-court chemistry when they played in Phoenix for parts of the past two seasons. O'Neal and LeBron James have said they are happy with the current makeup of the team, though that, too, could be a smokescreen.
"I've been a part of trade deadlines and guys moving in an out," James said. "I don't get caught up in it much until it actually happens or if it is serious. There's some great players out there."
The Suns are believed to like Cavaliers forward J.J. Hickson, whom they considered drafting in 2008 and is currently having a breakout sophomore season. The Cavs, however, have been reluctant to include Hickson in trade talks.
The Cavs have several other ways to get the deal done, including the expiring contract of Zydrunas Ilgauskas or a sign-and-trade with guard Wally Szczerbiak.
The Arizona Republic reported earlier this week that teams who were talking to the Suns about Stoudemire also were being asked to take on guard Jason Richardson, who is owed $14.4 million next season. It isn't clear whether Richardson is involved in the talks with the Cavs or with a third team the Cavs might be recruiting.
Several other teams are believed to be interested in trading for Stoudemire, including the Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers.
What is clear is with so many big names on the board, this weekend figures to be a trade-rumor festival.

Cleveland plain dealer.
Cleveland would rape Phoenix.