Free agency 2010 Day 1: Phoenix Suns news and rumors

The 2010 free agency period got off to a fast start at 12:01 a.m. ET and the news and rumors haven’t stopped swirling since. For the Phoenix Suns, the big story is Amare Stoudemire. But less than 24 hours into the negotiation period, Channing Frye is making headlines, too. Keep checking back with Valley of the Suns and refresh this page often as we aggregate all the news and rumors as they happen.

9:20 p.m. – It could be all over. Amare Stoudemire’s days in Phoenix may be officially over. John Gambadoro of Sports 620 KTAR has reported that the Suns and Stoudemire have broken off all talks and there is “NO chance he will return to the Phoenix Suns.”

Now, Gambo hasn’t been spot on all day, so it may not be over yet. But Coro reports that Stoudemire’s best offer has come from a team that is not the Phoenix Suns. Coro, however, reports that Amare’s status for returning is “highly unklikely,” according to a source. At least that leaves a chance…

8:00 p.m. – Looks like previous reports were incorrect and the Suns gave Channing Frye what he wanted, giving the center a five-year, $30 million contract. Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic reported the deal and says it is $8 million higher than the Suns’ original offer.

Again, looks like the Suns are spending, but maybe not for Stoudemire. This price had to be sort of forced by Toronto’s offer of five years for $34 million to the highly mediocre Amir Johnson, a player much less valuable than Frye. So there is one free agency issue off the table for the Suns. We’ll have to wait and see for the other…

6:37 p.m. – Via Marc Stein of ESPN, the Suns are showing interest in power forward Hakim Warrick. According to the report, the Suns have showed more interest than other teams and have started discussing money with Warrick’s representatives.

This could be the Suns’ answer to filling the void expected if (or when?) Louis Amundson departs, but it could be more than that. The Suns could lose Channing Frye and this could be their bench replacement there, too. However, it’s still very early.

5:53 p.m. – Looks like the Suns aren’t ready to splurge on Channing Frye. Gambadoro reports that the Suns won’t give Frye the five-year, $32 million kind of deal he’s demanding.

Could be the end of Frye in Phoenix, but it will depend on what kind of offers he gets from other teams. If the Bucks are going to pay Drew Gooden that kind of money, someone will likely give it to Frye, especially with the way money is being thrown around this offseason.

5:39 p.m. – It could just be mind games, but Stoudemire’s business guy Travis King is saying that there are teams ready to offer STAT the max before LeBron James and Dwyane Wade figure out where they’re headed.

This isn’t really a surprise, as there have to be a few teams who see Stoudemire as a key piece to luring James. However, it is a little surprising that teams might be ready to offer a max deal so early.

4:54 p.m. – Stoudemire sets another meeting — Tuesday with the Chicago Bulls — and it appears a wild card team may be entering the mix. According to Gambadoro, Bryan Colangelo and the Toronto Raptors got on the phone with Stoudemire. Looking to replace Chris Bosh perhaps? Can’t imagine Amare in Toronto … unless they put it all ($$$) on the table.

4:00 p.m. – More news from Coro at The Republic: Louis Amundson getting a lot of interest, from about 12 teams at this point. Tough guy for the Suns to lose, as he brings a lot of energy off the bench, but I’d imagine the Suns are looking to fill this void with Earl Clark and their new draft picks.

2:43 p.m. – Sports 620 KTAR’s John Gambadoro reports that it “will take full mid-level for the Suns to keep Channing Frye, which would be between $32 and $34 million over 5 years.”

That isn’t to say Frye has turned the offer down, but again, when a guy like Drew Gooden (10.9 points and 7.7 rebounds per game last season) gets a five-year, $32 million deal, you have to assume Frye at least wants a comparable deal — and can likely get one.

12:56 p.m. – According to an ESPN Chicago report, the Bulls will host David Lee on Friday. Lee has also scheduled visits with the Heat, Timberwolves and Nets.

Lee has been reported as one of Suns managing partner Robert Sarver’s top targets if Stoudemire does not re-sign. But clearly, the Suns’ top priorities right now are Stoudemire and Frye. Perhaps once things become more clear in terms of Stoudemire, the Suns will add their name to the list of teams looking to visit with Lee. Stay tuned…

12:29 p.m. – Paul Coro clears up some of the confusion stemming from an ESPN report that Stoudemire is a “long shot” to remain with the Suns in his latest report. According to the report, Stoudemire spoke with the Suns at least twice on Wednesday, but Stoudemire’s agent said the two sides are “really not that close to an agreement.”

Happy Walters said he and Stoudemire are still open to talks with the Suns if they call, but they are standing firm behind the demand for at least five years. It’s been reported that STAT would take a five-year deal from the Suns, even for less than maximum money, but if that is the case then the Suns clearly haven’t made such an offer. Coro reports that a five-year deal may have been offered, including a team option or injury stipulations that made it unattractive to Stoudemire.

11:57 a.m. –As usual, Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic has his ear to the ground and he is hearing that Channing Frye isn’t jumping at the Suns five-year offer because he and his agent think he can get more money somewhere else.

After players like Drew Gooden (reported five years, $32 million in Milwaukee) and Darko Milicic (four years, $20 million in Minnesota) got big money, Frye has to think he is worth as much or more because of his deep-shooting ability.

Coro suggests that the Suns might just leave the offer on the table until players can sign or start looking into cheaper big man options that have been discussed like Brian Cook or Mark Blount.

11:13 a.m. – Negotiations between Stoudemire and the Suns are over. This according to a report from ESPN The Magazine’s Ric Bucher. In the report, Bucher says talks broke off late Tuesday night. This contradicts previous reports that negotiations were ongoing after a positive meeting Tuesday.

Bucher didn’t specify a source, and this seems strange considering Stoudemire’s agent Happy Walters said after the meeting that progress had been made and that talks would continue Wednesday. Maybe the report meant that talks broke off late Wednesday night, but even that seems odd as Stoudemire was with the Heat and Knicks late Wednesday night. This is getting interesting…

The report also said that Heat president Pat Riley tried to sell Stoudemire on a “power-of-three” idea, essentially proposing that a Stoudemire-LeBron James-Dwyane Wade trio would be just the formula to win an NBA Championship.

10:59 a.m. – Channing Frye is contemplating the Suns’ generous five-year, $25 million contract offer, but is waiting on the big players (Chicago, Miami, New York, New Jersey) to make their key moves, according to a report from Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski.

9:56 a.m. – ESPN’s Chris Broussard reports, contradicting other reports, that Stoudemire will meet with the Knicks on Sunday (rather than Monday) and actually met with Knicks representatives last night breifly.

According to the report, the Knicks met up with STAT at a Los Angeles hotel after sitting down with Joe Johnson and Mike Miller. That must be when they got former Suns coach Mike D’Antoni on the phone to convince Stoudemire to make the coast-to-coast trip for a visit. The visit was brief, the report said, as the Knicks were in a hurry to catch a flight to Ohio, for some reason…

9:00 a.m. – Paul Coro of The Arizona Republic reports that Stoudemire’s agent Happy Walters received calls from six teams last night once the free agency period became official. Walters did not disclose the teams, but Stoudemire did meet with the Miami Heat, who are looking to add an All-Star power forward.

Additionally, Walters expected negotiations with the Suns to continue today, though he also said that Stoudemire will not accept a deal from any team for less than five years — something the Suns may balk at if they haven’t already.

Stoudemire has a meeting with the New York Knicks on Monday after coach Mike D’Antoni sold STAT on a visit to the Big Apple.

8:44 a.m. – John Gambadoro of Sports 620 KTAR reports that the Suns have offered Channing Frye a five-year deal worth $25 million.

Honestly, this surprises me. I didn’t expect the Suns to make such a substantial offer right away. Could this be a sign that Suns managing partner Robert Sarver is prepared to spend this offseason?

Gambadoro originally reported that the Suns’ offer to Frye was for $20 million, but was increased later.