The Miami Heat have been playing extremely well as of late as they have won three of four to get their record up to 6-4. The Heat have gotten big contributions from a few players they didn't really expect too much out of this season including Justise Winslow and Tyler Johnson but one guy they haven't gotten much of anything out of is Amare Stoudemire. As of now Stoudemire is not in Miami's rotation but despite his lack of playing time he reportedly has no plans of asking for a trade from the organization, according to Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald.
Stoudemire signed this offseason with the Heat on a one year deal for the veteran's minimum and was expected to be a big part of their bench unit but that hasn't happened. Stoudemire appeared in Miami's game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at the end of October and played 12 minutes but has not seen the floor since. Stoudemire is supposedly healthy and capable of playing but he is just not in head coach Erik Spoelstra's plans for right now.
Stoudemire has been in the league for 13 years now and has played a lot of minutes so if he was part of the rotation the Heat were going to have some sort of maintenance plan to keep healthy which would have likely included sitting out back-to-back sets. Instead Stoudemire has been sitting on the bench, active for the most part, waiting for his opportunity and even though he may wait for a while longer his agent, Travis King, doesn't see a trade request coming.
"He's fine with it; he's a team player and is glad to be with the organization. He talked to Erik Spoelstra about the situation. He has made his money. He doesn't have to play for another contract. He just wants to win," said King.
Stoudemire certainly has made his money in the NBA as he has made approximately $166 million in his NBA career so his main goal is to now get a ring and he knows that Miami may give him as good a shot as any team he might be traded to.
Stoudemire still may be able to work his way back into the rotation at some point but for now what the Heat have been doing is working as they are one of the best defensive teams in basketball. Josh McRoberts has been the only big man consistently used off the bench as they have instead decided to go small with the second unit including Winslow, Johnson and Gerald Green.
