Yahoo! Sports' Johnny Ludden argues that how the Suns finish out the season without Stoudemire will give them a better idea of his value to the team. In other words, if the team is no worse off without him, then they'll have even more reason to move him.

This premise is flawed for two reasons - first, because the Suns just fired their coach and are now playing in a system much better suited to their best player Steve Nash. So even if the Suns maintain roughly the same winning percentage without Stoudemire, it doesn't mean that they wouldn't have been far better with him. And second, because even if the Suns lose a lot more without Stoudemire, it doesn't mean he's worth the $17 million a year he's owed for 2009-10 and 2010-11.

The reason it's hard to evaluate a player like Stoudemire is that his talent and skills are blinding. When he's on, he's as unstoppable as any post player in the game. And judging by his quickness, his leaping ability and his above-average shooting touch for a big man, he could get even better. Or so it would seem. But one Suns official told Ludden the following:

Amare is only going to give you what he wants to give you. It doesn't matter what you say or do. On some nights Amare decides to play hard and with a lot of energy. On some nights he doesn't.

I don't know whether that's true, or whether Stoudemire's just getting a bad rap for not being more personable to the front office and media. But if it is, then it's likely Stoudemire has a limitation that's every bit as real as Carlos Boozer's lack of leaping ability or Yao Ming's lack of quickness. Some players are for whatever reason psychologically incapable of giving the maximum effort all the time or helping to make teammates better even when they're having an off night. Derrick Coleman comes to mind as another player like that - A+ talent, D makeup.

It's tempting to think with better coaching, or more maturity, a player like that can change, but often that limitation is just as real as a physical one, and it's part of who the player is.

So in contrast to Ludden, I don't think it matters what the Suns do the rest of the way - it's not going to shed much light on Stoudemire's value. If they share the view of the quoted official, they should move him to a team that's still blinded by his raw talent.