Suns forward Amar'e Stoudemire admitted that trade rumors bothered him earlier this week.

"In the previous two games, it did (distract me) a little bit, but I got over it," Stoudemire said. "I've just got to keep playing and putting it aside and focus on the game.

"It's the nature of the beast. It's the way the business has always been played. I really try not to be too involved in it. I let the front office handle it with my agent, and the decision is made from there."

Stoudemire was benched during the entire fourth quarter of Phoenix's game against Dallas on Thursday night.

"We have to have him rebound better," coach Alvin Gentry said.

"We said right from the start that - he Robin (Lopez) and Channing (Frye) - we need the combination of those guys to come up with 17-20 rebounds for us. They haven't done that for us in the last few games, so we've got have Amar'e step it back up, really."

Stoudemire has just 21 rebounds over his last five games.

Trade rumors involving Amar'e Stoudemire have increased as of late and Suns general manager Steve Kerr isn't doing anything to deny them.

"Obviously with a player of Amare's caliber, an All-Star player, when the rumor mill starts it's tough to stop, because he's such a high-profile player," Kerr said Thursday.

"Especially when a guy is a free agent at the end of the year, potentially. That's why you're going to see Amare and Chris Bosh in the news here the next few weeks. It's just business as usual. We always look at this as, 'How can we make our team better?' Re-signing Amare long-term, or any other option, whatever we do is going to be designed to make our team better."

Stoudemire has a player option for next season worth $17.7 million.

"I'm 50-50," Stoudemire said. "They've shopped me around for two maybe three years. It's not a great feeling to feel that way. I feel like the confidence in me is not quite there within them, for them to want to shop me around so much."

The Phoenix Suns ended their obscure losing streak on TNT when they beat the Dallas Mavericks, 112-106, Thursday night.  

Phoenix had dropped their previous 18 games when playing on the network.

The losing streak included games that were played in preseason, regular season, and postseason.  Phoenix had three head coaches during the span - Mike D'Antoni, Terry Porter, and Alvin Gentry.

The Suns last win on TNT came on March 13, 2008 when they beat Golden State 123-118.

After the game Steve Nash joked, "I'm not going to say anything derogatory about the network," to TNT's Cheryl Miller.

League and team sources confirmed Wednesday that Miami is in its ``due diligence'' process in regards to exploring a trade for Amar'e Stoudemire.

If Miami is reluctant to package Michael Beasley in a potential offer for Stoudemire, then Jermaine O'Neal and a first-round pick might entice Phoenix.

But the Heat have also not ruled out trying to re-sign O'Neal this summer.

Kings president Geoff Petrie says that he will consider any trade that would benefit the team, but Amar'e Stoudemire isn't a likely option.

"If there's something that makes sense for us, we'll take a hard look at it," Petrie said.

Two sources close to the Kings told the Sacramento Bee it would be "highly unlikely" that Stoudemire would re-sign with the team this summer.

The Bulls have been listed in reports as one of the teams with serious interest in Suns forward Amar'e Stoudemire, but the Chicago Tribune doesn't see a fit.

K.C. Johnson writes that last season the Bulls had "reservations over acquiring Stoudemire, who will seek a maximum contract at a time questions remain about his defensive play and recovery from microfracture surgery on his knee."

Chicago could have very well acquired Stoudemire last season, and assured themselves of having him for at least 1 1/2 seasons, but they opted against it.

The club will certainly entertain the idea, but Johnson points out that the Bulls aren't likely a "serious" suitor.

The Spurs have researched and are debating pursuing Suns forward Amar'e Stoudemire, league sources have told Yahoo! Sports.

Questions remain about what San Antonio would be willing to give up, however, including whether or not they'd part with Manu Ginobili.

Also, will the Spurs be willing to sign Stoudemire to a lucrative contract extension and increase their payroll?

"They know they've got to do something," a source familiar with the front office's thinking said. "They feel like they've got to at least look at this ... and they are."

The Bobcats defeated the Suns 114-109 in overtime on Tuesday night to record their first-ever win in Phoenix.

Stephen Jackson led Charlotte with 30 points.

"All teams in the league play better at home. We were playing catch-up all game, but on the road you have to find a way to hang around and pull it out at the end," Jackson said.

The Bobcats have been in the NBA for six seasons.

Leandro Barbosa underwent successful surgery on Tuesday to remove a ganglion cyst in his right wrist, the team has announced.
           
The procedure was performed by Dr. Thomas Carter and Dr. Joey Haber of The Orthopedic Clinic.  Barbosa is expected to be sidelined approximately four-to-six weeks.

Suns forward Amare Stoudemire hasn't denied the possibility of playing for the Nets and the lack of a contract extension in Phoenix has put the All-Star on the trade block.

"There are some teams you may say no way (to). But I don't think the Nets are one of them," said Stoudemire, adding that he sees "potential" in the Nets.

The Nets appear to have the pieces needed to deal for Stoudemire.

Phoenix is said to be looking for a combination of young players, draft picks and salary cap relief. New Jersey can provide all of that.

The Nets have 10 draft picks over the next three years and young players like Chris Douglas-Roberts, Courtney Lee, Yi Jianlian and Terrence Williams.