The source said that the main reason the Sixers were not interested in Stoudemire was that he can no longer fully insure his surgically repaired left knee. Stoudemire had microsfracture surgery on his left knee while a member of the Phoenix Suns in 2005.
While Stoudemire has performed well since his surgery, the list of players who have had the procedure and not returned to their former level of play includes former Sixer Chris Webber, Penny Hardaway, Allan Houston, and Tracy McGrady.
Ready and willing
Sixers rookie center Nik Vucevic, who dressed for Monday's game, declared himself ready to go before the Sixers faced the Orlando Magic.
Vucevic, who has been backing up injured starter Spencer Hawes - who missed his eighth game in a row on Monday - has not played since he suffered a left quad/knee strain in the third quarter of the Sixers' 113-92 loss to the Miami Heat on Jan. 21.
Vucevic dressed for the game. But when coach Doug Collins went to his bench early in the game, he replaced starter Tony Battie with Thaddeus Young.
"I'm ready, so if Coach puts me in, I'm ready to go," Vucevic said. "Yesterday I went to PCOM [Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine], and it felt good. Today, I did a full workout at shootaround, and it felt good. And I did one right before tonight's game, and it felt good, so I'm ready."
Hawes (strained left Achilles tendon) continues to get closer to returning. He did some running before the Orlando game and, asked when he would be ready, said, "Very soon."
Contact staff writer John N. Mitchell at jmitchell@philly.com, or on Twitter @deepsixer3
