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Garnett talks now include Suns' Stoudemire and third team
There was a growing sentiment around the league Tuesday night that the Kevin Garnett sweepstakes are nearing a conclusion and that the Phoenix Suns are the most likely winners, with two trade scenarios emerging that could potentially land Garnett in the desert by draft night.
With the Los Angeles Lakers' attempts to construct a multi-team deal or a direct trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves collapsing, ESPN's Jim Gray reports that talk of a potential three-team trade that would involve Minnesota, Boston and Phoenix has been rekindled, in which the primary cost to the Suns would be All-Star forward Shawn Marion to the Celtics.
Yet an even bigger trade concept, ESPN.com has learned, was hatched Tuesday by the Wolves, in which Phoenix would likely be asked to send the player it has been trying not to trade to the Atlanta Hawks: All-NBA center Amare Stoudemire.
Either way, NBA front-office sources say that Garnett being moved in conjunction with Thursday's draft looks more likely than ever before, with the Suns -- identified by ESPN.com last week as KG's first choice for a new home -- in prime position to make the big score.
In the scenario reported by Gray, Garnett would go to Phoenix, Boston would land Marion and the Wolves would receive a package featuring the No. 5 overall pick in Thursday's draft along with undisclosed players from Boston and Minnesota.
The key stumbling block for Boston would be Marion's reluctance to play for the Celtics, which sources say was conveyed to both teams last week when such a trade was first broached. With Marion possessing the right to opt out of his contract after next season and become a free agent in July 2008, Boston would undoubtedly be seeking assurances from Marion's camp that he's interested in signing an extension with the Celtics, even though league rules technically would preclude such negotiations until after July 1.
Another possible stumbling block: Minnesota, sources say, has been adamant that any trade with Boston would include Al Jefferson. The Celtics, in turn, are willing to part with Jefferson only if they're the team that gets Garnett. It remains to be seen if either side softens its stance in the final hours before the draft.
In the newer trade scenario, sources say, Minnesota is looking to acquire Atlanta's No. 3 and No. 11 picks in the draft along with several cap-friendly contracts from the Hawks and Suns. To participate, Atlanta wants Stoudemire from Phoenix.
Such a trade would hold significantly greater appeal to Minnesota than any Celtics' offer that didn't include Jefferson. The Hawks, meanwhile, would be able to reunite Stoudemire with ex-Suns teammate Joe Johnson and immediately possess a promising big-and-small core to build around given the current state of the Eastern Conference.
The Suns, though, are understandably reluctant to part with Stoudemire after the 24-year-old made the All-NBA first team in what appears to be the most successful comeback from microfracture knee surgery that the NBA has ever witnessed.
The Lakers, meanwhile, haven't abandoned all hope of partnering Garnett with the increasingly frustrated Kobe Bryant just yet. Another concept in circulation Tuesday raised the possibility of a multi-team trade in which the Indiana Pacers' Jermaine O'Neal went to Atlanta, with Lakers forward Lamar Odom and young center Andrew Bynum heading to the Pacers. That package, at worst, would send the No. 3 pick in the draft to Minnesota as the main payoff for Garnett.
Garnett talks now include Suns' Stoudemire and third team
There was a growing sentiment around the league Tuesday night that the Kevin Garnett sweepstakes are nearing a conclusion and that the Phoenix Suns are the most likely winners, with two trade scenarios emerging that could potentially land Garnett in the desert by draft night.
With the Los Angeles Lakers' attempts to construct a multi-team deal or a direct trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves collapsing, ESPN's Jim Gray reports that talk of a potential three-team trade that would involve Minnesota, Boston and Phoenix has been rekindled, in which the primary cost to the Suns would be All-Star forward Shawn Marion to the Celtics.
Yet an even bigger trade concept, ESPN.com has learned, was hatched Tuesday by the Wolves, in which Phoenix would likely be asked to send the player it has been trying not to trade to the Atlanta Hawks: All-NBA center Amare Stoudemire.
Either way, NBA front-office sources say that Garnett being moved in conjunction with Thursday's draft looks more likely than ever before, with the Suns -- identified by ESPN.com last week as KG's first choice for a new home -- in prime position to make the big score.
In the scenario reported by Gray, Garnett would go to Phoenix, Boston would land Marion and the Wolves would receive a package featuring the No. 5 overall pick in Thursday's draft along with undisclosed players from Boston and Minnesota.
The key stumbling block for Boston would be Marion's reluctance to play for the Celtics, which sources say was conveyed to both teams last week when such a trade was first broached. With Marion possessing the right to opt out of his contract after next season and become a free agent in July 2008, Boston would undoubtedly be seeking assurances from Marion's camp that he's interested in signing an extension with the Celtics, even though league rules technically would preclude such negotiations until after July 1.
Another possible stumbling block: Minnesota, sources say, has been adamant that any trade with Boston would include Al Jefferson. The Celtics, in turn, are willing to part with Jefferson only if they're the team that gets Garnett. It remains to be seen if either side softens its stance in the final hours before the draft.
In the newer trade scenario, sources say, Minnesota is looking to acquire Atlanta's No. 3 and No. 11 picks in the draft along with several cap-friendly contracts from the Hawks and Suns. To participate, Atlanta wants Stoudemire from Phoenix.
Such a trade would hold significantly greater appeal to Minnesota than any Celtics' offer that didn't include Jefferson. The Hawks, meanwhile, would be able to reunite Stoudemire with ex-Suns teammate Joe Johnson and immediately possess a promising big-and-small core to build around given the current state of the Eastern Conference.
The Suns, though, are understandably reluctant to part with Stoudemire after the 24-year-old made the All-NBA first team in what appears to be the most successful comeback from microfracture knee surgery that the NBA has ever witnessed.
The Lakers, meanwhile, haven't abandoned all hope of partnering Garnett with the increasingly frustrated Kobe Bryant just yet. Another concept in circulation Tuesday raised the possibility of a multi-team trade in which the Indiana Pacers' Jermaine O'Neal went to Atlanta, with Lakers forward Lamar Odom and young center Andrew Bynum heading to the Pacers. That package, at worst, would send the No. 3 pick in the draft to Minnesota as the main payoff for Garnett.
