Skkorpion said:
I agree, with one exception: Amare is done. Get over it. And while we are at it, Kevin Garnett has never run the floor, so how do you teach a 30 year old to change his game?
please, I don't think Amare Stoudemire will ever be as athletically gifted as he was before the surgery, but to say he's done is ludicrous. Jason Kidd looks great, and even Chris Webber is an adequate player now. By all accounts their knees were 10 times the mess that Amare Stoudemire's were, and they are 10 years older than him.
Next year Amare Stoudemire will be a borderline All-Star at the least.
I also have to wonder what Kevin Garnet you've been watching. The guy can run the floor as well as about any big man in the game. Besides, if Kurt Thomas can learn to hang with this team, so can KG. He's not going to be Shawn Marion on the fast break, but he makes up for the difference and then some everywhere else. Defensively there is no comparison between KG and Shawn Marion.
As far as Minnesota's interest in Shawn Marion... I can honestly understand questioning this part of a possible trade. I can't imagine Minnesota wanting to hold on to Shawn Marion. IF Minnesota will actually trade KG to Phoenix I think it's got to be part of a bigger deal where Shawn Marion ends up somewhere else and Minnesota gets more building blocks (draft picks and good, young players).
If a deal with Indiana would bring Jermaine O'Neal and not much else back to Minnesota, the Timberwolves might as well just stay with KG. Jermaine O'Neal makes almost as much as Kevin Garnett, and he's played a total of 96 games in the last two seasons (44 & 51). Frankly, I think he's one of the more overrated players in the league.
If Kevin Garnett has any say he would surely want to go to the Phoenix Suns over Chicago or Indiana. Oh yeah, I forgot to say that the Chicago Bulls could put together the most attractive package for KG, and he is from that area. I'm not sure they would do it or KG would want to go there though because even with him they wouldn't be a championship contender. If KG's ultimate goal is to win a championship phoenix makes the most sense.
That said, KG doesn't have the ultimate say in his destination. This isn't Shaquille O'Neal's situation from a couple years ago. KG has 3 years left on his current contract. Of course it would deter trade partners if he was openly complaining about going to particular team or teams.
Lastly, everything I've seen and read on this draft indicates that it's a deep one. There isn't a lot of top-notch quality at the top of the draft, but good, solid players should be found throughout. The #21 taken this year's draft will be worth the same as it is an almost any other draft. I think Atlanta will improve next year, but I still see them as a lottery team (top 10 pick). The next year's draft should have some damn good quality at the top. That pick has to look good.
For the record, I don't think there's a great chance of the Phoenix Suns pulling off a trade for KG. I don't think there's a great chance he'll be traded. If it is a possibility that they could get him for Shawn Marion, Barbosa, and some draft picks I would say it's a no-brainer though.
Joe