But my memory of the import of Hunter's shot blocking prowess is that it was significant for us last year, winning a game or two (and maybe even more) outright.
It never makes sense to say that a particular player or play wins a game. The whole team is involved in the effort to get to that point. Hunter's shortcomings on offense and rebounding made it harder for the Suns to get in a position to win. Sometimes his shot-blocking made up for that weakness, and other times it didn't.
Plus, his defense on Garnett is, absent almost any other set of skills, worth a lot.
Why? The Suns will play the Wolves only three times this season. Even if having Hunter would be the difference between going 3-0 and 0-3 in those games -- which of course is absurd -- it's still only three games.
Also, your memory of Hunter's defensive efforts might be a little selective. In the Minnesota/Phoenix games last season, here's what happened:
December 3, Wolves win 97-93 in Phoenix. Garnett 23 points, 19 rebounds, 8 assists. Hunter 7 minutes, 1 rebound, 2 blocks.
January 4, Suns win 122-114 in Minnesota. Garnett 47 points (career high), 17 rebounds, 4 assists. Hunter 23 minutes, 1 rebound, 2 blocks, 6 fouls.
February 2, Suns win 108-79 in Minnesota. Garnett 12 points, 13 rebounds. Hunter 19 minutes, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks.
April 1, Suns win 107-98 in Phoenix. Garnett 15 points, 15 rebounds. Hunter 15 minutes, 3 rebounds, zero blocks.
So in the three Suns victories, it appears that Hunter's defense of Garnett was a factor in at most one of them, the April 1 game. On January 4, Garnett did anything he wanted and the Suns won anyway. On February 2, Garnett had a bad game, but the Wolves got crushed, and would have lost even if Garnett had gone for 35. The April 1 game was fairly close and Garnett's being held in check may have been a factor, although it is worth noting that Hunter was on the floor for less than 1/3 of the game.
The bottom line is that Hunter is not a difference-maker, and the Suns were not going to pay him like one.
