Where did I say he was a complete waste of talent? How is saying that he should be a franchise player instead of a 2nd banana type calling him a complete waste of talent? I think he's maximized about 70% of his skill set. As for his playoff stats, he had one good run in 05. The SSOL Suns as a team only have one impressive series win in this era - beating Dallas that year.
You're posting in a topic asking for your Top 5 Biggest Wastes of Talent, and said that Amare Stoudemire should be in the discussion.
The Suns were at their best in '07, but never had the right tools to get past the San Antonio Spurs. I'd argue that it was more D'Antoni's fault than Amare's.
Though I'll admit--leaving the bench was a really, really, really dumb thing to do.
Well, I'm sorry if I didn't stipulate that I don't think he's one of the FIVE biggest wastes of talent. I figured the usual suspects would be named by everybody, and after that we could get down to peripheral matters.
Amare shouldn't be anywhere near this discussion. I've provided concrete stats showing that he raises his game to another level in the postseason, putting up numbers that are very comparable to those of Dirk Nowitzki, former MVP. In 2005, he was nigh unstoppable, putting up 37 ppg and 14 rpg in 5 games on the Spurs in the WCF. His ceiling was lowered significantly by microfracture surgery, which he's successfully recovered from due to a great work ethic.
Dumb argument, Fin. Your constant Amare bashing is wearing thin.
He's a chronic career underachiever and he absolutely deserves to be labeled as such. If you object to the term "waste of talent," fine, he's nowhere near the likes of Gerald Green or J.R. Rider. But to compare him to Dirk - his impact on a game isn't nearly the same as Dirk's, no matter what stats say. Fifty years from now people will look at the stats of Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan and conclude they were about equal, and that would be wrong - Duncan ascended to a level Garnett never reached.
And I'd like to see Amare put up those video game stats in the playoffs without Mike D'Antoni as his coach. For God's sakes, David Lee is a 20/10 guy under D'Antoni.
Beno Udrih.
Brian Scalabrine..I thought he was gonna be the next Larry Bird
Drew Gooden?
J.R. Rider
What people seem to forget about Amare Stoudemire is how much microfracture surgery has affected him. Because he's still a such a great player people tend to forget how great he actually was before. His game was totally dependent on athleticism and microfracture robbed him of some of that. Even with a more polished jumpshot and overall game, he's still less of a player than the younger, rawer Stoudemire once was. When I look at Amare Stoudemire today, I think of an all star, not the young BEAST who once scored 37 ppg in a playoff series against Tim Duncan.
This season:
1. Gilbert Arenas - Yea.
2. Tracy McGrady - Despite making the money that he does and being healthy he got himself in a FUBAR situation with his own team.
3. Josh Howard - Had to do a double take when I saw his statsheet. Great move to trade him.
4. Allen Iverson - With the right at ude and a shift to a roleplayer mentality he could've had a much better impact.
5. Potential foreign stars that stay overseas
PG Baron Davis - Couldv'e been an absolute monster if he stayed in shape and didn't just hoist threes.
SG JR Smith - Sick range. Sick athlete. Mentally sick human.
SF Vince Carter - Freakish athlete with a great stroke ... and he's done barely anything with those skills.
PF Rasheed Wallace - Could have been Tim Duncan with a better jumper.
C Eddy Curry - Never has there been such a blatant lack of heart ... no pun intended.
As far as a waste of talent from a laziness standpoint, Telfair was another guy who just never seemed to want to get better. He seems fine with just floating from team to team collecting his paychecks, when coming out he obviously had a lot of talent, but just never has improved on it.
Marbury is up there too.
Beat me to it...
Took the words right out of my mouth...
Shaq - Could have seriously been the GOAT with the right at ude/work ethic/defensive effort and free throws
Lamar Odom - Talent to be a Pippen-Magic hybrid.
Tim Thomas - this guy
Mcgrady/Carter - Both have the loser and underachiever gene I guess
JR Smith...dude has superstar talent but no brain.
I did think Amare, but also agree with the arguements posted earlier. He has achieved reasonable stats, but when he was ripping the Spurs for 40 a game in the playoffs quite a few years back, he was SCARY!
Since though, his game has gone backwards... it's a bit sad to reach your peak in what? 3 years and then decline.
I'd also put KG in this category too... if your looking at a "waste of talent" against team success. 1 championship in his career is underachieving no matter how bad the front office mistakes in Minnesota.
Another mention deserves to go to Michael Redd. Yes injuries played a big part, but can you imagine what might have happened if he has just made the switch to Cleveland a few years back.
hhahahah lol
Agree with 21_Blessing, he showed last year in Phoenix he could still dominate the game if he was in shape.
He's in China.
Before this year, Josh Smith.
But still, Amare should be embarrassed that he doesn't average 20-10. Thats how good he should be.
Tyson Chandler - should be way more than the defensive role player he is, could have been a bigger KG
Rasheed Wallace - Barkley is onto something when he says Sheed is the most talented player in the NBA. Maybe that's an exaggeration but Sheed could have been as good as any big man during this era.
Shaun Livingston - Never really seemed to care about being good. Never added the weight he needed to ass, never added the jumper he needed to add, and ultimately blew out his kneee largely cause his lower body strength was so bad.
Greg Oden - another guy who doesn't seem to care about getting good, and another guy who's lack of lower body condition contributed to his knee injuries.
Boris Diaw - Xylus already mentioned him but he's easily one of if not the biggest talent wastes. Some players like Ty Thomas just have a low bball IQ they can't do anything about, Diaw has an extremely high basketball IQ to go along with his physical talents, but he was a fat pussy who stopped giving a once he signed his $40 million extension. He's a waste of talent in every sense of the word, he knows full well how good he can be and simply doesn't give a .
Instead he averages 20 and 9. What a waste. He could easily average 10 rebounds instead he averages a measly 9.
Seriously though, how good is Amare supposed to be? There's nothing he can do about how dumb he is, and microfracture surgery took away that once in a generation athleticism he had. His lack of basketball IQ combined with his naturally thin frame prevent him from ever being a dominat low post player or dominant rebounder. Idk why people seem to think Amare could be Hakeem Olajwuon circa 1994.
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