Turns out it was McHale who didn't want Stoudemire

[MajorMike]

The Phoenix Suns, meanwhile, viewed Garnett as the finishing piece in their mission to win a championship next season. While it has been widely reported that the Suns refused to trade Amaré Stoudemire, it is my understanding that they would have considered moving him to Minnesota in hope that Garnett would have solidified their team defense and overall intensity in matchups against the champion San Antonio Spurs and Dallas Mavericks, who are expected to return to contention next season.

If you were to poll NBA executives whether they would prefer the 24-year-old Stoudemire or the 22-year-old Jefferson, the overwhelming majority would go for Stoudemire, a two-time All-Star and potential MVP who is the superior athlete. Yet the word around the league was that Minnesota VP Kevin McHale rejected the possibility of trading for Stoudemire and preferred instead to acquire the less-renowned Jefferson, who provides low-post scoring while serving as a low-maintenance player in the locker room. It speaks to McHale's integrity that he is doing what he clearly believes is in the best interests of his franchise even though he will surely be criticized for choosing Jefferson over Stoudemire in a trade involving Garnett.

How funny. They didn't want the whiner, not that he didn't want them.

[Findog]

Duh-mare is overrated. He's only marginally better at creating for himself since Nash came to town, he doesn't play any D, doesn't seem interested in learning how to play D, he's not as great as he thinks he is, and he needs a top-flight PG playing with him in order to be a low-post beast.

He's an incredibly effective player in that system, but playing in Minnesota without a great playmaker would've exposed him. All he can do is dunk and bag the occassional 16 footer. Not to mention he's 24 and has already had microfracture once. Given the way he plays, it's almost certain he'll need it again before his career is over. I'd rather have Jefferson too. For once McHale can take off the dunce cap. This is a good deal for both teams.

[Fabbs]

link?

[monosylab1k]

McHale is pretty smart for not wanting Amare. I don't think Jefferson is better, but I'm 99% sure that the time when Amare starts going T.O. on everybody is imminent.

[MajorMike]

link?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200...t.trade/1.html

[TDMVPDPOY]

al jeff is going to be very good imo
i say his better than d12 on offense but not on the boards, which he still can improve.
machale if he s up by building pieces around al jeff, dude should get fired
now why would machale trade that scrub to a clown team in the same conference....

[Shred]

That is why McHale is generally considered a genius, one of, if not the best, GM in the business.

On another note, I was getting a little worried there. It was already Monday and no Spur fans had started any threads about the Suns. But of course, the obsession continues....

[Soul_Patch]

McHale is a smart guy. Amare is a piece of . He will end up in New York eventually with all the other overinflated Salaries and Ego's...

[u2sarajevo]

That is why McHale is generally considered a genius, one of, if not the best, GM in the business.

On another note, I was getting a little worried there. It was already Monday and no Spur fans had started any threads about the Suns. But of course, the obsession continues....

Hey dude..... you are on the Spurs board so I'd look in that mirror....

[O-Factor]

That is why McHale is generally considered a genius, one of, if not the best, GM in the business.

On another note, I was getting a little worried there. It was already Monday and no Spur fans had started any threads about the Suns. But of course, the obsession continues....

What was posted was just general news. Obsession of what??? A history with no championships, a whiny team, a whiny coach??? Im curious, what are we as Spurs fans obsessed about when it comes to phoenix???

[monosylab1k]

What was posted was just general news. Obsession of what??? A history with no championships, a whiny team, a whiny coach??? Im curious, what are we as Spurs fans obsessed about when it comes to phoenix???

To Suns fans, ratings and excitement are more important than championships. They're the greatest in their own mind so you bes' be jealous of their awesomeness.

[O-Factor]

To Suns fans, ratings and excitement are more important than championships. They're the greatest in their own mind so you bes' be jealous of their awesomeness.

I thought it was pretty exciting when we were giving them a beat down at their own game. Yeah I'd rather have a history of championships than a history of dissapointment

[sickdsm]

That is why McHale is generally considered a genius, one of, if not the best, GM in the business.


Are you talking about the Celtic fanclub fantasy basketball league?

[RonMexico]

FYI - Amare had a really good year in 02-03 with Starbury as his PG, so it's not all Nash... still, I think in the past 3 years, there's no doubt in my mind that the entire team has become dependent on Steve to get them easy looks, so the ability to create is a skill I think a lot of the players are not developing... except maybe Barbosa, who simply overcreates himself into repeated Tim Duncan blocks.