NBA trade rumor: Al Jefferson, 6th pick to Phoenix for Amar’e
Amar'e Stoudemire, Dime #14
You know how it goes when comparing one basketball player to another: Before too long, somebody plays the “What if” game, i.e. “What if Player X was on Player Y’s team,” or vice versa.
But when we pitted Amar’e Stoudemire and Al Jefferson against each other in Dime’s “Who’s Better?” series a few months ago, the “What if” thing didn’t really apply. These two play such different styles on such different teams, it was hard to imagine Big Al running alongside Steve Nash in Phoenix or Amar’e being asked to become a traditional low-post scorer in Minnesota.
By the end of next week, though, that hypothetical could become reality. According to the Boston Globe, an unnamed NBA executive said the Wolves are working on a trade proposal where they would get Stoudemire from the Suns in exchange for Jefferson and Minnesota’s first-round pick (#6).
It kind of makes sense. Amar’e brings enough athleticism to Minnesota’s frontcourt to make up for Kevin Love’s lack of it, and it’s conceivable that Amar’e wouldn’t be so mad about the weather/winning situation so long as he’s the clear-cut #1 guy on the team. For the Suns, they could use that #6 pick on a stud PG to groom as Steve Nash’s replacement, or on another immediate impact player.
But this move would have made a lot more sense last year, when Terry Porter was trying to get the Suns to buy into a slowed-down system. Now, as good as Jefferson is, he’s just not going to be as effective with Nash as Stoudemire would be. And for all we know, that “NBA executive” source could have been 15-year-old Joey Buss playing on his Dad’s phone.
June 18th, 2009 at 9:04 am
rodnets says:
why such a crappy rumour, please Dime check your sources!
June 18th, 2009 at 9:15 am
nerditry says:
Completely a steal for Phoenix if this trade goes down. Jefferson does so many things that they would kill for Amare to do in regard to operating as a power forward. Al’s the superior rebounder, shot blocker, has much better post moves and would actually compliment Shaq as Gasol did for Bynum.
Can’t see the benefit for Minny, though.
June 18th, 2009 at 9:24 am
what-beef says:
this wud b an amazin trade, for the suns! Screw this high pace offence as it doesnt win championships. At least if u slow it down u have the chance to speed it up at will wit guys like nash, j-rich etc. The 6th pick wud also give them a great chance a picking a future all star, who will also contribute this season! t-wolves are not great and maybe adding a athletic all star to there roster may also help them get 30 wins next season.
June 18th, 2009 at 9:30 am
goonther says:
if i was PHX i would pull the trigger in less than a heartbeat …
June 18th, 2009 at 9:33 am
bobby s says:
agreed
jefferson is so much better than amare
June 18th, 2009 at 9:35 am
Allan says:
Not a good deal for Minnesota, it was like giving up Kevin Garnett to the Celtics 2 years ago. I would consider Al Jefferson to be a better basketball player than Amare who is one dimensional. Al is a justifiable cornerstone of a Franchise while Amare to me is a mere complimentary player, a good one but not a franchise type player.
June 18th, 2009 at 9:41 am
Owens says:
If this trade happens I’ll root for the Bucks next season.
June 18th, 2009 at 9:51 am
M says:
I don’t see why Minnesota would give up a draft pick and a franchise player, unless Jefferson is hurt a lot more then you’d presume he would be.
June 18th, 2009 at 10:13 am
YOUNGFED says:
D@mn didn’t Kobeef already put this out there earlier in today’s Smack. Atleast give the kid some credit for puttin yall on.
Any/Who, Its a pretty even swap except for Amare’s bum legs.
June 18th, 2009 at 10:33 am
isotope says:
For the Wolves sake I hope the last statment of the article is true.
June 18th, 2009 at 10:58 am
Heckler...formerly 'Yallallreadyknow' says:
why the hell would minny do this? they aint even got a damn coach! this don’t make any sense for them.
and it only makes sense for phoenix if they can trade shaq. what kinda frontline would they have with shaq and al jefferson? where would old ass steve nash find any seems on offense?
minny would HAVE TO re-sign amare for this to make sense. and is this bum amare really worth breaking the bank in 2010?!!?….Hells No! if they didn’t, they’d save money under the cap…..but what the hell do they need to be under the cap for? aint no FA jumping ship from elsewhere to try to sign in minny.
what the wolves need to do is: keep the sixth pick and draft the best shooter available. no one on the wolves (except mikey miller) can hit an open jimmy.
Suns need to trade shaq and nash for some younger parts. build around stoudamire and jason richardson
June 18th, 2009 at 11:05 am
Kudabeen says:
Really? The consensus is Amare is one dimensional and Al is better?
I don’t see that. As much as I criticize Amare for lack of D and rebounding it is more of a function of requirement. Suns never really require him to bang. Place him in an offense where he needs to be on the block to receive the ball I am willing to bet he will be even more of a beast as he is now as an All-Star. His face up game, strength, Athleticism and his much improved J will make him a problem. And in Phoenix, when they were losing while trying to slow things down he showed that he can be a deterrent in the paint. He isn’t a weak step stool that guys find it easy to step over on their way to score. He has the timing, hops, and strength to contest.
His biggest flaw is that in Phoenix they play to stay in the game and score and not to get stops and protect the basket. I love Al’s Game, but he has to prove he can win and produce in the Playoffs where people scheme to stop you for the W not just let you get yours because others aren’t going to do damage.
June 18th, 2009 at 11:24 am
King says:
Al Jeff is better than Amare. Minny would be stupid to do this one.
June 18th, 2009 at 11:27 am
Thats my boy Blue says:
@Fed I posted about it before Kobeef on the DWade Kobe is the best piece.
Im probably wrong but I dont get why people are still bitching about the Garnett to the Celtics trade. ‘Sota were going nowhere. From what I can remember they no better offer(could be wrong). Al Jefferson, Ryan Gomes, Telfair, and Ratiliffs contract. They were going nowhere with Garnett, actually they were going backwards. KG wasn’t happy and probably wanted out so they decided to reload. Big Al wasnt a bad return along with the other bits of filler. All Garnett was going to do was stop them from getting a better shot at a top pick really.
The Timberwolves stand a lot better of a chance of improving if they keep the 6th pick and Big Al rather than a guy who is free to bolt after this year and definitely would. The only reason I see Phoneix doing it is so they can have something to show after Amare leaves after the season. Better to have Big Al rather than no Shaq and no Amare.
June 18th, 2009 at 11:28 am
johnny says:
Yep, Minny would be so wrong.
June 18th, 2009 at 11:33 am
Rare Air says:
This has me speechless,
Amare’s hype machine is way off track.
June 18th, 2009 at 11:34 am
haslem says:
as a Twolves fan (which I am) this trade would hurt me. to give up the draft pick as well could dang near kill me. I’m thinking maybe Al jeff is madder about the Mchale thing than I thought.
June 18th, 2009 at 11:43 am
ERIC says:
This would be the first great move by Kerr in 2+ years
June 18th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
flavur says:
Stupid Trade stupid rumor
June 18th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Ansonious says:
Please tell me this is true Al Jefferson is a beast plus the 6th pick xmas is coming early in Phoenix.
June 18th, 2009 at 12:56 pm
Dirtball Rotten says:
if Min does this, their front office should all be shot at gunpoint at townsquare
June 18th, 2009 at 1:50 pm
mellamoernest says:
All the excitement of finally getting McHale out of here would totally be gone. The draft pick is the real kicker in this deal. You would be giving up to young players in the deal.
June 18th, 2009 at 2:08 pm
Andrej says:
Amare is way better then al Jefferson but it’s that number 6 draft pick that wud make it a steal for phenix
June 18th, 2009 at 3:03 pm
D.H. says:
I take Big Al in a heart-beat over Amare any day. I just can’t get enough of Big Al’s game. Throw in the #6 overall and I would take it and run if I was Kerr. Run fast.
June 18th, 2009 at 3:48 pm
Ian says:
so wait not only is jefferson better but they are throwing in a pick also nice job kerr.
June 18th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
JuiceMode says:
All along we thought it was all McHale who was making the bad deals… guess we were wrong
June 18th, 2009 at 7:00 pm
Jason says:
how about al jefferson the 6th pick for amare and the 14th pick?
that would be better for minny
June 18th, 2009 at 8:17 pm
the cynic says:
isn’t Big Al better then Amare?