Well, RFDC, we give each other tons of shit, but I'll thank you for this link. I think I'll start reading Simmons regularly. I liked the linked article so much that I went back and read some archives, and now I'm starting to get cold feet over the theoretical Stoudemire trade:
Bill Simmons wrote:
Group J: "Everything Must Go! Everything Must Go!"
36. Amare Stoudemire
Bruce in Phoenix recently begged me, "Can you hold off on the Trade Value column until some GM is dumb enough to offer us too much for Amare? I don't want them to know that he sucks now!" Hey, Bruce? I think they know. Why do you think you're getting so many pu-pu platter offers? It would help if Amare grabbed a rebound or switched correctly on a high screen more than twice per quarter.
This worries me, even though he goes on to say:
Quote:
I still say the Amare era is salvageable -- stick the kid on a team with a good point guard (Chicago?), tell him to just worry about putting the biscuit in the basket (New York? G-State?), or trade for him and say, "We love you, you're our franchise guy" (Sacramento? Memphis? Indiana?) and I think he'd start slapping up 29-9s again. With a smile on his face.
It worries me because, even though he seems to have confidence in Stoudemire, there's the theory he posited in
this article: specifically, that "Mike D'Antoni [is], the Coors Field of coaches." From the article:
Bill Simmons wrote:
Remember what happened to Quentin Richardson when he left Phoenix? (Even Sugar from Survivor didn't disappear as quickly.) Have you seen Boris Diaw, Leandro Barbosa or Raja Bell this season? (Overpaid bench players, as it turns out.) Or Amaré Stoudemire? (Is he even an All-Star anymore?)
I guess it somewhat works in your favor if he's a bust that his contract is up in 2010; but at the same time, if he's a *great success*, it can hurt you, because now you've given up players and you have to sign one of your own to a max contract during one of the greatest free agent years possibly of all time.
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