Kwame Brown belongs on Jerry Colangelo?s holiday card list.  So do Tyson Chandler and Eddy Curry.  The Phoenix Suns owner shouldn?t skimp ? buy each one a Hallmark, enclose 20 bucks like he would for any kid, and write the following: ?Thanks for Amare.?

He might want to send the same thing to Michael Jordan and Jerry Krause.  Leave out $20 for Jordan.  It?s not like His Airness needs the money.

The Suns had the ninth pick in last year?s NBA draft, and used it on high school star Amare Stoudemire.  Talk about winning the lottery.  Do the draft again today, and Stoudemire would be the number two pick behind Yao Ming.

The single biggest reason Stoudemire was still available at number nine is that Brown, Chandler and Curry stunk as rookies.  Brown had the worst rookie season for a first overall pick since Portland took Larue Martin in 1972.  The Twin Toddlers weren?t much better, and they?ve become poster children for the This Is A Man?s League campaign.

If Brown duplicated Kevin Garnett?s rookie season (10 points, six rebounds), Stoudemire probably would have been a top five pick.  Instead, Phoenix got to select the kid who hung 38 points and 17 rebounds on Garnett earlier this week, followed by 20 and 11 against Philadelphia.

Though solid, his season averages ? 12.4 points, 8.9 rebounds ? don?t begin to tell the story.  Since entering the starting lineup, he?s averaging 15 points and 9.9 rebounds.  Think Golden State, Memphis, Denver, Cleveland, New York, Chicago or the Clippers could use that kind of production in the frontcourt?  All could have taken him, all passed.

While the 2001 high schoolers have become symbols for how kids struggle upon entering the NBA, Stoudemire personifies a lesson that humanity still hasn?t learned in several millennia ? consider people as individuals, not as members of a group.

Many general managers and scouts recognized Stoudemire?s considerable talent, athleticism, and potential, but were unwilling to take the chance on another high school kid.  After all, those kids struggle for the first three years (at least) before they start playing well.  If they ever start playing well.

GMs needed look no further than the 2001-2002 season.  The high school trio was the model of inconsistency.

Brown played with a fragility startling in a 6-11, 240 pound Adonis.  The intelligence and sensitivity that made him seem mature and appealing turned out to be a curse.  Under a weighty barrage of criticism from the people he most wanted to please, he broke down in the locker room and had a much-publicized bout with stress-induced acne.

Curry was the fat schoolyard bully in high school.  No one could handle his 6-10, 280 pound frame.  But in the NBA, he encountered bigger, stronger players, and he was too often lost in the clutter, easily pushed around and knocked off his game.

Chandler, the big city kid with freakish athleticism, played like a movie star.  He was enamored with the spectacular and impressed with himself when he made the big play ? even when his team was down 20 at the time.  No one was a bigger Chandler fan than Chandler himself.  All he needed was a good film editor to make it look like he could actually play.

GMs lumped Stoudemire in with the other three.  Yeah, they might be good one day, but who wants to wait that long?  Who wants the anxiety?  Who wants to run a daycare?  Who needs all that crap?

And so they missed out on a quality big man who?s just the fourth youngest player in the league.  A kid that?s all rough edges, aggression and effort.  Someone whose game is about as subtle as a kick in the groin.

Whether or not Stoudemire ends up rookie of the year or makes the All-Star game, it?s clear he?s going to be an outstanding player for a long time.

So, the Suns need to expand their card list, mail out some thank you notes, maybe send something nice on folks? birthdays.  It took some help, but they stumbled into something special.  They ought to be grateful to those who made it possible.