Why does Gerald Green get a free pass 24/7 while Melo gets banished?

False narratives. You literally just made a baseless generalization ignoring all the facts involving this:

-Melo came in with a good attitude towards coming off the bench. Coaches told him before he signed here what his role would be. He agreed

-Teammates, coaching staff, GM, all had no problems with him. Star players were actually "caught off guard" by him getting cut

-Melo was NOT the reason we started off bad. Carmelo can't be responsible for CP not making his layups, or EG missing everything, or Capela taking possessions off. The team started winning when our stars decided to play better

The only evidence on the court was that the team as a collective whole wasn't prepared after 10 games. The reason Melo got cut imo is due to MDA holding petty grudges.

 

Melo was not banished. The report is that he chose not to return when Morey informed that his minutes would be cut. Green doesnt make that choice over minute's

 

The simple reason is because Melo played significant minutes per game during his time here, so his negative impact (so to speak) was more profound. Now whether its because its at his request or pressure from management to try him out - who knows, but that really is the story. Both players are similar, but one barely nodges over 10 mpg (Green currently is at 13.8 mpg I believe) and when Melo played, he was well over 20 mpg. That really tells the story right there. Having Melo step out forced our team to revert back to our old style of play and not give significant minutes to someone who inherently makes us play differently.

 

Nobody looks twice if Green gets a DNPCD. Nobody cares about that.

If Melo has any DNPCD’s it’s a whole news story. It’s a big deal.

I really think that’s the end all be all.

 

Well OP looked at just this season, but it misses the context as they did not include Green's stats from last season which factor into how he's viewed. Green isn't being judged on just what he's done for the Rockets this season, he's being judged on the 41 games last season too.

If you combine all his games as a Rocket, his numbers are:

55 games
35.6% 3PT
55.6% TS
13.2 PER

So the team wasn't just judging Green on just this season, and remember when he came on board with Houston last season, he was on fire. His first 10 games he averaged 15.6 ppg on 44/42/90.

 

He doesn't get a free pass.

He gets the Green Light.

 

Both are garbage. Neither should be on the team.

 

Bro melo never had dreadlocks. Clowney has dreadlocks. Melo had braids.

 

One has nothing to do with the other.

If every team asked themselves “Is Melo better than our worst player?” Then when the inevitable answer of “Yes” came back, every team in the league would be cutting the end of their bench and lining up to sign him.

So...why is that not happening? I think the answer is complicated and differs greatly based on who you are talking to.

For the Rockets, Melo was the experiment that didn’t work. You can argue up and down that Melo didn’t get enough time to fit in, etc. but it seems both sides are ok with moving on without each other. So I say, let it be.

Green on the other hand has relatively low expectations and manages to do just fine in the role he is given, and the fans love him.

But again, those two things (Melo situation and Green not being a more solid rotational piece) have nothing to do with each other.

 

Gerald Green knows he's a role player

Carmelo doesn't accept the fact he's a role player

 

Yes, the entire team started the season badly. Yet somehow they were significantly worse with Carmelo on the court. Even if his attitude was great as everyone says, the team stunk with him on the court. End of story.

 

I'm guessing the difference is that we can bench Green for half the season and nobody would care or blink an eye (including Green himself), and Melo wouldn't accept that due to his ego/brand.

 

Melo could set the nba record by being waived 5 times this season.

Carmelo Anthony (traded, released, signed and on the verge of being released)

Melo could set the nba record by being waived 5 times in 2020 if not retired.

Melo could set the nba record by being waived 5 times in 2021 if not retired.

 

He's a similar player at the same price who doesn't complain and plays every minute like it's his last and adjusted his game for the good of the team. What would YOU do? lol

 

Difference is that Melo was a ball stopper and was killing the offensive flow - he wasn't just making himself worse, he was making the whole team worse.

Gerald green doesn't do that.

 

Melo left the team. The team didn’t leave him.

 

Green's love flows out. Melo's love is directed inwards. Simple as that.

 

It's all the same to THEM.

 

In baseball, they say that if you have two players that reach first base at the same time, you pick the guy that ran with arms flailing, barely trying, and with poor form versus the guy with the perfectstride. The reason is, one guy is closer to his peak versus a guy who can be coached up.

As fans it's a little bit of the opposite. We want to root for a guy that plays close to his ceiling, that gives max effort night in and night out. There is nothing more frustrating as fans to see unfulfilled potential. Make no mistake, Melo could have been better for us. For some people, it's a lack of sports IQ, for some it is ego. So when Green and Melo go out and get the same numbers, we will always root for the guy that is obviously bleeding Rockets Red.

I also think it has merit beyond the fact that Green endeared himself to the fanbase with his hairstyles, swag, and unabashed love for the city. That energy, even without great stats, carries over to his teammates. So 1/5 shooting for Green is still more valuable than Melo's. Melo was slow on rotations and seemed to take plays off. Houston wanted to root for Melo. Clutchfans wanted to root for him. Maybe we are kicking him to the curb a little early. Maybe he feels we are letting him down a little being so rash. He let us down first.

 

Answer to OP's question is really pretty simple:

Gerald isn't a 10-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer who will be a news story after getting only 5 minutes in a game, or being sent out to play the last few minutes in a blowout win.

Literally everything that Melo does is filtered through the lens of him being Carmelo Anthony. Because of that, MDA doesn't have the luxury of benching him for a couple of games to teach him a lesson, or to play an undrafted rookie ahead of him because it makes the team better. Melo being who he is makes decisions about his role on the bench much more difficult.

To put it in perspective: If we dropped Gerald and gave all of his minutes to Melo, the national media would be asking a bazillion questions after literally every single game. He'd be a story every morning on every panel show on ESPN, FoxSports, NBA TV, etc. **** like that wears a team down over time and distracts from our mission of winning a title.