I would probably do the trade, even if it meant giving up Martin and Melo not signing an extension. I don't think Denver would be interested in taking Scola's contract. You can easily plug in Courtney Lee in the starting rotation and your defense gets better, and I think the offense actually would get better as well if you can keep Battier and move him to the bench. If the Rockets can make a deal for a defensive minded Center (like Sam Dalembert), and another 3pt shooter, i think we can be considered a sleeper in the playoffs. Lowry/Ish (Brooks traded) Lee/Budinger or T-Will (Martin and Budinger or T-Will traded) Melo/Battier (Jeffries Traded) Scola/Hayes (Patterson Traded) Dalembert/Hill/Miller (Yao Traded) This would make us sleepers in the playoffs this year, and if Melo decides to part ways, then I think this would give us an opportunity to clear cap space next year and try to bring in at least 2 of the 3 big name FAs in 2012 (Dwight, CP3, and D.Will).
Actually I think disallowing sign and trades and adding the "franchise tag" to a players bird rights might be the main change in the new CBA this summer. This will discourage players from taking a chance at free agency and even with a player option will be leaving alot of money on the table. The money always wins with the players, especially the franchise players, and if they werent allowed to keep their bird rights through a sign and trade then it would discourage the new breed of superstars like Durant and Blake Griffin from teaming up and leaving their city in 3 or 4 seasons. The organizations seem to benefit the most from sign and trades, because they can still get something for a franchise player leaving, but really the POWER comes in the POCKET BOOK of the players. If they are willing to take a major salary cut like Barkley did in order to sign Pippen, then good for them.
Lol, could see how that could happen..everyone is waiting for "that trade"..plus doesn't help when you just woke up
Martin is the kind of guy that scores very well in the first 3 quarters of games which would be of huge benefit to a player like Carmelo which would help keep him fresh for the fourth quarter which is exactly the spot this team has been struggling in. I think Martin and Melo compliment each other very well on the offensive end. Defensively would remain to be seen.
that was carmelo basically saying the rockets are the chick you'd bang but wouldn't brag to your friends about.
Corrected- Martin is the kind of player that scores very effectively when there is BALL MOVEMENT. 4th quarters in the NBA tend to become an isolation game on offense and can make a player like Martin ineffective because you need ball movement for him to be effective. Melo however, is deadly in the post and can run the isolation offense very effective. However, if the offense is run through Melo rather than relying on equal touches, Martin becomes a secondary scorer and is less effective. Still Martin as a secondary scorer sounds good to me. He can become a deadly spot up shooter if you need him to be. Just an overpaid Eddie House basically. Secondly...Efficient offense leads to good defense. Think about it, teams cannot get easy points in transition if the one team is at the foul line all night. The Rockets with Melo and Martin wouldn't necessarily be the best brand of basketball because... well the game would have alot of stoppage due to fouls, but there is no doubt that they would win games and suprisingly their defense could actually improve with a slower pace of play.
I applaud Melo's tact here. It's clear he doesn't really want to play for Houston but he is trying to be respectful. I can dig that. It's much better than the way Bosh treated the Rockets courtship or how Lebron treated the Cavs.
lol!!! :grin: :grin: You are wrong for this! Love it though. Why does Lowry always look like he is sorry about something he did??
Scola's production vs salary is quite a bargain: http://www.nba.com/playerfile/andrew_bynum/index.html $13,842,332, 11.6 pts, 7.5 rpg, +16.19 http://www.nba.com/playerfile/andrew_bogut/index.html $11,000,000, 13.1 pts, 11.4 rpg, +19.93 http://www.nba.com/playerfile/antawn_jamison/index.html $13,348,905, 17.7 pts, 6.6 rpg, +15.96 http://www.nba.com/playerfile/emeka_okafor/index.html $11,540,375, 11.1pts, 10.1 rpg, +17.43 http://www.nba.com/playerfile/luis_scola/index.html $7,775,378, 19.1 pts, 8.3 rpg, +20.14 http://www.nba.com/playerfile/josh_smith/index.html $11,600,000, 16.7 pts, 8.9 rpg, +21.3 I think casual fans underestimate the VALUE of some of our players in terms of their production vs salary. Most 19/8 guys would command at least $17-$18M if not near max. I think Denver would LOVE Scola's contract....
I'm not under-valuing Scola, but I dont think Denver would be interested in paying that kinda money to a 30-yr old when they're in rebuilding mode. Martin on the other hand, while not a player you can build around, would seem to be a more attractive piece. But if Denver likes Scola and Martin, and it can bring us Melo and Nene.. i'd be down for that.
