Different people are reliable for different things. Key thing is to understand the context. As @justtxyank and others explained, Isola isn't liked by most NYK fans... but that's typically because he's not a sunshine pumper and often takes (or at least considers) the opposing side in disputes involving the team. When this happens, I think we all know there are people in every "fanbase" that will scream "FAKE NEWS!!!" in an effort to give a blanket discredit to anything that messenger says related to whatever they're supporting. I do agree Isola probably isn't favored by the Knicks' brass, but the idea that the lead NBA writer/columnist for the NYDN and a frequent ESPN TV contributor is just making up 100% bullshit and earning six figures is naive and ridiculous. (Not accusing you of this at all, but there are a lot of Knicks fans that have convinced themselves of this, and the same dynamic plays out in politics all the time.) The reality is that in most stories, there are at least two sides, and Isola isn't telling their preferred narrative. In this case, it's pretty clear that Isola is in tight with Melo's camp. That doesn't mean I 100% trust him to get every detail right, but I do trust Isola to accurately report Melo's current mindset -- and given his NTC and the mini-freakouts some have had in recent days over CLE, POR, OKC, etc., that's at least 50% of the story. Perhaps more, given the NTC. In all, there are basically 3 sides of this story: the Knicks, Carmelo's camp, and the Rockets. I think Woj, Shams, Shelburne, Haynes, and Lowe are the most likely to be plugged in on MULTIPLE sides. There are others like Isola, Feigen, Begley, and others (I'd even throw Potato in here) that are well-sourced on one, maybe two sides, but probably not all. Then, of course, there are the nonsense folks like Schultz, Amico, Vescey, etc. that have a proven track record of just trolling for clicks. My outlook is that unless they have a proven history of falling in that latter group (i.e. trolling), keep an open mind but just consider the context. Basically, they're telling one side of a complicated story -- and even if it's accurate, it may or may not move the needle in terms of a transaction actually materializing because it depends on exactly how the other sides respond. So, long story short, that's how I'd look at the "sources" here. I'm not taking everything Frank Isola says as gospel, but I do think he's useful for telling one particular (and very important) part of the story. Make sense?
The timeframe thing always seemed silly to me. I discounted that stuff right away. Either the deal is done or it isn't.
This about sums it up. I forgot to mention that I consider Potato to be very reliable in terms of what Melo is thinking/has been told.
When I joined, you had to pay to get in. I don't think it started that way but fairly soon became pay to play
I think Solomon is a great comparison, actually. Jerome isn't really my style, and I was critical of him last week over that ridiculous tiff he got into with Daryl. That said, you can disagree with someone and still respect them (as I do with Jerome). He's in the position he's in for a reason... and if he reports something, it's ridiculous to just immediately assume that the entire thing is 100% FAKE NEWS!!! or lies or whatever. Reality is that we all have our biases, and if it's somewhat well known like the Isola case, just try the best you can to frame it as one side of a complex story. Still useful info, and especially so in the Carmelo case, given the NTC.
As i have said, Potat Head COnfident = Clutchfans should stay COnfident He da real MVP of the off season
Right. I'm not a fan of the style where you constantly point out the worse case scenario, etc. but they are still established journalists and they do have connections. Normally guys like that get connections to players because the organizations won't give them anything. They get info by taking the players back in some disputes or something.
If there is some sort of Melo to hou and Kyrie to NY deal Frank Ntilikina cannot be dealt until August 3rd by the 30 day rule