Dang, my hopes are officially up!! If we don't get melo I'll no doubt be depressed for awhile!!! Lol Great article!
FWIW I don't know if it has been pointed out but Melo really grew up in Baltimore. So I don't think it is the 'home is where the heart is" scenario quite with Brooklyn. Although I think it is a moot point because I'm pretty sure he wants the NY perks regardless.
Moving back to Brooklyn would be like a family reunion every day for him. http://www.complex.com/blogs/2010/03/29/exclusive-interview-carmelo-anthony-suits-up/
Main reason why its so hard for Houston to land superstars nowadays is because of Yao. I mean as much as I respect Yao as a player and all but who would want to come to Houston to play with him knowing he will most likely get injured again. Like Bosh and Lebron went to Miami because Wade is a superstar with a ring and Wade is the star player other stars want to play with. Chris Paul and Amare can also attract stars much more than Yao. To be honest, Yao Ming has done many great things for the city of Houston. But the truth behind closed doors is that the longer Yao is still on this roster, Houston will have a tough time succeeding and winning it all. Though if he is healthy with this current team, the Rockets can do some damage in the playoffs. But given the history, Yao's track record doesn't look good. Year after year he breaks down. Plus he isn't young anymore and chances are, history will repeat itself with Yao. So its hard to lure big stars to Houston because of Yao's past injuries. If this was 5-6 seasons ago, the Rockets would have acquire a star player like Tmac back then. But now, not many star players want to risk playing with Yao knowing he will go down again. Houston has a good team but the star players today much rather team up with other bright stars. The city of Houston doesn't have much to offer like New York, LA, etc. The Rockets organization is top notch but because we can't offer any star to team up with. During the 90s, Houston was able to get big names in Barkley, Pippen, Kevin Willis, Drexler was because of Hakeem. Yao and Hakeem are a world apart. Hakeem was a major superstar and other star players feel they can make a big run at the championship with Hakeem much more than Yao. So that's the reason its hard for Houston to attract any big names nowadays. Good group of role players, good coach, good organization isn't enough but having a star player that others want to team up with does the trick.
Oh Noes! not Chase! Yao having his annual injuries is a HUGE turn off to potential stars. Bah. I'd be happy if this happens, just so eerily similar to the TMAC situation. Nice PS though, that looked clean.
Thanks everyone for the comments and feedback ... I really appreciate that. This is hard to read because the truth is a bit painful, but it's a great post, MambaJoe. Yao is going to have to shed the reputation that currently saddles him, even if it's unfair (because it's really not his fault). He's a tireless worker, uniquely noble and loyal for an NBA player and he's got terrific size and skills... but he just hasn't been able to stay healthy, and season after season seems to get torpedoed by that fact. It's likely a safe assumption that NBA superstars are a bit leery right now of hitching their wagon to him. Throw in the T-Mac factor too ... one of the league's best in the prime of his career (at least was supposed to be, based on his age of 25) hooks up with Yao and can't get it done. Current stars aren't exactly ignorant of that fact. It's going to be hard to turn that rep around in a 3.5 month span, especially since Yao's minutes are going to be limited, but he's got to stay healthy and get back to form, and the Rockets as a whole have to succeed -- they have to look like a team that could make a quantum leap with a star addition like Carmelo, much like the Lakers did before the Gasol trade. I know Denver has to have a lot of questions right now, starting with who their GM will be... but if they wait until December, January, February, is that better or worse for them? It will be very interesting to see who they hire and what direction they take.
My money is on Feb. They are going to have to take back some expiring deals pretty much with any team they deal with including us. So that being the case they might as well wait and only have to pay half of the contract values they take back. And who knows maybe Melo will have a change of Heart like Kobe did after the lakers made a deal that made them a contender.
Very nice. However, I think Anthony will stay in denver. He mentioned many times that he is loyal to denver and will do best for his family. I do not think any other teams could offer more money than denver.
Well written, nice read, much respect Clutch. However, I don't like seeing a photoshopped picture of 'Melo on the homepage of this website. I think we seriously overreact when we hear mention of any star player considering the Rockets. Putting 'Melo in a Rockets uniform is taking things too far. Just would have prefered you sticking with the well written article. Once again: well written, nice read, much respect Clutch.
i am still hoping we can sign Carmelo Anthony to a contract this coming season. what would it take to convince the coaching staff and also the GM to make this move quickly before its too late. he would be a great fit to our team and could really help us in our chances to make it all the way this season. hopefully they do something soon.
Yao shouldn't be our selling point to franchise players anymore. I know his name is overplayed to many, but Daryl Morey should be our selling point and his ability to surround a franchise player with quality role players. Franchise players will still get their max because Morey won't overpay the other players (or ship them out if deemed overpaid). Plus a top notch coaching staff to boot. Morey should just say "As an added bonus, you may get to play with Yao if the stars align right."
Nice job clutch. What you've written couldn't be any clearer or more true. No need really to get excited one way or the other. Unless the Rockets stumble across a great player in a deal, the player has to want Houston as you stated. I'm ready to roll out this team as is, with maybe the team adding a big like rumored, and hope for the best. I believe Morey will eventually land a superstar, when is the question. I believe this team if healthy can do real damage. Superstar or not, I'm excited about this team as constructed. I'm an idiot, I read this because I thought I hadn't before. I'm tired, it's late and I'm addicted to clutchfans, that's my excuse!!!!!
