It's stupid because they aren't going to find a better deal, and will lose Melo for nothing if they don't make a trade. They will have less leverage the longer they wait.
Why will they take 10M more? Isn't Melo making max money? All they're getting back is Andrei Kirilenko, Favors and picks. I know Favors is a top 3 pick, but surely his salary is worth it even if the Nugs are in luxury tax? Nobody is agreeing because not doing the deal is a mistake. Unless their GM makes the Nets cave Walsh style its the best deal they can theoretically get. Crappier team? What the hell are you talking about? Melo will be leaving the team so they'll be crap regardless! Why not make the most of your situation by getting back a potential franchise guy and a stop-gap player whose contract will expire this season? Sure they'll be worse this season, but the two picks and favors will make them much better next season and beyond. The inability to see more than 1 season at a time frustrates me to no end. LOL what the hell is this GM, 3 years old?
Surely if a team really wants Melo that bad, why won't they just take back a bad contract as well such as Birdman's, Nene's or Martins?
Nugs must think highly of their Melo believing that they themselves would get significantly worse without him. Which would kinda mean he'd make the NETS into a contender, devaluing the draft picks that Denver would get back. It could also mean the Nuggets want to shed someone extra from their payroll to make it happen. The Nuggets got 4 darn teams involved and couldnt get all their demands met. And let money be a deciding factor. Who thinks Morey would have signed off on the deal and found a way to shed $5 mil off payroll by February lux tax deadline?
It's because people are looking at that deal not in and of itself, but in comparison to other deals Denver is likely to be offered. This is a losing situation for Denver. The only questions are how much do they lose, and do they get something back that could turn it into a winning situation down the road. Denver's not exactly in the driver's seat here.
Well, ironically the only defense I can think of in the Nugs' favor is that DM DIDN'T sign off on the NY deal until Walsh caved in every single damn thing he wanted. DD actually made a thread accusing DM of sitting on his hands too long, and then got crap for it afterwards.
The answer to that question is in the article. I suggest you go back and read it. I also suggest you calm down or go get some anger management dude.
I really think that the Denver Nuggets will ride Melo throughout the season until the trading deadline in February. By then, Brooks stock would probably fall by then since Yao comes back and everyone on the Rockets team will play better since he returns. I think Carmelo will be traded to the Bulls in February, just by the fact that Noah will probably be a good player but not great and then the bulls will go "So you wanted Noah right?" Denver: "Yeah. You're gonna give him to us? Okay, here's Melo." I really believe that if the Rockets have any shot of getting Melo, they should do it NOW, and Brooks couldn't have asked for an extension at a better time. He may be on the trade chopping block.
Ujiri appears to be taking advice from Kevin McHale. None of the bidders need Anthony as badly as he needs to get rid of him, and his need to get rid of him is only going to increase as time goes on, while their need to get him is only going to decrease once the season starts.
It's not the GM, it's the owner. He's the one that didn't want to take on the extra salary and luxury tax penalty additions.
There's no cap relief for Denver, if they trade away expiring contracts of Nene and Martin. Birdman's contract is about the same size as a rookie scale contract.
I know I've busted your chops on this but I really do hope things turn out ok for you guys but I have a bad feeling you are not going to be tickled with the results.
This. This is a classic case of owner overriding the GM. Ujiri got about the best offer he was going to get for Melo, but the new owner got cold feet about the tax implications and quashed the deal. Carver in Phoenix does the same thing, and Sterling is notorious for backing out at the last minute because he's cheap. I feel bad for Ujiri. He has a ton of respect from his peers around the league and put together a pretty good haul for a disgruntled superstar. I don't see Melo sticking around after this season, and I wonder if the new owner will block him from bettering the team. As great as Morey is, I wonder how effective he would be without Les being so willing to spend.
Morey has never been allowed (until this year) to go over the luxury tax and I really wonder how things will shape up if we don't do well right out of the gate or for half a season. I'd bet they'd want to shed salary so that they don't get hit. Now, I'm not at all saying that Les is cheap because I think he is a fantastic owner but it isn't like we have the Yankees of the NBA either.
The problem isn't the Nuggets and Nets agreeing on a deal, it's Melo now. Over the weekend, outside influences have changed Melo's mind about agreeing with an extension with the Nets. It doesn't help when you have past Nets' player such as Jason Kidd warning Melo about playing for that awful franchise and now you have these recent developments that the Knicks used backchannels such as Isaiah Thomas and Amare to tamper and convince Melo to just sign with the Knicks and only the Knicks. Also, if the Nets give up all that for Melo, they won't have any assets down the line for CP3. Melo want to win and wants New York. He really wants to form that superteam of Melo-CP3-Amare.
Nuggets were dumb to peeve some of the very few teams willing to work out this deal. You don't shop a deal around like it was an auto dealer's quote trying to find someone else to beat it. That's a great way to burn relationships - something critical for a GM. Melo needs sense knocked into him - if he wants NYC, he needs to play out the year and leave in the summer without his extension cash. It's that simple. The Knicks have jack squat for trade. If the Nuggets weren't going to pay lux tax with AK47, you better believe Eddy Curry is a dealbreaker. Add in Denver's belief that Amare was tampering with Melo and you've got almost no conceivable scenario for a Knicks trade. I still don't really believe Melo likes Chicago as much as reports are saying - I think they're leverage just like the Nets and Rockets were. I'd expect the same hesitation if a deal got serious. We need to see someone come in willing to rent Carmelo. I think the Rockets would do that, I know Cuban would. But Denver's going to resist trades that keep him in the Conference. I think the Magic might, and Chicago could also go through with a rental trade without Noah involved. Whoever makes the move needs to launder their expiring contract (with a sweetner) through Cleveland or Toronto and turn it into a TE that gets Denver under the luxury tax.
Yep, the Nuggets are pretty screwed and have lost all leverage that they had before. I can totally see Melo playing out the year in Denver and then signing outright with New York. Most teams won't want any part of Melo if they have to give up significant amount of talent because it's pretty clear he wants New York. Basically a trade for Melo, if it's not with the Knicks, will only be a 1 year rental. Sad, but that NJ-UTAH-CHA-DEN trade was the best thing that they could have asked for, but chose not to do it.
