Nuggets Supposedly Rejected Piston's Offer For Melo

Clippers and Talent?
Yes, but who is on the Melo and McGrady level? Elton Brand & Corey Maggette for various reasons are probably not on that level. Also, the Clippers would have to agree to take some major salary back and they have been finicky about doing that in the past.


Sacremento
Again, are Artest or Martin difference changers for the Pistons? By making preliminary offers for Melo and McGrady, Dumars seems to be shopping at the high end of the market for talent. Melo and McGrady have their flaws, but when they are on, they are on a high level.


Memphis moved Gasol to dump salary and shorten contracts which puts them in a youth movement. Acquiring Detroit veterans serves no purpose for the Grizzlies who are in a costcutting mode. They have a distance to go just to get into the Playoffs, much less to be a legit challenger.

 

I agree that they have some nice youth in the rotation, but some of the Veterans appear to have peaked. Dumars appears to be interested in keeping up with the Celtics which have a Bounce in their steps that the Pistons no longer seem to exhibit.

The Boston core of KG, Pierce and Allen will still be strong for a few more years which is probably the same timeframe that the Pistons are looking at their core still being strong. If Dumars doesn't make a major move and his Veteran core slips at roughly the same rate as the Celtics core, then Detroit is likely to continue to be a bridesmaid unless Maxiell and Stuckey move to an elite level.

 

Melo has Tmac's desease, he is more about being in the NBA and being a star than he is about winning.

They are both amazing players but neither of them is the type of win at all costs type of player...imho.

To be fair Tmac has made strides in that area but he is still no "Killer" on the court.

DD

 

In remarks made after firing Flip Saunders, I think Dumars made it clear he's going to break their team up and he's trying to dump the lowest fruit, which is Chauncey and Tayshaun. Those are the two most expendable guys. The team's locker room needs to be shaken up because the vets are too comfortable with each other and that squad has played out. If the Pistons don't make changes this summer, they could end up like the Mavs did last season.

They have to do more than just give more minutes to Stuckey and Maxiell. Stuckey is probably ready to start and moving Billups is the only way to make that happen.

Chemistry aside, whatever improvement their young players make will be offset by decline in the veterans. I don't blame Dumars for trying to dump these two for a better player in return, but no smart GM will help him out. To get an impact player, Rip Hamilton, Stuckey and/or Maxiell must be in the mix.

 

Nuggets4 might kill me for even writing this but:

Melo
Camby

for

Billups
Wallace

Detroit's new starting five:

Stuckey
Hamilton
Melo
McDyess
Camby

Bench: Prince/Afflalo/Maxiell

Denver's new starting five:

Billups
Iverson
Kleiza
Martin
Wallace



Why Denver should consider this:

Of course they want Carmelo but it's going to take more than Billups and Prince to do it. I think swapping Prince for Wallace should be more beneficial to the Nuggets on a couple of fronts. One, they get a legit scorer back. Rasheed can defend anyone from Boozer, Okur to Duncan and Amare. Two, 'Sheed's contract ends after next season and that should be good news for a team that's putting out almost 22 million combined for Nene/Kenyon. And of course, the last time Iverson had a trustworthy pointguard next to him (Eric Snow), he played the best basketball of his life. Having a steady hand like Billups helps Iverson in many ways that an Anthony Carter and/or Chucky Atkins won't ever do. And yes, they get rid of Camby's contract. Of course this might leave them height-challenged on the front court but a platoon of Sheed, Nene, and Martin isn't bad when you consider there's only a handful of 7 footers that are truly dominate in the low post (Duncan, Yao, and maybe Bynum next year)

Why Detroit should consider this:

They get the player they should have drafted in the first place and they get a player that actually plays center. I think getting Camby at the 5 gives them something that they've been missing since Big Ben bolted--a player that can rebound and block a couple of shots. This puts Dice back at the 4 where he's more natural at and gives Maxiell even more PT now that Sheed's gone. Moving Billups and getting Melo back kills them because they now have to rely on Stuckey but Stuckey showed in the playoffs he can be good enough to run the team. If this trade actually happens, I would deal Prince for a point guard or heck they can even keep him as a 6th man.

 

According to Melo's agent, the Nugs have given their word that Melo will not be traded. Smart move.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3456352

 

I don't know if that matters quite as much. I love T-Mac's passing. Shane Battier loves T-Mac's passing. Chuck Hayes really really really loves T-Mac's passing. And the Lakers have shown (as have other teams historically), you can have your SF/SG be your best passing player and be very successful....BUT, it hasn't worked to date for the Rockets.

So, if you have the opportunity to get a younger, more athletic, more efficient scorer, even at the expense of passing/creation, you do it. First, I think you are just as likely to win with Melo's lack of passing but better scoring, as you are with T-Mac's better passing but worse scoring. Second, Melo is younger, considerably, and as time goes on, great players (great PG's aside) almost universally become better passers.

In general, it's a lateral move. You still have the same relative weaknesses as you had. You need to improve at PG, improve your bench, etc. But it's a lateral move I'd make as I think it significantly expands the championship window.

Just some other things to point out.

For each of the last 3 years, Carmelo has shot at FG% >47.5% (with a career high 49.2% last year). Tracy has NEVER shot this high. Granted, Tracy is historically a much better 3 point shooter, but Carmelo shot his 3's at a 6% higher clip than Tracy last year. Carmelo has been a better rebounder the last 3 years, etc.

 

Dumars went shopping with a lowball offer that was rejected and that has roiled the market for upper tier players like Melo. One of his possible options (Melo) is now off of the market and the price for the remaining choices likely goes up because of it.