Didn’t realize he was that old. He didn’t look bad defensively in the small sample size I’ve seen, also understanding that was against Summer League talent. I think Jeff could coach him up on defensive positioning, playing the passing lanes, etc... His size, and gifted athleticism just struck me as something the team could desperately incorporate. We don’t need much offensive contribution, we just need him to be efficient with the opportunities he’s given. To my knowledge, he hasn’t had much stability or a legitimate opportunity with a good organization to develop. I never underestimate the Rocket’s ability to develop players i.e. Capela, Parsons (before the drugs lol), and the number of free agents who have performed better on our squad.
Carmelo Anthony is really in a Josh Smith situation. This is going to be a fun year, making the media look bad, make Russell Westbrook look bad. Getting Charles Barkley to be wrong about the Rockets again. Lakers are a train wreck of a roster, which will be funny to watch, comical players all in one team. All time Shaqtin A Fool Roster. Every skill Carmelo has, midrange and post ups, 3 point shots. It was missing against the Warriors. The Bench for the Rockets is really improved, a lot of bench points PG Chris Paul, DeAnthony Melton, MCW SG James Harden, Eric Gordon SF James Ennis, Vince Edwards PF P.J. Tucker, Carmelo Anthony, Ryan Anderson C Clint Capela, Zhou Qi, Nene, Chinanu Onuaku 2 way contracts Trevon Duval, Isaiah Hartenstein, Deng Adel, Danuel House, R.J. Hunter
Why exactly is motivated-by-money something we want a 34yr old Melo to be about. None of "contract year" motivation stuff is good. We need him to be motivated to follow the instructions of the three coaches who he is being re-united with: 1) MDA, 2) Bzdelic (his first head coach) and 3) CP3 the "Melo Whisperer" (his summer head coach).
Harden and CP3 can make scrubs look good so I feel confident Carmelo Anthony is going to thrive next to them. This is a huge move if it actually goes through this time!!! The only way we beat GS is to have enough star power for the league to allow it. Otherwise, they will shut us down again via the refs. Melo is a huge upgrade in that regard and it shouldn’t be overlooked because popularity is important to the league and stars get special treatment. When CP3 went down the league switched the refs against us in a way I’ve never seen before. If nothing else, Melo is insurance against that.
People comparing even old Melo to Joe Johnson need to stop seriously. Of course he is streaky but if Ariza could make scoring busts in pringels system then watch what Melo will do....
If you know every capable opponent will force you to switch Melo onto their ball handler, do you just say "what the hell" and play Anderson alongside him? What's the marginal downside of a second weak on-ball defender?
I mean yea, his body of work also includes 65 wins and getting us closest to the title in years for our franchise. The injury risk is there but its a risk we have to take.
I told everyone that the Rockets were not going to need to use the MLE on Anthony.......... it isn't official yet, so lets see how this all plays out. If TF is willing to let Morey use the MLE, we could have a few bullets left. As for why the Rockets didn't sign MBoute for the 4.1 he got from the Clippers, my understanding is that the Rockets concern on the shoulder is real.
Alright guys, people who suddenly leave our team arent suddenly trash XD. Anyways I'm pretty excited, this could be really good or ....just mildly ok. But this Melo stuff wont be settled until we see him play this season.
I cannot recall seeing anything about the Rockets even trying to compete for his continued services (I may have missed it). I do think that you are correct that there is some legitimate concern about his ongoing shoulder issues.
Honestly I can't get excited about signing Melo after seeing how bad he looked last year. Hopefully he proves me wrong.
