Carmelo: "I'm not going to (come off the bench) in a situation where I still know my capabilities"

how good is ennis? ennis and melo im hoping can be better than ariza and luc. i believe

 

I'd rather have no Melo at all than have an emotionally fragile Melo that would put his own interests above those of the team. Selfish players don't need to be accommodated, they need to be kept off the roster.

 

Should we have started Lou or not? He wasn't great, but I thought he played well in the Thunder series and was best utilized off the bench. Whether or not he's a starting caliber player has no bearing on whether he should have started for us. EGo is a starting caliber player and he doesn't start for us. He's better than Melo and will still come off the bench.

I love how your best argument for starting Melo is that he might be mentally weak enough to not play hard if he doesn't.

 

I think most everybody can agree on this.

I don't know if you are familiar with the Dwight Howard experiment with us. Dwight could have been more effective (maybe even better than Capela) if he was willing to let go of the idea that he was a better post up player than a pick and roll guy. He complained that he did not get enough touches down in the block . I feel that this left a bad taste for Houston fans which is why you see the fan reaction when Melo makes these statements.

Although not exactly identical, it's easy to see why Rockets fans may interpret his statements that he only cares for himself.

 

Ego has no Ego, plus him coming off the bench is more for strategic reasons and he's well aware of that.

 

Melo is going to be the absolute last person to know when it's time for his role to change. He's going to hang onto being a "star" for as long as he possibly can. I'm not sure how to read Melo. On the one hand, you want a guy who has the cockiness to say, I still have it, I'm still the best. Anyone who's made it to that level, should have that attitude. But on the other hand, his comments since the offseason sure do reek of someone who just doesn't get it. Someone who won't sacrifice for the good of the whole. But I have no idea which guy we're about to sign.

I'll give the benefit of the doubt to Carmelo, who seems to be very well liked around the league despite a somewhat diva-ish persona in the media. He'll be on a winning team with essentially his last shot at defining his legacy. Plus we have CP3 to keep everyone in line.

 

How is wanting to be a starter selfish?

 

I think that's what he's saying out loud to whoever is listening.

Players thrive in certain roles that fit them. Coming off the bench helps EGo thrive. Not playing in Houston has helped Lou thrive because he's the first option for those inspiring Clippers. Melo thrives being a starter.

 

Sorry. But this is lol worthy.


Assuming Carmelo comes here on the minimum, like he should and like has been reported... he will do whatever the coach asks him to do and whatever the coach thinks makes the team better. If he doesn't, if he starts complaining or starts trying to be a locker room cancer, we cut him. Easy. We won 65 games without him and while we hope that he has enough offense left to help, if he doesn't he is easy to get rid of on a minimum contract

 

I would almost agree with you except that we need quality wings. I personally think that we need this to work out amicably with Melo. He'll eat chunks of minutes at the 3/4 that would be tough to replace. Ariza played a ton of minutes and he's gone. We need someone capable of playing big minutes in his stead. I don't buy Ennis as that guy yet. If we're not signing anyone else, I don't see Melo as expendable.

 

It's the mentality.

I don't understand why you guys don't understand this. It has nothing to do with not being confident or believing in his ability. It's about knowing that he is coming to a situation with two established leaders and a system.

These kind of quotes from him are the wrong things to say when you came off a season where you weren't a good fit with that team being the 3rd option. We can sit here and debate all day long that it was Donovan's shitty coaching schemes, or Westbrook's lack of ability to establish a flow to the offense, etc. The problem is not saying something different. Hell, I don't care if you are lying, fool me at least.

What he said is the reason that it makes me pessimistic that he is going to fit here. He could just say, "Look, I been in a situation where I been a number one option all my life, but I know that I am at a stage of my career where I may not always be the guy leading us to victory that night. I am focused on winning and I will do whatever it takes to win and if that means coach will have a different role than I'm accustom to, then I am willing to adapt my game to make sure we win. I want to win a championship and whether I am starting, coming off the bench, scoring, passing, rebounding, defending, I am competitor and I am going to do everything I can to help my team."

But his BS quote, just makes me upset. I hope he proves me wrong, because that means we are going to kick ass, but I am concerned. I can't wait till the season so we can see actual results rather than just going back and forth on hypotheticals.

 

On top of that he's already met with Rockets brass. It's clear they're all on the same page.

Cant believe this non-story is spreading like this. Again no other player in the league is asked to come off the bench.

 

I have come around to strong approval for giving this a go. You're exactly right about our wings. Melo has some elite talent offensively and at least loves playing with CP. And hopefully for the better: Melo and MDA know each other well.

We're just going to have to accept that when he opens his mouth, some eye-rolling-worthy material is going to come spilling out from time to time. That's part of the cost beyond his minimum deal.

(On the Harden front, you have to wonder if he and Russ still talk at all and what that's been like this summer. Just saying. )

 

You keep saying that, but it's time to look at the evidence and accept that the non-story is being treated like a story. It's the off-season. Major moves are done. Media loves to root against Harden. Media loves to root against Melo. So here we are!

 

Not if Ennis outplays melo....

 

See thats your problem right there, you want him to say the things you wanna hear. Look again I'll keep saying this regarding the bench thing.

If the Rockets wanted him to come off the bench and he refused he wouldn't be signing here. Melo is honest at all times, he doesn't view himself as a bench player and truth is outside of being a Warrior or Celtic he isn't.

As long as he buys into the system and plays hard nothing else will matter in the end.

 

Because the media has reeled some fans in with this story and I partially blame Melo for even speaking on it but then again we should have some level of common sense.

 

Your equating Melo to Ty Lawson, really... Thank goodness for the ignore function

 

We've seen both EGo and Lou in both starting and reserve roles for whole seasons. Those are big sample sizes to see what role they thrive in. Since Melo steadfastly refuses to come off the bench and never has before in his career, how would we know whether he thrives as a starter more than he would in a bench role? You're just taking his word for it?

And btw, I actually think Melo will be a starter. But if Ariza or Luc were still here it would be quite the conundrum as to what his best role would be.

 

Okay coach, glad you straightened that out.