After seeing how the Knicks have performed of late, I'm thinking maybe getting Melo would not have made the Rockets any better than they are now. He's a good individual scorer, but for the most part not much of a defender and plays a style of offense that doesn't seem to mesh the way that the Rockets have been had success playing (ball movement, fast breaks, don't hold on to the ball too long). I don't see Melo improving the Rockets offense or defense, especially if the team has to give up core rotation guys for him. Melo is supposed to be a closer, but the Rockets have been closing recent games better than the Knicks (though honestly, the Rockets got a bit lucky in some of these games). I am sort of doubtful as to whether the Rockets would even be as close to the 8th seed as they are now had they traded for Melo. Here's an Stephen A Smith article about how the Knicks have been falling apart and unhappy of late: http://sports.espn.go.com/new-york/nba/columns/story?columnist=smith_stephen&id=6246952 Here's one showing the transition D breakdowns during last night's game vs. the Celtics: http://nbaplaybook.com/2011/03/22/poor-effort-allow-the-celtics-to-run-on-the-knicks-in-the-fourth/ So, anyhow, I've always been kind of dubious about Melo being a true "superstar" at the Wade/Lebron/Paul level and the recent events isn't making me less dubious. I wonder what kind of impact Morey and his staff was expecting Melo to bring to this team. [And yes, I know it's blessing in disguise, it's just a dumb joke that, for some reason, I find amusing.]
I think yes and no. The Rockets were deep in every position which means we could've given up depths and still fielded a good team. The Knicks on the other hand had no depths and when they gave up the players that are vital to the team, they are not going to be good enough right away to compete.
I think after the next 2 seasons people will start to see that "The stars aligning" isn't the way to win a championship. If we would have gutted the roster to make room for Melo we probably wouldn't be playing for a playoff spot right now. Hopefully Chitown can win it all this year and show you don't need 3 stars but a balanced roster all the way down.
The true failure was our inability to get DWill. I love Lowry but there ain't no other superstars lining up to play with him.
Getting Melo would of gave Morey the superstar he needed to build around and execute his master plan. The missing piece. A bright future. Melo as a rental however would not have made us better.
But if he develops more over the next year remember Lee is very good friends with Howard... If we have a top 5 point guard with a solid all around roster, including Pat coming into his own and Thabeet becoming a decent backup, who knows what could happen BUT that's just wishful thinking
If we would have been left with Scola, Lowry, Hayes, and Martin, I don't see how we would not have been greatly improved. Unless you think Budinger is anywhere near the player Melo is.
So have we decided that he's not "elite"? Anyway, I'd rather have him than Andrei Kirilenko (I can't possibly be the only one who remembers that particular debate).
Different situation, different results. I mean, we traded our 6th man and starting SF at the deadline and didn't miss a beat, which shows our depth in general. I personally would've still made the trade, depending on what we had to give up. But just because he's mediocre in NY doesn't mean he's not worth the hype.
The Knicks are in a better position for the future to win now than they were without Melo. The Rockets would be better off too if they had Melo (provided that Melo signs an extension)
I know what you're doing here, and you can't do it. You absolutely canNOT group the Knicks with the Heat. Wade/Lebron (let alone Bosh) >>> Carmelo/Amare. Yeah, you need at least a little more than star power, but when your stars are as good as Miami's, you can beat anyone. Personally, I think that people like you will see that within the next two seasons. ... Not that I disagree that finding a well balanced, deep team can do the trick also, though.
Players (good players) will line up to play next to the likes of Amare and Melo. Enjoy this suckage while it lasts for them, they are in a WAY better position than we are.
