Why didnt Lebron...?

Come on, you can't get money playing on the Olympic team. You know that.


Injury?

 

don't be surprised if carmelo anthony makes you into a liar.

 

Verse,

If you were Detroit, would you have taken Anthony over Darko??

 

yes.

the (stated) reasons they didn't take anthony were:

1) they felt he and prince would be repetitive
2) they felt darko would be a special multi-tool big man
3) they felt ben wallace would complement darko well.


i can see where detroit's coming from, but the way i see it, you could field billups, anthony & prince at your 1, 2, & 3 and be absolutely scary for the next 7 years. also, i think there are other ways to get a scorer in the post (which is really what they are looking for). namely, i'd spend the next year or two purging the roster of everyone but billups, anthony, prince & wallace, getting under the salary cap and preparing to make a run at a scoring power forward that plays adequate defense. to throw a name out there, let's say motay. he's a michigan man and fits the description.

PG: chauncey billups
SG: carmelo anthony
SF: tayshaun prince
PF: mo taylor
C: ben wallace

that, or you could package prince & whatever for a scoring PF. whatever. point being, you find a way to get anthony & ben wallace together. all they'd need is a scoring *threat* to complement wallace, and they'd be EC champs.

 

Verse,

I pretty much agree. From the time the lottery drawing was over, I really thought they would and should consider Anthony. That being said, I was suprised that Detroit was so set on Darko and never really considered Anthony.

I thought they could package a Prince or Hamilton with Robinson and get a Brad Miller or Mourning via SnT. Heck, even without a legit center, that team is top notch in the East.

PG - Billups
SG - Hamilton
SF - Anthony
PF - Wallace
C - Whoever

Super sup - Prince

or

PG - Billups
SG - Anthony or Hamilton
SF - Prince or Anthony
PF - Wallace
C - Miller or Mourning

 

oh damn. i forgot about rip hamilton. well, throw him on my team, too.

and, that trade scenario would have been perfect for detroit, if for no other reason than because it moves ben wallace back to his natural position - PF. miller would have been a great center for that team, and indiana i'm sure would have taken whatever detroit flung at them (cliffie, etc.), rather than losing miller for nothing.

all this hype for the foreign players is going to bite some nba gm's in the rear end one day soon. while everyone is out looking for the next dirk or next peja or next parker, players like carmelo anthony get passed over.

truthfully, codell, i would have looked loooooong and hard at taking anthony over lebron james. in fact, unless there was some inherent, serious defect with anthony, i would have taken him over james. the kid had the greatest freshman season EVER. EVER. IN HISTORY.

not only that, but he has the eye. watching carmelo for the very first time, it became instantly apparent to me that the game slows down in his mind. he has the jason kidd eye for the game, the jordan eye for the game. mix in his size at his age and the fact that he is absolute unflappable* and i would have drafted him #1.




*had to mix a walt frazier word in there. i don't know if you've ever listened to a knick broadcast, but not one game goes by where walt doesn't mix in the word "unflappable" or some $5 SAT word that just flat out doesn't fit the occasion. dude's comical.

 

If you think they should have taken Carmelo, I bet you they could have worked out some trade package of the #2 for Pierce and gotten the equivalent of a fully-realized-potential Carmelo, immediately.

I'm sure Boston and Red would have loved to have Darko.

 

Then Detroit has to start throwing in Corliss Williamson/Clifford Robinson to make it work (or was Detroit under the cap).

Regardless, I would bet a buffalo nickle that Boston would have tried to talk Detroit into taking Walker instead of Pierce.

Darko/Pierce - nice

Walker/Darko - pass

 

Verse,

To tell you the truth, I don't think I have seen any Darko film and very limited James film (although, his jumper is ugly and he won't be able to get away with cheating on the passing lanes as much as he did in HS). I did watch Syracuse in March and I was impressed with Anthony (i am not a college fan at all, but Syracuse's games intrigued me).

I don't think Detroit wasn't too concerned with the "tall Euro players cant play D" theory because they already have Wallace who will take care of alot of his mistakes on D. So I can see their reasoning with taking him.

Detroit looks good for the next 5 years, at least. With Brown as the coach, it will be fun to watch them slug it out with NJ for supremacy in the East.

BTW, I have said it before and I say it again. I am so looking forward to this season because so many teams are loaded up and are legit threats to the Spurs title.

Early prediction: Spurs v. Detroit in the finals.

 

I would've picked anthony over James. It would've been hard, but I would've done the same.

 

let me guess, you're an english major?