Shelden Williams as backup PF/C? Maybe throw Renaldo Balkman somewhere in there. Also hearing rumors about them bringing Earl Barron back, guessing they can cut Andy Rautins to make that happen. PG: Billups/Douglas/Carter SG: Fields/Brewer/Mason SF: Melo/Sha. Williams/Walker PF: Stoudemire/She. Williams/Balkman C: Turiaf/Barron/She. Williams ?
That's your interpretation. Maybe you've just been asleep for a few months. Shame on me for thinking it's disingenuous to lead teams like Denver and NJ on for months whenever you've already made up your mind. MeloDrama was entirely avoidable. He chose to make a spectacle of it. I can't hate on people like you that apparently somehow enjoyed it. I just got the impression that the majority of us were sick of it. Especially whenever it's implications adversely affect the Rockets considering we were a potential suitor and whatever 'Plan B trades' wouldn't be set into motion until after this spectacle reached it's conclusion (which, thankfully, has finally arrived).
many people wanted the Knicks to get this deal...not bad for both, given that he wasn't going to sign with Denver...glad its finally over...no more melo talk...
Alright, I give up. If you can't at least agree it's disingenuous, both from a personal and professional standpoint, to lead potential suitors on (including his current team -- you know, the guys signings his paychecks) then I give up hope of trying to have a 'breakthrough moment' here with you. We can also pretend like this lingering trade talk hasn't affected team chemistry from NJ and Denver's end too. But hey, you win.
baller, i give up, its the typical the owners should have the power rant. anybody with any sense knows where this guy wanted to go. it was about as much as a waste of time as drayton mclaine pursuing carlos beltran.
The Biggest downside now is that NBA fans really have to deal with the incorrigible obnoxious Knicks fans who who themselves again and are often twice as bad as Mavs fans.
Someone posted earlier that the knicks make out because they get the one superstar.......I still cringe at the thought of losing Horry and Cassell for Chuckster. I love chuck, but that trade set us back....
I just hope we do something to rebuild. I would like to keep Lowry, Ish, Twil, Buddinger, Hill and Patterson. Hopefully we could let go of some of our older pieces to put some more pups around the ones we have.
As much as I found the saga disgusting, I have to lightly defend Carmelo here: The Nuggets leaned on him to sign an extension when he had zero intentions of staying. He ultimately did them a favor letting them know he was going to leave. Carmelo couldn't just come out and demand a trade to NY (and only NY) publicly and dodge the NBA's wrath (See Rudy Fernandez). In the end, the Nuggets got a better deal in return for him than Cleveland, Phoenix, Utah, or Toronto got this past summer. And hats off to NY. We were all laughing hard at Walsh this past summer, but he ends up with two foundation pieces that will keep them winning going forward. And it's over. That's the best part.
And it's the typical hindsight is 20/20 response. Sure, you might think you knew Melo-to-NY was inevitable all along but when he's giving mixed signals and indicating he might stay in Denver or give NJ a serious shot you should be able to understand my frustration. As for the baseball analogy, you're speaking to a Pirates fan. Spending money and/or pursuing FA's isn't something we have the luxury of.
When did Carmelo ever lead anybody on? We've heard for weeks now how he hasn't agreed to sign an extension with anybody other than the Knicks. If NJ still wanted to pursue him and wreck their team chemistry, that's on them. It's a business like any other. Carmelo told the Nuggets he wasn't going to stay with them, what they do after that is their business and what he does after that is his business.
My gripe is less than two weeks ago he was publicly saying he'll consider an extension with Denver. Then just this past weekend he met with Nets' ownership in what was described as a "fantastic" discussion. I think it's pretty obvious what that implies. I mean, it's not like he was doing this to do the Nuggets a favor (i.e. driving up his market value). And he didn't need to come out publicly and say: trade me to NY and only NY. I just get the impression the common courtesy of definitively expressing: 1) I want out of Denver, 2) I want to go to NY and 3) I won't consider anywhere else wasn't clearly expressed to GM's and owners behind the scenes. Hell, it absolutely wasn't if all these meetings and discussions were taking place as they were. Why would a team like New Jersey even bother pursuing him if he was as forthright as most here are suggesting?
So Melo and Amare are both making the max right? That means it's going to be tough to get CP3 or Deron in unless they take big pay cuts which isn't going to happen. So Melo and Amare are going to have to restructure their contracts around the 2012 off-season which I don't see Melo doing based off his decision making since he's been in the league. If he wasn't all about the money he would have just waited to sign with NY this off-season and also he got greedy after his rookie contract and signed for 4 years instead of 3 like his pals. So I'm hesitant to say he will restructure his contract just to include Deron or Paul.
Andy Rautins - token canadian PG/SG is also on the roster. They're now the smallest team in the league. Who is going to play center? Turiaf for 40 mpg? Laughable. I hope Donnie Walsh has Brian Cook's #.
The Knicks got about a 10M TE from the Minnie deal from Curry's contract that they might flip for a big but more likely they will sign Earl Barron who played well for them last season.
"smallest team in the league" still belongs to the Rockets bud. 6'6" Center, and a 6'8" PF who cant leave the ground.
I havent been watching him in every game this year, no. If in fact, he has changed and he carries it over to playoffs against set defenses then I will take my comment back. I live in NY, so I will have to check out MSG network more often. I am talking star talent with the smarts. The ability to make right decision with the ball when the game is on line. I do not think Amare is someone you can give the ball to against top defenses and then expect him to make the right decision. He is best utilized as a finisher. Where did Scola come into this discussion?? I would still take him over Scola 100 times out of 100. I dont consider Scola a star. I consider Amare a star. I am comparing them against other stars such as Lebron, Kobe, Gasol, Manu, Duncan, KG, Pierce, Wade. I dont doubt them when it comes to scoring in the clutch. Amare was a beast in the playoffs around the basket before his surgery. He cant jump as high now but he is still a great scorer and he is clutch. Melo can hit big shots too. However, I do not think that either player is someone you can relly on to make the right decisions with the ball with the game on the line. I do not think they are best readers of double teams or the best passers off of double teams. Melo will shoot most of time and even try to force things when guarded well. Based on what I have seen of Amare, he would too. If he has changed this year, like you said, then it changes things. [/QUOTE] I like Amare. I still see him as a finisher more than someone who can initiate the offense for the team. Also, when I say this, I imply against the best teams/defense in the league. As for "BB IQ", if Denver Nuggets werent as stupid as they were, they would have beaten the Lakers in the playoffs. Carmelo wasnt the sole reason for it. There were plenty of dumbasses on that team. But he wasnt the smartest cookie on that team either. Examples of low BB IQ players: Steve Francis Stormile Swift (standard against which all other players should be measured) They do exist. It's not a myth to me.
