I am so disappointed in myself for continuously coming here for updates. It's not like my Bleacher Report app wouldn't notify me if a trade or legit piece of info came through. And you know what, if Ryno is our starting Power Forward next year, so be it. He'll bounce back from that miserable playoff performance. And next summer his contract won't be as bad.
The Knicks are like the Cowboys. Any PR is good PR. There's already a star interested in them in Kyrie. I don't think they're worried about their PR. If anything they're worried about the culture in the locker room, which will fix itself once they're done rebuilding and start trying to win.
This isn't July 2016 anymore. The market has tightened significantly, to the point where legitimate rotation players like Mbah a Moute are going for the minimum! And the cap flattens out in the next couple years, whereas this year's limited spending came after a cap increase! I think generally though, we'll have to agree to disagree because your opinion of Melo is significantly better than mine. Personally, I'd be stunned if he could even get 2 years, $30 million next summer. He'll be 34 years old, his PER dipped to 17.9 last year, and he's a subpar defender as well. The only reason the Rockets are interested in him, in my opinion, is because in this case they'd be swapping out an even worse contract in Ryan Anderson in basically a 1 for 1 deal. If the Rockets actually had cap space, I don't think Melo would be at the top of the list, and certainly not for $25M per season for multiple years. Wade was actually better last season than Carmelo by several advanced metrics (PER, BPM, VORP), and he opted in for a lower amount than what Carmelo will be due next summer. If that's the thought process, I don't know why NY was trying to trade Melo in the first place — let alone commit to a deal that would either include Ryan Anderson or whatever he'd fetch from a third/fourth team. (And by the way, far more people besides Potato have alluded to NY's promise to move him to Houston.) If the Knicks simply planned to ride out Melo's existing deal unless someone gave them a great offer, then focusing on Houston for multiple weeks while knowing Ryan Anderson was the centerpiece makes zero sense. It's fairly clear, based on the extensive work the Knicks have put into this for weeks, that they do value simply moving on from the dysfunction and getting a fresh start. Particularly when it could easily be 2 more years, and the damage Melo could inflict upon their reputation to potential free agents around the league could last many more years beyond that. Now, could NYK try to put their own spin on what happened? Sure, they could. As you said, they could argue that Melo's camp isn't reliable, blah blah blah. The problem is... they're run by James Dolan, who has a known and lengthy history as being the worst and most ridiculous owner in the league. If the Knicks want to make it a he-said, he-said public war with Carmelo, I've got a pretty strong feeling most folks around the league are going to believe the side that doesn't have James Dolan. And that's another reason why the Knicks want a friendly break.
I guess it would be better phrased to say "Melo holds equal cards to New York". Maybe New York is up 55/45. But both sides have about equal leverage, which is exactly why this is being drawn out (and will continue). Melo's leverage is that New York can go into the season with an uncooperative, benched, big money superstar taking up space OR get other (flippable) assets in return via a 3rd team. New York's leverage is that they can sit Melo in time-out and move on without him and hope that he breaks down into giving them a new trade scenario.
One can make an argument that NYK is the dumpster fire that they are currently PRECISELY because they followed that philosophy.
That's fair. Even though I agree the market has flattened, Melo is probably the best stretch 4 in the NBA. If Pau gets 16m a year at 37 I can easily see Melo getting 20-25m. D-Wade's market has devalued because his skillset isn't as valuable today. For a lot of the same reasons Rondo's and Rubio's has. If your a playmaker without a 3 point shot.. then you're almost a liability. Dwade is extremely clutch and has a high bball IQ which still makes him plenty valuable, but not as valuable as an elite shooting, 6'9 forward. Shooters make bank in today's NBA. But like I said you made fair points so who knows what the market is for Melo. I think the reasoning was they believed Melo would have a higher market. When they realized the best they'll get is Anderson and a pick, and Morey wouldn't be willing to budge they started to hesitate, even more so when they brought in Perry. Keep in mind, Phil was the guy who wanted Melo gone, not so much Dolan or Mills. And things change. They could've had the perspective you had at first, then realized afterwards that it might not be the best idea. Knicks fans would be appalled if they received dumpster assets at this point. Knicks fans are the ones who fill out every game and make them the most profitable team in the NBA. I don't think they should care about outside noise from the media, who would end up finding ways to **** on the Knicks anyway. They really are like the Cowboys in that sense. Now an interesting case can be made that they may push off potential stars to sign with them. But again, Kyrie wants to go there, and he's clearly good friends with Melo. I think the aura of MSG will overtake any issues like that. And again, the Knicks need to tank. It's the only way to change their trajectory at this point. With or without Melo. So if they plan to do the same thing with or without him, then why ruin your cap space for the foreseeable future when the outcome will be the same? It's just not logical for the Knicks. And if NY promised Melo they would ship him to Houston that would be the absolute dumbest move a FO can do when they're trying to receive a better return. I just don't see that being the case. If it was the deal would've been done by now. Like you said, they absolutely do want to move on from Melo, but only if it makes sense to do it. I don't think adding bad contracts makes sense.
Really not trying to be a pessimist. Just trying to see it from a NYK POV. Trying to come to terms that it may not happen, whereas I thought it was a sure thing a few days ago.
Its obvious that ny dont wanna get screwed. But what gets me is how they are acting as if Anthony should get back tons in a trade. He is only worth 2 role players, youth, and maybe a 1st rounder at best, and thats pushing it. So i would move Anderson, ... Ariza to some team netting them another role player and a younger player, and then a first, and maybe a 2nd from that other team. Anything else would be a no go.. So if there asking for the moon on this guy, this could be the hold up. He will be 34 come play off time and declining. Hes only good as maybe a 3rd option.
I guess you weren't around for the T-Mac trade, and the Asik trade, and weren't around for the "Summer of the Paging Cyberx" thread where we were getting Dragic "SOON". Its not that bad guys... we just got Chris Paul FYI.
Problem with this is, Ariza isn't going anywhere. I think Morey won't budge. It's either Anderson and filler or no thanks to Melo. And because of the NYK is like ok, Eff you too then. Which is reasonable to be honest.
Can the union fight about that as long as Carmelo is still getting paid? Coaches can sit a guy for any reason they want, right? Legitimate question. The union meddling in this would only help the Rockets.
