nothing new here. melo should blame melo for being selfish. You can try to defend him all you want, but he is a selfish player, although a pretty good one.
IMO, Chinese market only gets that much better if he plays for the National Team or even in the Chinese Basketball Association, but I don't think it will hurt his value if he plays for Taiwan in regards to the Chinese market. There's already many popular celebrities in China that are from Taiwan, i.e. Jay Chou. The one dilemma though that he would be facing if he wants to play for China is giving up his US citizenship, as they do not allow dual. China also plays ball every summer, which the way Lin plays, I think it's better off he doesn't play international ball unless it's for the U.S. However, if he for whatever reasons actually plays for China, that might alienate the Taiwanese market as some of those who are very anti-China might become offended. But until that happens, Lin can just play the safe route and say "I will consider playing for either China or Taiwan". That way it still gives the people hope, but he doesn't really have to actually play for them. He can just continue to make excuses. As long as he plays good ball in the NBA, people will continue to watch as it showed he attracted viewers from China, Taiwan, and even the Philippines during Linsanity. It will probably also extend to Singapore and other places with large groups of ethnic Chinese, including Australia. Even if he plays for Chinese Taipei, they still have to win the Asia Championship in order to qualify for the World Basketball Cup/Olympics, which would still be difficult considering that other teams have size to counter.
Correction: For the World Basketball Cup, I think 3 teams from Asia can make it, then there's wild card spots. For the Olympics, it's one team from Asia Championship, and the teams that place 2nd and 3rd in Asia Championship get one more shot at the Olympic Qualifying tournament. The Philippines are trying to naturalize Javalee McGee in hopes of winning the Asia Championship.
I believe what he said was the most political corrected responses lol. I wonder if he will be reinvited back to USA teams because he failed to join the team this summer?
Just read a forum in China about this topic. Fans are upset and saying "Bye bye Knicks" and "Bye bye Melo".
If I were Lin, I'd play it politically correct too especially with the sensitivity in regards to the Taiwan/Chinese political issues. He also does a good job when addressing his "Asian" fans, that way he avoids playing favorites with Chinese vs Taiwanese and won't leave people questioning who he really cares about. I don't think him turning down the invite is going to hurt his chances because that was just the USA Select Team that scrimmages against the Senior National Team. What I think will ultimately affect Lin's chances with Team USA are if he can stay consistent and show that he can keep playing at high level at least in the NBA, he doesn't get injured when he's called up again, and there's not that many upcoming guards that the coaches feel are better fit for FIBA play. The next 3 guards that seem to be a lock for future Team USAs are Derrick Rose (although I could see him not playing), Westbrook, and Kyrie Irving. Lin Developing his jumper is not only critical for NBA, but also in international competition. It was one of the reasons why Rondo was rumored to not have been chosen. Anyways, if USA wins Gold in this year, then they get an automatic slot in the 2014 Basketball World Cup. If they don't, they can compete in the 2013 FIBA Americas Championship to get a spot for 2014. If they win Gold, what could happen again is that next summer TEAM USA holds another mini-camp to see which players they would be interested to bring in for 2014 like they did in 2009. <iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/MazgdMdkgvs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
It'd be horrible if JLin wore himself down and out with international ball every other year. He already plays an extremely aggressive, attacking style of offense and he gets banged around a lot on pnr's on d as well. I'm glad Lin didn't mess around with int'l ball this offseason. He'll want to compete at that level at some point, but after coming off knee surgery and a condensed schedule, this wasn't the time.
I agree and that's why I wouldn't blame Rose for not wanting to play either, as he will be coming off a serious injury. Andrew Bynum has said no to Team USA due to his injury history and using the off-season to train as well. Playing in the Asia zone is one thing, but if he played against the top teams in FIBA without a consistent J, teams would just close the paint on him. With that said, he still has plenty of time to improve and show his worth.
I think Lin is smart enough to avoid the whole Taiwan/China debate. If he plays any international ball it will be for Team USA. Honestly, I hope he avoids international play altogether. Yao never had an offseason thanks to his international commitments. We know how that turned out...
I don't think he was oblivious to the fact that people have been calling him selfish his whole career. He makes sure to qualify his statement, saying the selfish thing as a Knicks player started with Linsanity. He might still be wrong, but he obviously this goes back to Denver and before.
When Carmelo and LeBron entered the league back in 2003, their talent levels and stats were closely equal. But what separated the two further apart was in their work ethic, one strived to be better on court and the other offcourt image. The first vid was last offseason. Melo, "My thing is to get in the gym and get out. There is no need to be in the gym, 3, 4, 5 hours. So we get in 45 min to an hour, get it done, make it relative..." <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/MolEov4tpHc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> During the same offseason, LeBron and Durant workout: <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ItioFbo0vWw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/EObnLIw6MKY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Carmelo needs to learn the offcourt image is earned through the Bball court. No amount of press conferences will make him a better player on the court. For someone with max contract and a terrible work ethic, no wonder is one of the most hated players in the NBA!
Melo blaming anyone else for being selfish is the same as Hitler blaming someone else for being evil. What a dumbass.
Carmelo's ego is completely out of control. He will surely find someone else to blame this season for their failures. Likely woodson. But I guarantee you, Carmelo WILL find someone.
The stats may have been close but I think Lebron was already a lot better. Carmello played here in Houston at the Christmas tournament the year before going to the NBA, he was impressive but still not Lebron like.
LeBron was always the superior player. That advantage has multiplied over the years due to his superior work ethic. I knew KD and LeBron would be in the finals, they're clearly the two most talented players. They were relentless in summer leagues during the lockout. These two guys just love to play. Was anyone else disturbed by how easily these guys made 26 ft. 3's? They were tossing in 'em like layups.
For their rookie season, LeBron was slightly better but not by much. Melo was more relevant to Denver than LeBron was to Cavs. Sigmund said Melo was robbed of ROY thats year, I somewhat agree. NBA is all about winning. Two teams with same record previous year, two rookies had similar stats and Nuggets, 8 games better, made the playoff and Cavs didnt. nuff said right there. If you leave this guy open, it's almost an automatic 3 for him. <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/HpxP2nNtWFM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
