MELO HAS BEEN USED AND PLAYED, says Stephen A Smith

Tim Hardaway Jr? You mean the volume chucker who scored 11 ppg, who can't play defense, shot 38% last year, and couldn't break into the starting lineup in the 2nd worst team in the NBA? Who in their right mind trades away that guy? What the hell is Phil Jackson doing!

 

I hope Porzingis becomes a stud, and then says f**K all of you and leaves.

Somebody needs to remind them that they're the Knicks. They aren't the Lakers, or the Spurs, or hell even the Rockets. They have been a poorly run, also ran franchise for 15 years, and as long as they have Melo as a star will continue to be.

For a chance instead of band aids to try and make the playoffs, they are trying to make some long term choices that may actually turn things around, and people are b****ing.

 

If you put me in charge of the Knicks I'm not sure there's a single person in the entire organization I wouldn't get rid off. Nobody is playing anybody, they're all too bad at their jobs to be clever enough to "play" anybody.

 

dont care.

never wanted him on our team. he's a loser.

 

The Melo hate is real and it is blind

I give up, I'm not even a huge fan of his, but this is hopeless

 

Giannis is still not a player who can lead a team - not even close. I like the Greek Freak but let's not get too carried away with a wing averaging 12 pts a game in 30+ minutes of action while shooting 15% from the 3 pt line.

He is a top 20 asset because of his combination of youth, athleticism, and size, but he is two years away from being a top 20 player at best and he is entering his 3rd year in the league. How long can a team wait for a player - 4 or 5 years?

I agree with the rant though - why take a gamble on upside that high in the draft when you can get quality right now to support the aging star your team already has. It's one thing if let's say the Sixers take high upside picks because they aren't wasting the prime of a star player on their roster, but for the Knicks taking a project that high in the draft tells me they are taking a big gamble because they don't think Melo is worth building around and if THAT is the case, why did you just give him all that money to resign?

 

So you think he plays defense, and has gotten far in the playoffs?

 

Why are people talking about Melo or the NYK fan opinions?

This is about what Phil Jackson said, and what he is doing. He said that he had goals to contend as soon as possible, gives a max extension to 30+ year old Melo, gets 17 wins in one season, then goes and drafts the biggest project in the draft and trades Hardaway Jr for a rookie.

So yes Melo wants money more then wins, and the NYK were dumb to believe on some of the managing personnel that have been stealing money from their organization in the past but facts are fact. Phil Jackson lied to the fans and more important he is not doing what a great Gm would do, and that is do what you need to do regardless of opinions coming from outside.

He extended Melo because he had no balls to let him run away for nothing because fans would riot, and now he has no confidence in his ability to build something from the ground up and tell fans that they just need a couple of seasons to be great because they have a long term plan like Phily because they want them tickets to be sold.

 

Melo knew he was staying on a scrub team, he just wanted the most money possible.

 

Will start by saying Jackson's words and actions are not in sync as his draft strategy clearly isn't "win now" even though he took the best available player. I can understand Melo being angry.

Then I will say that Melo was a free agent who could have signed anywhere he wanted and chose NYC because he wanted the money and the NY life and business connections.

Let's not act like everyone didn't know NY had a crappy cap situation, not a lot of talent and not a lot going for the franchise when he decided to resign. No one was naive enough to think in 1-2 years the Knicks would be contenders...no good young talent, no one other than Melo, a crappy cap situation, a terrible owner, etc...

The only difference was the Knicks brought in a COACH with no GM experience to turn a team around. So not shocked that this has been a disaster.

 

Absolutely, I'm just surprised he didn't realize it at the time... I mean I don't know how he'd fit in with the Rockets, but I think he'd have been a great fit for the Bulls.

NYKs should be in the DLeague with the 76ers...

 

Yes, he can and does defend. Is he a two-way player? Nope. Is that a major issue? Nope.

Is he a chucker? Subjective

Does he make his teammates better? Not nearly on the scale of some of his peers, but yes he does.

I'm not even going to entertain your statement saying that he has "never won anything."

 

Well... I don't know about the defense thing, but he won at the international level as part of redeem team, and NCAA championship... But NBA ... Haha, he needs to stop letting his wife tell him where to play. I think with the right situation he could contribute big on a winning team. But... Trying to be mj of the Knicks isn't going to happen at this point.

 

Right but I'm saying Giannis is a valuable ASSET, if Porzingis turns into an asset and shows promise, it only increases the demand for him. A team that wants to rebuild would trade for a valuable asset like Porzingis.

 

Bulls definitely benefited without having him though.

Butler turned into a star this past year.

 

Melo is a black hole, the knicks suck, Stephen A Smith is a racist. Who cares, move on, some things will never change.

 

So if the Knicks win the 2018 NBA Championship, will people still be hating about how he promised win now a few seasons (this season and last) ago?

 

I disagree with you on defense, and making teammates better. I also stand by the idea that history of success should play a role in a team's decision making - though it is not an absolute nor the most important data point. But, honestly, it's useless to argue over measurements of his qualities. I doubt we can even agree on the exact metrics to be used. The conclusion I'm drawing here is that I don't see Carmelo as the guy you throw that kind of money at as a franchise. Do teams do exactly this to lesser players? Sure, but that doesn't make it any more defensible. To me, the only kind of player you should commit that much money to are guys that you think you can win a championship with, and there is at least some semblance of a plan to get you there. With the Knicks, I see neither.

 

SAS is the guy who said replacing Mark Jackson with Steve Kerr was a racial thing so yeah he's a little b****

With Porzingis, I don't see what the big deal is. Everyone after the top 3 is role player material. With Porzingis at least you got a guy who's already spent half a decade as a pro

Only thing that bothers me is I don't get how he'll be used in the triangle. He's not a big you stick on the block

 

Its funny, you hire a guy like Phil Jackson for his vision to build a team.

He is then ridiculed by the fanbase for said vision.

Meanwhile, people in Philly love their GM, whose done nothing but turn the organization into an embarrassment. NBA fans are a funny breed.