NY Times: Rockets preparing to offer Martin and Knicks draft picks for Carmelo

Anyone who thinks Kevin Martin is better than Carmelo Anthony is crazy.

Go ask 1000 random people, let it be basketball coaches, strangers, fans, executives, or players.. who is better Melo or Martin?


Melo carried his team to the playoffs (and more than first round in multiple instances) with essentially just Chauncey Billups and a bunch of role players (and the streaky shooting of JR).

Imagine what he will do with BETTER role players and an All-Star center.

 

I think you have to pull the trigger for the simple fact that this dramatically increases your odds at CP3 down the line.

 

melo takes him man to the basket, draws additional defenders, kicks it out to lowry!! brick

first off if you don't want melo then you either don't watch enough basketball outside of the rockets or you don't want what's best for the rockets. if you surround melo with the talent we have without martin then we are deadly. martin is nice but he can't create and is not the talent to lead a team past kobe. nuggets fans are deeply saddened to lose melo for a reason.

and if you're still stuck on the he doesn't play defense argument then you clearly haven't seen him play much lately. that argument was thrown out a couple years ago. y'all should be happy that we are even considered to attain a superstar. guess some rockets fans do settle for mediocrity

 

his man*

 

that.....and he makes us an instant title contender

 

More like half an all star center

 

Posts like this with bogus facts are getting out of control here. Let's just view the facts.

* Kevin Martin being a more "efficient" scorer is a myth. Martin's FG % the last three years: 40%, 43%, 42%. Carmelo's FG % the last three years: 46%, 44%, 49%.

* Kevin Martin getting to the FT line so much more than Carmelo is a myth. Last three years, Martin has averaged 5.2 FTs/per game, 10.3 FTs/per game, 9.4 FTs/per game. Last three years, Carmelo has averaged 8.8 FTs/game, 7.1 FTs/game, 7.7 FTs/game. The averages over the last three years: Martin - 8.3 FTs/per game, Carmelo - 7.8 FTs/per game. Difference of .5 FTs/per game. That doesn't strike me as a major difference.

* Both shoot FTs at over 80%.

* The idea that Martin produces just as much as Carmelo is laughable. Kevin Martin's best ppg season was THREE YEARS AGO when he averaged 24.6 ppg. Carmelo has averaged more than 24.6 ppg FOUR TIMES including last year when he averaged 28 ppg. Martin's career ppg average is 17. Carmelo's is 22. That is a difference.

* Martin has a career playoff average of 13 ppg. Carmelo has a career playoff average of 25 ppg, including 30 ppg last season and 27 ppg during the year Denver got to the Western Conference Finals. Martin has never been past the first round. Carmelo has gotten to game 6 of the WCF.

* Carmelo is younger.

* Carmelo has less history of serious injuries.

* Carmelo is a MUCH better rebounder than Martin. The last three years, Martin's rebound averages: 3.6, 3.5, 4.5. Carmelo's rebound averages: 6.6, 6.8, 7.4.

* Carmelo averages more assists. Last three years for Martin: 2.4, 2.7, 2.1. Carmelo: 3.2, 3.4, 3.4

I'm not saying we should do the trade, all I'm saying is let's quit passing around this ridiculous notion that Kevin Martin is better than a guy who averaged 28 ppg last year on 46% shooting from the field and is obviously a top 10 player in the league.

 

It seems Melo doesn't want to go to NJ.

Chris Broussard twitter:

"Neither NJ or Den been told Melo will re-sign w/NJ. Until then, Melo-to-NJ all speculation. One exec told me Melo won't sign w/NJ."

 

right...like The Nuggets would do this deal lol

 

you want to play Melo vs 5 or do you want to play Adelman's system? would you rather have inside-outside+cuts with Martin and Yao or do you want to clear out and let Melo have 3 possessions in a row for the win?

Melo is a better player but the guys arguing the other side also make sense to a degree. Martin's game is perfectly suited for how this team is constituted and in-line with Morey's stats which value efficiency at the end of games when the other team is in the penalty.

To me you go with Melo. Because even if he's not as smart a player and might dominate the personality of the team, he + Yao create mismatches for the Lakers. But when it comes to playoff time you're putting it all on Melo who hasn't exactly overdelivered in the playoffs, even if he has delivered during the regular season.

But the guys who want to argue how much of a scoring punch Melo will bring and whether that's worth Martin + picks is a legitimate question. I"m thinking that Martin + picks isn't going to be enough for Denver to trade him to a Western Conference team that might well match up with them in the playoffs for years. We're going to have to give up more.

 

And this is what i was asking in the other thread.

I would love to have Melo, but exactly how much would we be willing to part with to get him. Because i agree completely, there is no way Denver does this just for Martin and some picks. I'm guessing at the very least 3 quality players, and the picks.

 

This is GREAT news! Melo will be a Rocket. It's just a matter of time.

 

melo can actually play off the ball too. and he has such a good midrange game that i don't think he'll have a problem meshing with adelman's game. furthermore, adelman can adjust to any player so he'll mix in some isos for melo (just like he'll do with yao). that will provide more variety and actually improve our offense, esp. v. the better defenses. also, we wouldn't rely on the jumpshot too much since melo has a legit post game.

look, i don't mind keeping martin. he's a great fit for our system. the question is is martin + picks a high price for melo? i don't think so.

over the course of the season and in the playoffs, you need guys who can carry the load (due to injuries to players, guys in slumps...) and melo fits that bill (yao isn't ready for that yet, if ever).

i think it won't just be martin and ONE pick. it could be martin + multiple picks (a first round + a 2nd rounder) or something to that nature. i'm not really good with the specifics. but i dont' think morey would do the trade if they ask for an extra rotational player like a cbud.

so if denver's asking price is martin + 2 draft picks = you do it in a heartbeat. anything more, it's up to morey b/c it's him who's being paid the big bucks. it gets harder then.

 

all this is speculation. there has been no concrete information/evidence in regards to where melo wants to go.

 

Morey could probably get it done if he took on Anderson's contract with Ariza's TE.

 

Morey would sell Denver a pair of used house slippers if they would take it...

That's the crux of the situation as it stands, is Denver's GM a NY GM clone? Or does this guy have a decent head on his shoulders, and is he looking to rape someone else in the process.

Because if I was going lose Melo, like Denver is, then I'm going to get a ****load in return. I find any team, doesn't matter where, SOME team is going to give their respective soul to get Melo.

 

To make money work, JJ will have to be included. Most likely Hill or Patterson will also be involved.

 

I think its been pretty clear from the start that Kevin Martin is trade bait.

 

Teams aren't even going to consider it if they know Melo has no interest playing there past this season. You act as if the Nuggets hold all the cards.

 

And that's why I love him! He cares about winning, not about being best friends with every player.

In truth, I don't care about players' feelings, either. As long as they win, I don't care if they're happy or sad, miserable or glad. A pouty, angry champion is worth more to me than a happy-go-lucky loser.

For Morey, it's all bidness. And he's in the bidness of winning titles.