[NYPost] Rockets could make push for Carmelo (UPDATE: Blog post)

If we don't go the S&T route, we won't have the MLE.

 

No, you are not alone. I fully believe that just enhancing the rest of the roster is the key to being a title team. Melo and Harden are great scorers, but unlike Wade and Lebron, when one of them is not the focal point of the team they don't bring you a lot. Harden doesn't move without the ball and neither plays defense.

 

I agree with the bench problem, but I think that can be rectified with a Jason Terry/Jamal Crawford type. Those guys aren't difficult to find. I thought Lin could be that guy, but it hasn't worked.

I think improving the PF position (Paul Milsap being the dream) and shoring up the wings would improve us much more than Anthony's firepower and defensive shortcomings would.

 

If Harden can make it work with Durant and Westbrook, I think he can handle Dwight and Melo.

 

1) Off the bench
2) Westbrook was a great defender
3) Durant moves well without the ball
4) Durant is deferential (to a fault)
5) The rest of the OKC roster was already strong

Here you'd have bad defenders at every position on the court except the 1 and the 5 and you'd have two players who don't defer well as your stars, one of them a noted black hole. Plus the roster would be absolutely gutted with no way to enhance it again for another year.

Look, I think they could make it work but I think it would be difficult and would take another year of adding pieces after you added Carmelo.

 

Melo would be the perfect wing for Hardens last second knockouts.

 

Can someone post the IT's HAPPENING gif!

 

but its not really happening yet

 

but it is

 

it makes sense. you get to deal omer and lin out (maybe melo signs for a tad less). for the people saying it couldn't work, you have to really have to buy in that melo is going to shift his game to ultimate efficiency. if that happens the the rockets really could be the best team in the NBA and perhaps maybe one of the greatest offenses of all time.

 

I hope so...but at the same time, I do not want to give up parsons, lin, asik. I dearly love every player on our current squad. But if Carmelo wants to come here, we have to go all in and take him immediately. Maybe move Parsons to the bench...Imagine Howard, Melo, and Harden

 

I think Morey will used rhe MLE to bring Lull and Papanikolau

 

Melo's shoulder injury will bother him the rest of his career.

 

Melo is actually only going to cost capspace and NY can get a big load of nothing if the Knicks treat his trade value like a non-FREE AGENT.

Yes. This thing called Free Agency tends to change the value of players.

 

Melo goes to free agency, NY gets NOTHING.

Sign & Trade...

Melo gets his money (security), and the team he wants to go to (Rockets).

NY gets something back: Parsons, Lin, Asik

Rockets get their 3rd Star and get rid of Lin, Asik.


Sign & Trade is the much better route than Free Agency for all concerned.

 

I think having Phil Jackson there is going to go a long way in keeping Carmelo in NY.

 

Not really. If Melo's goal is to win, he'd want the team he goes to to give up the least amount of assets possible.

Any S&T is predicated on the above mentality by Melo. NY being able to get an arm and a leg from the Rockets only makes sense if Melo believes in some sort of compromise where he can sort of win but not truly win and make less money but not too much less. This makes no sense. Melo is either going to take the uber max from NY or he wants to win a championship. What you're suggesting makes him a wishy washy guy who ends up with neither winning nor the most money.

 

Nope. If Melo's goal is to win. He'd want the team he goes to to still have the assets to win a championship and pay him as much as possible.

Melo probably still thinks Houston can win without Parsons, Lin and Asik.

Beverley
Harden
Melo
T-Jones
Howard

Take the Miami route...

 

Wouldn't he be able to win more WITH Parsons? In fact, wouldn't he want to play with Parsons AND T-Jones? He only has to give up roughly ~$8mil over the next 4 years to play with both.

The only reason the Rockets can trade Jones is because then they get to keep their MLE which should net a better win-now player and so Melo can get a little more money. They're not trading Parsons and they have no reason to.

 

It doesn't work that way anymore. Same scenario as with Dwight last year. The ONLY team that Melo can get the "full max" (i.e. 5 years) with is New York. Whether Melo signs with the Rockets or is signed-and-traded, his contract would be the same. Thus, there is no real reason for the Rockets to give assets to New York unless we can't move Lin/Asik beforehand.

For some reason people here have this bizarre obsession with trading Parsons, but there's absolutely no reason for that to have to happen. Asik can definitely be traded into cap space with relative ease, and while you might have to dangle a carrot with Lin, I don't think it would require Parsons. Look at what the Warriors gave up in order to get the Jazz to take nearly $20 million in expiring contracts last summer. Future 1sts and possibly Terrence Jones in a worst-case scenario.