I like Anthony, but not for that many players. Not to mention this would not be possible until midseason.
I still like Melo well enough, but there's a diminishing return when you've already got three big scorers. Having a bench is better at this point than having a guy who's going to score efficiently on half the shots he's used to and do not much else.
There's only one ball. Like someone stated above this isn't nba 2k. And I already addressed your first sentence above as I know this is what the melo superstar believers want to say. If melo came here as a FA now then of course you take him but you abosolutely do not give up half a team to get him. That's just rediculous.
Yes you take Melo, I probably wouldn't give up Capela (which is why I voted no), but everything else sure. He's on the decline but he's still a really good player. At worst he's a top 30 player in this league. - He commands double teams in the post. - Is a better passer than he gets credit for: 15 and 18% assist ratios the last two seasons. - His shots would be much more efficient playing on a good team as the second option. If he plays the 4, his rebounding (12-13% rebound rate) would be on par with both Dmo and Tjones..... Think about that for a second (the fact we sometimes play these guys at the 4-5 together is laughable.) He shoots better than both of these players from all over the court. It's an easy call. Depth does nothing for you in the playoffs. Lawson, Harden, Ariza, Melo, Howard gets you to the final dance.
Melo isn't the guy I'd trade away our depth for. But you don't necessarily get to choose which top-flight guy becomes available. And for those of you who say we shouldn't trade away those assets: You know Daryl Morey is ALWAYS prepared to do that. He accumulates depth and then looks for an opportunity to cash it in. If he can get a third truly top player, he'll move just about anything to make it happen. Because in this sport, you can only put 5 guys on the court, and if you can kill at 3 of those positions, that's pretty damned hard to stop.
Trade our depth for a player who will most likely clash with Harden because in his mind, he thinks he should be the #1 option. Bad idea all the way. Sure it looks great on paper that we have the best starting 5 but that's about it. Our bench will be crap again and the rockets will suffer injuries and don't have the depth to bail them out. Melo is the type of player who wants to win a championship only on his own terms. Meaning if he was to win the chip, he must be the main player to lead his team. Melo's ego will not allow him to be the Robin to Harden's Batman like Wade is to Lebron. There will be tension and chemistry issues. No thanks.
Haha. This isn't 2k and there's only one ball is exactly what they said before Miami formed super friends. 3 Offensive stars. 2 titles and 4 straight trips later, and no one even remembers the critiques. Love, Kyrie AND LeBron? This isn't 2k. There's only 1 ball for Curry, Klay and Iggy. There's only 1 ball for Harden, Howard and Lawson. This isn't 2k. There's only 1 ball for TEAM USA. We have to get role players who know their role surrounded by only 2 stars in order to start winning again in the World competitions. This isn't 2k.
It be nice but we have to understand that injuries happen. What happens if Melo hurts his knee again? Are we counting on him to stay healthy? Or Dwight to stay healthy? It's almost impossible for a team like the Rockets to stay healthy all year long. Melo used to be a top player, now he's nothing more than a player who no longer the threat he once was and starting to break down. Yes only 5 players play at once. But in a 7 game series, Harden, Melo, Ty, Dwight and Trevor Ain't going to play 48 mins. Also you have to account chemistry issues and other factors too. Melo is no longer the top tier player anymore. In my opinion, he never was. He was just a good scorer that can't carry a team in the east.
People need to stop citing "chemistry issues" like they know what's going on in these player's heads. Look at the stats. Carmelo had no issues deferring playing for Team USA. I think it's clear to everyone at this point, even Carmelo, that Harden is the superior player. He's not just a good scorer. He's an elite scorer. One of the best in the NBA. He averaged 27, and 25 points the last two seasons playing with one of the worst supporting casts ever. I guarantee you if the Knicks weren't blatantly tanking last year he could have played more games. Lawson is a good second scoring option, but he's an even better third scoring option. When teams in the playoffs sell out to stop Harden, you have Carmelo, another elite scorer there to punish teams. I doubt the Knicks would even accept this package for Melo, because I'm pretty sure they could get better deals elsewhere.
Stop referencing team USA as an indicator. Any good basketball player could probably play and look good with those guys. That's the point. It's a totally different game with USA basketball.
Seconded. His development alone should have front office frothing at the mouth. It is literally straight up absurd how much he's improved in one year.
So was their a point to this? Is there a +20 shot taker a game somewhere in there? No ok. Notice the mix of players and who's ball dominant naturally. Think about it a little bit
Btw you want to say stop citing chemistry issues like people know what's going on players heads but for some reason you know melo would be playing last year had the Knicks not been "tanking" ok.
You should treat chemistry as an unknown, because it is. I haven't read all your points, so my comment may not be relevant, but it seems like you are claiming to know how Anthony would play with our players. People give examples of Anthony playing with other good players and you shut that down. The point is that team USA is a good team and he didn't screw it up, in fact he helped them get better. It seems that no example is good enough for you. I don't get you, but you only live once. I live two lives at once, it's no big deal. You make such a big deal out of one. It's not that special.
Playing well with team USA is not much of an example. Btw that was not the point of the previous post btw
LeBron and Wade both 20 attempts per game and Bosh at over 16 per game before they joined forces. Everyone only dropped 1 or 2 except bosh who took an over 3 attempt hit. Clearly Howard and Lawson would take a hit and Harden and Melo both can still get 18-21 attempts per game. LeBron and Wade were both very ball dominant with USAGE% of mid 30's. Both player's USAGE% stayed around 30 while Bosh's went from mid 20s to low 20s. No one took much of a hit. Heat. LeBron 18.8, Wade 18.2, Bosh 13.7 =50.7 attempts per game Rockets? Harden 18.1, Dwight 10.3, Lawson(on nuggets team with no other shot creators) 12.3. = 40.7 attempts per game You telling me those guys can't find room for to fit in Melo? Lawson would take the biggest hit but i don't think he cares if he's getting over 8 assists. You think think Wade had better skills to move to an off ball player more so than Melo? Melo playing off ball would give him over half of his attempts in very efficient spots. You think Morey isn't going to give a graph and notes on where Melo is most efficient and how Harden can find him or lead him to those spots? No one will be able to defend us. Problem will be if we can outscore the other team because we can't defend but when you have the best defensive anchor of his era, you're not going to be that bad.
