Would you do this trade?

Heart?

You do know his nickname is "Mellow", don't you? Eddie was pretty emotional in college...maybe too much so!

 

He can dribble, he can shoot, he is a more natural scorer, he has more solid fundamentals, he can create his own shot (he is great at creating separation), he is a SF, he can pass better, he has better court vision, he seems to be smarter...other than that, not much I guess.

 

I'm not asking you to compare Eddie Griffin now to Carmelo Anthony, I'm talking about the Griffin coming out of college we all rejoiced over 2 years ago as the steal of the century, you know, THIS guy:

Aside from ball handling (and 8 pouds of listed weight) I don't see him as much different from this guy (anthony):

 

I was comparing them as college players. And if all you see is ball handling and 8 pounds, then I don't know what to tell you.

Griffin was an inside player, a PF/C in college. Anthony is a perimeter/slasher, a SF. Griffin's major strengths were rebounding, blocking shots, and inside scoring. He is still a good shot-bloacker, his rebounding is decent, and his scoring is not so great - the reason for the decline of the latter two is he that is physically outmatched inside and he has yet to learn to overcome that. He can still shoot 3's, but his 2pt shooting is actually worse.

Carmelo is a wing/outside player and slasher. Notice his description talks about first step, driving, finishing, etc. His is also thin, but not as thin proportionally as Griffin is to PFs (Anthony is actually stronger than Prince - who has been doing well in the playoffs for the Pistons). Carmelo is a triple double threat at any time. He has true PG skills. I think it will take a while for him to put it all together as a pro, but I also think he will have a better rookie year than EG had. It is also a good sign that Anthony also began real weight-lifting in HS to improve himself. EG did not really start until the NBA.

Griffin showed no emotion on the court (only in the locker room with his own teammates). Carmelo smiles nonstop. And you do know that Melo (or "mellow" as you put it) comes more from his name than anything else, right?

 

Francis and Nachbar for the #2 and Prince and Billups.

Francis definitely adds some much needed CONSISTENT firepower to the Pistons. Nachbar gives them a potential scorer.

Rox get Darko who will take some pressure off of yao down low, and prince is a good defensive player against sf's and sometimes sg's even. He's got a good stroke and is quick too. Posey can be let go. Billups I see just as trade fodder to get a pg that fits the Rox more. But I could live with him.

Now this trade has no possiblity of going down... and actually I don't even know if I want it to go down...

But Francis straight up for the #2 is crazy.

 

Are you kidding me? Francis for Darko is pretty much what you're saying? I'd say hell no. Francis for Billups and Darko? That's a huge gamble. Darko could be the next Dirk, but with out luck I wouldn't mess with a good thing.

And about Eddie vs. Melo, did you actually watch them both play, or just read some nbadraft.net profiles. I hate all these people who haven't even seen most of these college players or international players calling for trades and drafting them without knowing a damn thing. ANYWAYS, their games are not even remotely similar. Carmelo is as pure a small forwards as there is, and Eddie is a PF with one post move that gets blocked half the time (turnaround to the right shoulder). Just because he can shoot threes doesn't make him a SF in any way. He cannot dribble worth crap, has no lateral quickness, shoot off the dribble, etc.

We could probably get Francis for Billups, Prince, & #2. That sounds interesting, but I still have some hope for Steve.

 

1. No, "mellow" describes his personality as well, or so its been written, I can't find a link but I do believe I read it in Espn the magazine.

2. I'm aware that there are differences, but I can point out even more similarities:

CA "Solid rebounded thanks to his long arms and hustle ... Has range on his jump shot as he can shoot from mid-range or behind the 3-point line"

EG "Can stroke shots all the way out to college 3" "Has excellent rebounding and defensive skills"

3. Let's have a look at what nbadraft.net says about CA's weaknesses also:

I guess he's not that fast. Now let's look at eddies overall ratings coming out of college

Athleticism: 10 Size: 10
Defense: 10 Strength: 7
Quickness: 9 Leadership: 8
Jump Shot: 9 NBA Ready: 9
Rebounding: 10 Potential: 10
Post Skills: 9 Intangibles 6

The grass is always greener, and everybody's a winner on draft day. Then reality sets in.

 

This is the only thing to which I will respond - the rest is pointless as EG and Carmelo are simply very different players (even though you can't seem to see that - have you seen either play?). "Melo" is a nick that goes back to childhood. But, yes, others have said it is close to his personality:

Keep calling him "Mellow" though and keep being wrong. I guess "always a happy guy" also sounds like Eddie?

 

Chauncey Billups has ONE semi decent season and now you're all for getting him? Can somebody tell me ONE thing he does better than Francis? And we get an unproven talent to add to an already inexperienced team. Marvelous.

 

Yeah, I'm really going to sweat being wrong about that. Good point to end on.

You keep seeing things the way you want to see them, with your hindsight goggles on, again, here's what was seen back in 2001 re: EG:

Athleticism: 10 Size: 10
Defense: 10 Strength: 7
Quickness: 9 Leadership: 8
Jump Shot: 9 NBA Ready: 9
Rebounding: 10 Potential: 10
Post Skills: 9 Intangibles 6

EDIT: OH yeah, btw, regarding ball handling, I guess I was wrong, Eddie had a good rep for ball handling too coming out of college, I pulled this of of CC.net's ownn archives:

 

OK, last thing because this bothered me...

I actually saw Eddie in more than one of his college games. I was an EG fan before he was a Rocket and still am a fan of his (and Eddie was a decent ball handler for a PF/C in college - he was never a good ball handler in Carmelo's sense - who could give you 10 assists on any night
and split defenses starting from the 3pt line - which was my point from way back). I have also seen many Carmelo games (I follow SU basketball) and had read about him before he went to college. They were completely different college players and I think it is safe to say that they will be very different pros (fairly simple since they won't even play the same position).

 

To the people asking why would Detroit do it , why wouldnt they? the are there right now, a few wins from getting to the finals, and all they lack is some offensive leadership.

#2 and Chauncey Billups, and even the Rockets should consider it. Why not? Big guys usually have a bigger impact than smaller players. Both Mellow and Darko are big guys.