[Yahoo!] Carmelo privately expressing more enthusiasm to join Rockets than Knicks

I would love to do that, too, but the salaries don't even match remotely. You would have to include Battier, and I would not want to do that.

 

Yeah, I know. Didn't want to say Battier and get everybody cranked up. But AK-47 is superior to Battier. He's just flat out a much better player. And I love Battier.

 

No he is not....he does some things better than Shane, just as Shane does things better than AK...

I would take Shane over AK every day of the week.

DD

 

Sorry. AK is 3 years younger. And he does more things better than Shane than things Shane does better than AK. For the same money virtually as Shane and Jeffries, I'd take AK in a second, and he would be good value re-signed at the MLE after this season.

 

AK got a massive contract for a reason

 

The issue is the nugs dont want the luxury tax and right now turning around expirings for the sake of expirings is at an all time low, battier for example is an expiring that has value since he can be turned around to any number of teams looking for defensive utility at the 2/3, which is pretty much required for la, boston and miami.

I'm also not really sure why denver want to actually do decently, if you're going to rebuild, blow it up, take tons of draft picks and then generate your own, look at Okc/Seattle, perfect example of only when they really blew the team up that they had a chance at a proper rebuild instead of languishing in permanent mediocrity (sure some times it needs luck, like Sam Bowie mark 2, but eh, need to be in it for that chance).

 

AK, is overpriced, always injured, and is not a good shooter on the perimeter.

I am not saying he is garbage, and like a lot of what he brings, but Battier's intelligence would be severly missed, especially on defense.

DD

 

If Denver is ever ready for the unload him without worrying about signing an extention trade then (pennies on the dollar):

Melo = Jeffries + Battier + Hill
Andersen = TE

That frees up Denver from the circus, gives them some decent expiring players that they can use, saves them some money this year and next. And this gives us 1 go-for-it year.

 

True all that.

But when you look at offensive efficiency, the ability to get to the free throw line, the ability to get out on the break, the addition of AK to this current team, even losing Batt, makes me believe there are more pluses than what Batt brings. AK is very efficient offensively, Da, and he gets to the line a ton, the same reasons why we like KMart, Lowry, and Yao so much. Kirilenko is a finisher. He finished more shots at the rim than he shot from the entire rest of the field. He is an extremely efficient finisher and he gets to the FT line. There are too many pluses. He doesn't shoot the 3 effectively. He doesn't need to. He is more efficient than Battier.

 

I'd rather not have Melo at all than Melo for a year.

 

I think if you go into it for what it is, I think we could have some fun for a low cost of Jeffries, Hill and Battier.

 

Nothing low about that cost for a rental. Be serious. You know that if Melo leaves after one season you would curse his name.

 

AK's shot-blocking and passing skills and etcetera etcetera would be a great addition to the team. A flop-a-holic, to be sure, but maybe a player is redeemed when you get him away from the insidious influence of Jerry Sloan.

But I'd hate to yield ANYthing to the Jazz. I remember the rumor from 1.5 years ago, could have been BS, possibly trading Artest and Scola for Boozer (I think we were looking to unload Artest for value). The mere thought of Scola on the Jazz made me back-barf my coffee as I was drinking it.

I don't hate the Jazz as in years past, but can't imagine under what scenario we'd manage to trade for AK47.

 

Jeffries, Hill, and Battier would be a very low price for Melo, even if only for a one year rental. If the Nuggets were looking to cut costs, we could even send $3M so that they could buy out his contract, then re-sign him after a month.

 

I don't get attached to players - especially ones that are known 1 year rentals. If he comes over and gives us a 60 win season and rings all around (best case scenario) and then bails to NYC, I would still take that over 1st round knockout. I'd even give him an iPad as a parting gift as a thanks.

 

I don't want a player that we KNOW doesn't want to be here...he'd be watching the calendar waiting to leave. Rings all around? Pulease.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that RA and DM have ZERO percent interest in 1yr of Melo. Zero.

 

I don't think it would be like that at all. It's not that he loathes to be here - he just doesn't want to be here long term. I think he'd enjoy 1 year of playing under RA and with this crew - and get the NYC crew even more excited at his coming. Think of it like a bootie call. If you both know and accept what it is, you can both have some fun. (not that I support bootie calls).

Though I will agree that this is not going to happen.

 

No to one year rentals. Let them ruin their franchise on their own and we keep all our assets and have New Yorks picks for later deals. Then also our own. We do a bigger trade for Chris Paul perhaps. Carmelo isnt the only fish in the ocean. There is one like him every year out of the draft. We could move up in the draft with our assets and draft one like him or trade for another one who becomes available. If Carmello wants to be on the Knicks next year? Let him. That wont effect the Knicks pick this year and next year Amares knees could be gone. Alot can happen in a year.

 

Opposed to any one year rental scenarios unless we are Championship bound for certain with the rental.

 

Denvers the one playing chicken like Toronto and Cleveland did. We saw that how that turned out. Same thing is happening here. Same guy from Toronto steering that course. Its unfortunate that LaLa , Carmelo, and his agent are gonna pull it off and out waite that franchise for another free agent sNT that nets them mediocrity for a decade like those other two.