All things being equal, this is harmless, but if Melo was put off by Phil's remarks about how the Knicks can and will move on with or without him this one isn't going to go over any better.

Rose it actually why I think folks everywhere are overrating the Bulls like mad. He hasn't spent any real time in a game in two seasons, he's essentially damaged goods, and he's unable to keep his mouth shut. If I'm Anthony, my entry to Chicago would ideally coincide with Rose's departure.

That said, he could fully recover and regain his MVP abilities, albeit unlikely. As a Knick fan, I'm sad to see all these players talking about going to Chi-town or Lakerville to continue a legacy instead of building one in a town starved for a championship. The next Knicks team that wins a chip will know love and adoration on such a huge and sincere level that it's hard to fathom.

Lastly, I'm in a seemingly huge minority, but I would prefer Melo staying, ideally at a significant discount to allow for growth in 2015 and beyond. However, I don't see it happening...the discount thing that is. If he stays, he's going to get as much as he can.

Bonn1997 wrote:

anrst wrote:It's funny to me that Chicago is supposedly such a great fit. Who do they have? A great coach and Noah. Rose hasn't played in two years!!!!!!

They have a 48 win team without Melo or Rose.

I wouldn't put to much stock in it, the year before the Knicks won 54. Coaching is vital and players buying in is the ultimate key. If the players don't buy in the effort will not be there and that is the key to everything. Buying in = effort = wins.

Vmart wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

anrst wrote:It's funny to me that Chicago is supposedly such a great fit. Who do they have? A great coach and Noah. Rose hasn't played in two years!!!!!!

They have a 48 win team without Melo or Rose.

I wouldn't put to much stock in it, the year before the Knicks won 54. Coaching is vital and players buying in is the ultimate key. If the players don't buy in the effort will not be there and that is the key to everything. Buying in = effort = wins.

fishmike wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

Vmart wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

anrst wrote:It's funny to me that Chicago is supposedly such a great fit. Who do they have? A great coach and Noah. Rose hasn't played in two years!!!!!!

They have a 48 win team without Melo or Rose.

I wouldn't put to much stock in it, the year before the Knicks won 54. Coaching is vital and players buying in is the ultimate key. If the players don't buy in the effort will not be there and that is the key to everything. Buying in = effort = wins.

Yeah but the drop in wins is accounted for by the roster changes and aging of already-old players in the Knicks' case. There is no parallel with the Bulls. They simply have several an excellent player in Noah and several other above average players in their primes. Even if Rose never plays again, if Melo joins the team, I think they can compete for the ECF. They might make it to the finals depending on what happens in Miami and how terrible the rest of the conference is.

So in your opinion Melo can take a team that can get out of the first round to the ECF or finals. Interesting

fishmike wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

fishmike wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

Vmart wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

anrst wrote:It's funny to me that Chicago is supposedly such a great fit. Who do they have? A great coach and Noah. Rose hasn't played in two years!!!!!!

They have a 48 win team without Melo or Rose.

I wouldn't put to much stock in it, the year before the Knicks won 54. Coaching is vital and players buying in is the ultimate key. If the players don't buy in the effort will not be there and that is the key to everything. Buying in = effort = wins.

Yeah but the drop in wins is accounted for by the roster changes and aging of already-old players in the Knicks' case. There is no parallel with the Bulls. They simply have several an excellent player in Noah and several other above average players in their primes. Even if Rose never plays again, if Melo joins the team, I think they can compete for the ECF. They might make it to the finals depending on what happens in Miami and how terrible the rest of the conference is.

So in your opinion Melo can take a team that can get out of the first round to the ECF or finals. Interesting

He can take a 48 win team to the 54 win level in my opinion, and if the east deteriorates enough, that might be enough. I don't place any emphasis on the fact that they lost in the first round - that's too small a sample, Fish. You should know that by now!

the 5-6 wins doesnt matter. What matters is the Bulls lose in the first round. You said add Melo and they are in the conf finals or NBA finals (fairly mentioning the Heat's status having a big impact). Would you like to retract your statement or do you hold to what you said?

I hold to my statement and reject the bold portion of your statement (for reasons already mentioned in my previous reply).

knicks1248 wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

Vmart wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

anrst wrote:It's funny to me that Chicago is supposedly such a great fit. Who do they have? A great coach and Noah. Rose hasn't played in two years!!!!!!

They have a 48 win team without Melo or Rose.

I wouldn't put to much stock in it, the year before the Knicks won 54. Coaching is vital and players buying in is the ultimate key. If the players don't buy in the effort will not be there and that is the key to everything. Buying in = effort = wins.

Yeah but the drop in wins is accounted for by the roster changes and aging of already-old players in the Knicks' case. There is no parallel with the Bulls. They simply have several an excellent player in Noah and several other above average players in their primes. Even if Rose never plays again, if Melo joins the team, I think they can compete for the ECF. They might make it to the finals depending on what happens in Miami and how terrible the rest of the conference is.

who exactly do the BULLs have after Rose and Noah, butlers gone, gibsons gone, boozer gone. Liek I keep saying, they will be rail thin at every postion.

what do they have left, fredette, augastine, Lou, snell..lol

what? When did Butler, Gibson leave?

martin wrote:

knicks1248 wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

Vmart wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

anrst wrote:It's funny to me that Chicago is supposedly such a great fit. Who do they have? A great coach and Noah. Rose hasn't played in two years!!!!!!

They have a 48 win team without Melo or Rose.

I wouldn't put to much stock in it, the year before the Knicks won 54. Coaching is vital and players buying in is the ultimate key. If the players don't buy in the effort will not be there and that is the key to everything. Buying in = effort = wins.

Yeah but the drop in wins is accounted for by the roster changes and aging of already-old players in the Knicks' case. There is no parallel with the Bulls. They simply have several an excellent player in Noah and several other above average players in their primes. Even if Rose never plays again, if Melo joins the team, I think they can compete for the ECF. They might make it to the finals depending on what happens in Miami and how terrible the rest of the conference is.

who exactly do the BULLs have after Rose and Noah, butlers gone, gibsons gone, boozer gone. Liek I keep saying, they will be rail thin at every postion.

what do they have left, fredette, augastine, Lou, snell..lol

what? When did Butler, Gibson leave?

If they some how figure a way to add melo, those 2 will be sacrificed

fishmike wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

fishmike wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

fishmike wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

Vmart wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

anrst wrote:It's funny to me that Chicago is supposedly such a great fit. Who do they have? A great coach and Noah. Rose hasn't played in two years!!!!!!

They have a 48 win team without Melo or Rose.

I wouldn't put to much stock in it, the year before the Knicks won 54. Coaching is vital and players buying in is the ultimate key. If the players don't buy in the effort will not be there and that is the key to everything. Buying in = effort = wins.

Yeah but the drop in wins is accounted for by the roster changes and aging of already-old players in the Knicks' case. There is no parallel with the Bulls. They simply have several an excellent player in Noah and several other above average players in their primes. Even if Rose never plays again, if Melo joins the team, I think they can compete for the ECF. They might make it to the finals depending on what happens in Miami and how terrible the rest of the conference is.

So in your opinion Melo can take a team that can get out of the first round to the ECF or finals. Interesting

He can take a 48 win team to the 54 win level in my opinion, and if the east deteriorates enough, that might be enough. I don't place any emphasis on the fact that they lost in the first round - that's too small a sample, Fish. You should know that by now!

the 5-6 wins doesnt matter. What matters is the Bulls lose in the first round. You said add Melo and they are in the conf finals or NBA finals (fairly mentioning the Heat's status having a big impact). Would you like to retract your statement or do you hold to what you said?

I hold to my statement and reject the bold portion of your statement (for reasons already mentioned in my previous reply).

so you reject what? The second part wasnt a statement it was a fact. Bulls have lost in the first round for two years in a row. You said if they add Melo they compete for a title and most likely make the NBA finals or at worst ECF. Pretty straightforward no?

Most likely? No. Plausible in a best case scenario? Yes. Likewise, this year's team could have plausibly made it to the 2nd round despite underperforming in 1 7-game series. I think Melo can push a team whose ceiling was the 2nd round to the conference finals. I think Melo could add a round to a team's playoff ceiling. If this happens to coincide with Miami losing key players, then the finals would become a plausible best-case scenario.

fishmike wrote:its a bit funny to me Bonn.. you argue against the merits of signing MElo to a max contract, you go on about the faults in his game, yet:

Even if Rose never plays again, if Melo joins the team, I think they can compete for the ECF. They might make it to the finals depending on what happens in Miami and how terrible the rest of the conference is.

you say that Melo is good enough to add to a team who has one star (Noah) a few solid role guys but cant get out of the first round, so add Melo and they can compete for a title.

kinda begs the flip side of the coin.. why not keep Melo, use cap space or expirings to put together a deal for a stud and go to the ECF or finals themselves? Why not go that route Bonn?

And all that said, I still think their ceiling is just the ECF or potentially finals, which would still give me some hesitation to pull the deal from Chicago's perspective. (I never said I would do the deal if I ran Chicago; I only said that it could push them to a higher level within the east.)