Why wouldn't the Bulls still be interested in Melo? Hypothetically speaking, they have the contracts and prospects necessary to make it happen. How about this three way between the Bulls, Celtics and Knicks....

Bulls get Carmelo Anthony, Rajon Rondo, Iman Shumpert and Quincy Acy.

Celtics get Derrick Rose, Cleanthony Early,an $11 million trade exception and $3 million cash (via Knicks).

Knicks get Jeff Green, Gerald Wallace, Jimmy Butler, Doug McDermott, Nikola Mirotic, E'twann Moore and a 2016 pick (either from the Bulls or Celtics).

The deal works cap wise, if anyone was wondering. Chicago would effectively add both a better PG and one of the most lethal scorers in the game, while alleviating the glut they have in their rotation. Would their owner want to commit big money to keep that team together though? The Celtics would avoid losing Rajon for nothing, while getting a comparable talent AND save a bunch of money in the short/long term by getting a team to take their ****ty contracts. Meanwhile, the Knicks would effectively get their tools to start a rebuild, including a 2016 pick to compensate for the one they lost to the Raptors. We now could tank like unholy to get Jahlil Okafor, who would form a great young core with Nikola Mirotic, Jimmy Butler, Tim Hardaway Jr and Doug McDermott. We should also have about $15 million in cap space to pursue a PG (Reggie Jackson) so I could quickly see this team taking shape. Thoughts?

YOU NEVER GO FULL REBUILD IN NEW YORK!

Bonn1997 wrote:

IronWillGiroud wrote:

YOU NEVER GO FULL REBUILD IN NEW YORK!

You just stay at .400 without improving the future!
If we were going to rebuild, we shouldn't have re-signed Melo. Nard - He has a no-trade clause now

But you don't think he'd waive the clause to play as an alpha-dog with a contender? I know this trade has almost no chance of happening as described but we need to consider cutting the chord on this one. We've wasted Melo's prime and there just doesn't seem to be any silver lining in keeping around. I suspect that he knows that now as well. So why not lobby for the chance to play with the Bulls in some iteration or another?

Splat wrote:I'd say yes, except we screwed that up by not doing it earlier. Now we have him paid more than any club is likely to take on as a salary burden. If other clubs see him as a piece, but not their foundation, then asking them to take on a franchise player sized salary is probably asking for too much. Perhaps if we had gotten Melo to agree to $100M as part of a sign and trade deal, that might have worked out, but I'm afraid it might be impossible now. And if he become injured, his salary looks like a joke to the league, so I think the Knicks boxed themselves into a corner on this one, particularly since Melo has to consent to any trade and that could kill anything that is cooked up.

I think that is a somewhat valid point but do you think that it should be moderated by the fact that the Bulls are dumping Derrick Rose? I think it's becoming pretty that he is this generation's Anfernee Hardaway and will never fulfill his potential due to injury. On the Boston Celtics though, he'd be a decent enough mentor and good backup to Marcus Smart, who looks like the real deal. But the days of Derrick Rose being a perennial all-star/cornerstone of a franchise are over.

CrushAlot wrote:The Knicks don't have the picks to do a full rebuild. Hopefully the current approach of trying to develop second round picks, undrafted rookie free agents and using the d league effectively gets the Knicks some rotation players for cheap. Other than that I think they need to do well with their pick this summer and in free agency. I do like that Phil has said he would like to bring in a couple of players and not go for one big signing.

StarksEwing1 wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

IronWillGiroud wrote:

YOU NEVER GO FULL REBUILD IN NEW YORK!

You just stay at .400 without improving the future!
If we were going to rebuild, we shouldn't have re-signed Melo. Nard - He has a no-trade clause now

But you don't think he'd waive the clause to play as an alpha-dog with a contender? I know this trade has almost no chance of happening as described but we need to consider cutting the chord on this one. We've wasted Melo's prime and there just doesn't seem to be any silver lining in keeping around. I suspect that he knows that now as well. So why not lobby for the chance to play with the Bulls in some iteration or another?

first off we didnt waste melos prime because lets be honest the only way melo would have won here is if we had another guy who was a better overall player like lebron or durant. Melo played on some good denver teams and they never really got past round 1

then he should have
1)honored the balance of his contract with denver,
2)sign with the nets for a season in 2011-12, and
3)come here as a free agent in the summer of 2012.

at least that way he could have come to a knick team that was further along in the process of rebuilding under walsh for what would have been 4 years, and not basically force the knicks to start from scratch which is a scenario he himself was largely if not exclusively a catalyst for.

dk7th wrote:

StarksEwing1 wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

IronWillGiroud wrote:

YOU NEVER GO FULL REBUILD IN NEW YORK!

You just stay at .400 without improving the future!
If we were going to rebuild, we shouldn't have re-signed Melo. Nard - He has a no-trade clause now

But you don't think he'd waive the clause to play as an alpha-dog with a contender? I know this trade has almost no chance of happening as described but we need to consider cutting the chord on this one. We've wasted Melo's prime and there just doesn't seem to be any silver lining in keeping around. I suspect that he knows that now as well. So why not lobby for the chance to play with the Bulls in some iteration or another?

first off we didnt waste melos prime because lets be honest the only way melo would have won here is if we had another guy who was a better overall player like lebron or durant. Melo played on some good denver teams and they never really got past round 1

then he should have
1)honored the balance of his contract with denver,
2)sign with the nets for a season in 2011-12, and
3)come here as a free agent in the summer of 2012.

at least that way he could have come to a knick team that was further along in the process of rebuilding under walsh for what would have been 4 years, and not basically force the knicks to start from scratch which is a scenario he himself was largely if not exclusively a catalyst for.

Splat wrote:

NardDogNation wrote:But you don't think he'd waive the clause to play as an alpha-dog with a contender? I know this trade has almost no chance of happening as described but we need to consider cutting the chord on this one. We've wasted Melo's prime and there just doesn't seem to be any silver lining in keeping around. I suspect that he knows that now as well. So why not lobby for the chance to play with the Bulls in some iteration or another?

What would the Bulls give us though? Butler? I don't think so.

We overvalued Melo, so cutting our losses literally means that. It requires selling at 50 cents on the dollar. Dolan has to eat 50 million dollars just months into Phil's regime. I doubt that will happen, because we'll never get back equal value and Dolan and Phil are not going to lose face so soon. Even if Phil knows he screwed up, he knows he can't do anything about it. And if Phil basically compromised himself in order to get paid his giant salary by conceding to Dolan's one demand to retain Melo at all costs, then it simply can't happen.

There's no wiggle room right now. Sadly, there might be if halfway through next season we're still a garbage team. Then the heat will be turned up big time and Melo will want out. But that is the wrong time to do it since Melo is already a year older, has the additional taint of accelerating losses and GMs will hold a gun to the Knicks heads.

Ideally, it would happen in the next few months, but Melo himself would probably say no, because he'd be afraid to admit it isn't going to happen here.

Odds are very small Melo gets traded this season. Wish we could and rebuild for real as you say, but how can we expect the troika of Melo, Dolan and Phil to make that happen now? We can't and shouldn't get our hopes up they will.

Butler's a nice player but he can't be the cornerstone of your franchise if you're a contender. I said in a previous thread that he'll have the chance to challenge for an all-star berth in the future but let's not get carried away with his ceiling. Guys like Mo Williams and Jameer Nelson were all-stars but I don't think anyone would've ever considered them to be legitimate building blocks for a contender; same deal as Tayshaun Prince who was always under consideration. Butler is a cog guy and when you're comparing him to Melo, Melo wins out every time. More importantly, to get the salaries to match, the Bulls would have to include Derrick Rose's contract aka Mr. I Don't Play If I'm Hurting and I've Been Injuried for Nearly Two Full Seasons. That is no easy cookie to swallow, so there needs to be compensation for giving up one of the leagues best scorers and most marketable talents in the league.