This is clearly not all on Melo but shouldn't he be trying to lead by example and somewhat be trying to earn his $124mil? Give 100% defensively, hold guys accountable and average more than 6rebs a game?

No matter who we put around him I don't see it every amounting to anything. You need a winning culture whether its to attract free agents or properly develop young players and draft picks.

It seems like the media is spinning that this team needs to be more competitive so that they can attract free agents. Melo needs to do more otherwise who is going to want to play with a loser. The Spurs weren't thinking about attracting mediocre free agents around David Robinson when they drafted Duncan, Parker, Ginobili & Leonard.

I see a major flaw in thinking that free agency is the be all end all. We need to use free agency wisely not starphuch for players that won't fit. It's just too difficult to find players that fit around Melo.

Lets stop with the starphuching of big name players and lets focus on adding a PG who is an elite defender. Not Dragic unless we trade Melo for defenders elsewhere.

Amare has logged too many minutes and his knees are giving in. His defense and intensity has regressed. Move on from him. Forget the notion of resigning him even for $3mil. Get some new young blood on this team that play like every possession is their last.

How do you trade for Calderon who has a ****ty contract and you clearly needed a point guard who can keep his man in front of him? We went through a full season of watching all 30 something starting PGs blow by Felton only to add a PG who is worse defensively? What the **** was Phil thinking? The rest of the trade can still work out if Thanasis & Early pan out. But Jeez we are stuck with Calderon now?!

No matter what they do I don't see this team winning in 5yrs as long as Melo is the guy. The Big Kahuna jacking up 25-30 shots a game. I don't see him every buying into a team concept and most importantly buying into the triangle. I don't want to go back to Woodson iso ball to appease Melo. We will waste OK4 or whatever post player we add in the paint if Melo is jacking up 25-30 shots.
We should not have resigned him. I completely agree that rebuilding around a proven star is much easier than starting from scratch. However, Melo is not that cornerstone guy who will put the franchise on his back. He should be one of the top 3 guys on a good team like Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Clippers or Washington. You Can't have this guy at $124mil eating up 40% of the cap. On top of that he is over 30 and breaking down in year one! Time to cut our losses.

Anyway thats my Christmas Day rant for tonight

By the time we get to negotiate with FA's we'll know who our draft pick will be. If it's Okafor that would be a positive selling point for other young vet FA's to want to come here and play next to him for years to come. You know how much excitement is stirred up around a team when you draft a young stud.

Splat wrote:There is no Catch-22 with Melo. He's just not anything close to being a centerpiece. If we had paid him what he is worth, then fine. But when you make someone the highest paid player in the league, they better be worth it.

All the scrambling around and projections on what we can assemble is empty gyrations as long as so much cap is fixed on one overpaid guy.

If it were only a money thing, but the player in question were a real team player, even that would allow for some flexibility in assembling the right talents and creating a good mix of players.

But Melo doesn't mix well with other players. He's just a solo dog. A diva.

He's good at one thing, but he otherwise sucks as the core player. You can't build around this guy. I don't care if were paid 5 cents. Cap space is a problem, but the biggest problem is the player themself.

Building around Melo is the biggest fantasy fail of all time. It's a giant joke and there are still some taking the bait and playing that game. It's sad.

I'm not sure I understand how we'd still be building around Melo if we draft a top talent like Okafor. We haven't had a pick like that since Ewing. If we were so fortunate to actually land the #1-3 pick wouldn't that change the focus of the team to the future more than the present?

Also with the league about to reap a windfall of cash and the cap going up Melo's deal will be locked into the current numbers. His deal won't look as absurd under those circumstances.

I don't see any reason this team can't be rebuilt with a better core just because Melo is on the roster. Especially if we're not looking to sign expensive older vets. It's a matter of choice. Phil can go after younger less expensive players and also look to acquire picks.

nixluva wrote:

Splat wrote:There is no Catch-22 with Melo. He's just not anything close to being a centerpiece. If we had paid him what he is worth, then fine. But when you make someone the highest paid player in the league, they better be worth it.

All the scrambling around and projections on what we can assemble is empty gyrations as long as so much cap is fixed on one overpaid guy.

If it were only a money thing, but the player in question were a real team player, even that would allow for some flexibility in assembling the right talents and creating a good mix of players.

But Melo doesn't mix well with other players. He's just a solo dog. A diva.

He's good at one thing, but he otherwise sucks as the core player. You can't build around this guy. I don't care if were paid 5 cents. Cap space is a problem, but the biggest problem is the player themself.

Building around Melo is the biggest fantasy fail of all time. It's a giant joke and there are still some taking the bait and playing that game. It's sad.

I'm not sure I understand how we'd still be building around Melo if we draft a top talent like Okafor. We haven't had a pick like that since Ewing. If we were so fortunate to actually land the #1-3 pick wouldn't that change the focus of the team to the future more than the present?

Also with the league about to reap a windfall of cash and the cap going up Melo's deal will be locked into the current numbers. His deal won't look as absurd under those circumstances.

I don't see any reason this team can't be rebuilt with a better core just because Melo is on the roster. Especially if we're not looking to sign expensive older vets. It's a matter of choice. Phil can go after younger less expensive players and also look to acquire picks.

It's simple Nix. It is not rebuilding, because as long as Melo is the focus on offense, this team is going to be dysfunctional. He can only succeed now if he is added to a competent team, but you cannot engineer competency for a brand new team with him as its black hole core.

I forget who started the thread, but it was actually a legit concept to play Melo as a 6th man. It won't happen because of his status and salary, but that is where his value would really excel on a contender. He could average 20 PPG in 25 minutes if he played efficiently in that manner.

But that won't happen, so he has to play on a team with an identity already and be their scoring forward. But as long as he is our star and core diva, the identity of this team is doomed. He really is a nightmare centerpiece due to his non-leadership, inability to play team ball, lack of compensating value in other aspects of the game and his inability to get along with other players.

I slagged Tyson for dogging it here, but I have to conclude that if we can't get production out of players and they keep going elsewhere and doing better, our star player has more than a little to do with it.

Melo is a cancerous player. He has been catered to his whole life and he has a vastly distorted self-image that does not match reality. I've never heard anyone talk about themselves to the press like this guy, particularly when he called himself an underrated superstar. Who talks like that? He's a douchebag.

This team is doomed if he remains the core. You'll wake up one day and realize this is the truth. Until then, you'll keep spinning your wheels constructing fantasy equations with Melo as the core metric. And you'll keep failing, because your math is flawed. Melo is a net negative scenario. He doesn't compute.

fishmike wrote:Who else do you want taking the shots on this team? The best two way player since Ewing? Please. What a joke. Show me the guy on this roster who should have more shots? Who is Melo holding back?

OK4 or whoever else we add who is worth a damn

BRIGGS wrote:Guns--my take. I don't see Melo as a foundational player. I see him a a piece of the pie. What is a fan supposed to do right after his team signs the player to a 5 year 125$ deal? IF there was a S+T deal that was good --then why didnt we take it? Does anyone think we will have better deals lined up--especially when Melo can say no?

I don't see how melo leaves so as a fan I have to look at his positive side. He is our scorer from the F position. Hes a 25-7-3 45% player. My hope is that we can add other pieces that DIMINISHES melos role to make the entire team better. IF all of a sudden we have a 20 point post a 20 point PG some new athletic pieces guys who are consistent scorers with higher IQ a rim protector or 2--then Melos just a scoring role player like a Paul Pierce. Still a piece but not the man.

There is only one ball and only one Melo.
If some other main guy will come up Melo will take care about it.
He did with Lin and Tyson... He know how it works.

smackeddog wrote:I like that we're all so sure of landing OK4, we've moved on to the problem of whether he can play with Melo! Ha- in my mind, I refuse to even contemplate a future without the number 1 pick!