TMS wrote:

GodSaveTheKnicks wrote:If you were Denver management and Melo came to you and said "Trade me. I'm willing to extend with these 5 teams", would you want to take what the Knicks are offering over say what the Nets package would be?

Knicks offer: Chandler/AR/Curry/2nd rounders or Gallo/AR/Curry/2nd rounders

Nets offer: Devin Harris, Favors, 1st rounders

??

Haven't we read multiple times that Denver is not interested in any of the Knicks players?

The only way Denver will trade him to the Knicks is if Melo pretty much says I will only extend with the Knicks. If that's the case....don't we have them by the balls?

that's just it... Melo wants to come to the Knicks... we are his 1st choice... so DEN is in no position to be making obscene demands that would gut our entire roster for him... NJ can offer up every player they have but if Melo won't sign that extension w/them then it's all moot... if NY wants to make a run for the Finals THIS year, then making a reasonable trade offer for Melo makes sense... if they're fine with just waiting out the process & hoping Melo signs as a FA, then they can just stand pat... my guess is Dolan will want to make a run this year, considering we spent the past 2 years just purging bad contracts & setting ourselves up for a run in 2010... i think Amare & Felton have this town excited again for playoff basketball... if u add Melo into the mix, you will start hearing talk of making a run for the Finals, something we haven't been able to talk about for a long, long time.

This is key here, he really wants to play for us, not like those bitches in Miami. They can keep there wannabe state. Good thing is that Amare and Melo are already cool with each other. They are on the same page, have the same desire/motivation to win, and will not let their egos come before the team. It is a nice setup, a little too nice, as if they had planned this with each other before hand...

“Using the word stars, that’s getting to be vogue, because three guys went down to Miami,” said that man, the team president Donnie Walsh. “But I’m not accepting that’s the only way to build a team.”

“It does come down to, how good a team do you have?” (Walsh) said.

The point is not to find a player who can do what James does (which is impossible), but someone who can throttle him in the fourth quarter. Walsh is looking for players who can disrupt Rondo and Pierce on the perimeter and harass Orlando’s Dwight Howard in the paint.

“That’s why all of this year is very important,” Walsh said. “Who do we have on this team right now who can match up with those kind of guys?”

“Derrick McKey was not an All-Star,” Walsh said of the tough-minded forward, “but he could guard every one of them and stop them.”

Walsh added: “I had Mark Jackson. Did he make the All-Star team? No. But we couldn’t have won games without him.”

Most important, they all fit well with Stoudemire. Six Knicks have had at least one 20-point game this season. There are players on the roster who may yet emerge as the second-tier stars the team is seeking.

- Jonathan Abrams, NYT

"Six Knicks have had at least one 20-point game this season."

TMS wrote:

Bippity10 wrote:It's all about team

I'm picturing Amare with a bat and Eddie Curry sitting unsuspecting at the table.

Papabear wrote:

nixluva wrote:

TMS wrote:just to pick everyone's brain who is open to the idea of trading for Melo, how much would you all be willing to give up in a trade? my limit would be 2 players out of Wilson/Gallo/AR along with filler contracts like Curry, Buike, Mason &/or Mozgov, our 2nd round picks & maybe a purchased 1st rounder or cash considerations... that would still leave a very good surrounding cast for Melo & Amare to play with:

C - Turiaf / Mozgov or an Earl Barron-esque type signing for depth
PF - Amare / 1 of Wilson-Gallo-AR
SF - Melo / Williams
SG - Fields / Rautins or Mason
PG - Felton / Douglas

personally i think that's plenty enough to contend for the Finals THIS year, at the very least get past the 1st round of the playoffs... maybe not enough to beat the Lakers just yet, but maybe add another C next year using the MLE & u can stack up pretty well against any team... add Melo & we're very close to becoming a legit title contender IMHO.

Wilson, AR, Curry and picks isn't too much IMO for Melo. I don't think they'd want Gallo, which is why I chose Chan. That kind of deal I would sign up for and I suspect many others wouldn't have a problem with this either. Will Denver cave in to this deal, since the only other option is NJ and Melo prefers NY? I think in the end they'd have to.

Papabear Says

Would Denver trade Mello to any other team in spite of us just because they know Mello wants to come here? In other words to put the screws to us for this season playoff run?

lol, Papabear. I like your posting style.

misterearl wrote:Money Can't Buy You Love

or Chemistry

umynot and oldfan - you both are on it.

This entire slurpfest over Carmelo is driven by amateur GM bed-wetters who are never happy with what they have, and the media, who is always looking to drum up the next juicy headline.

Neither of those two have anything to do with building a championship rotation of complimentary skills. The former is always poring over the next perceived fantasy and the latter is more concerned with making a deadline than any serious effort towards sports journalism. The stone cold truth is the new Knicks don't need Carmelo to grow as a team. He stunts that process by commanding more attention. Carmelo is Al Harrington with a slightly better shooting percentage.

The new Knicks are set at every position except lead guard and center. If Mozgov ever recovers from his jet lag, center becomes less an issue. The next person who dares mention Landry Fields, Gallo or The Mayor in any (cough) "trade package" will face the unbridled wrath of The Answer Man.

Al Harrington has never carried a team, that much is for sure. Melo is a bonafide star and has dealt with that pressure. Their games are similar but OJ Mayo also has a similar game to Kobe Bryant. I don't think anyone is going to get the two confused.

And you criticize "Melo to NY" supporters for not being concerned with building a championship rotation; that "we don't need Carmelo to grow as a team." You mean to tell me that you honestly think that this is a championship caliber team in the making, without upgrades?

scoshin wrote:

OldFan wrote:Denver knows Mello has pressure on him not to become a free agent because he likely loses money with a new agreement or a lock out.

Mello knows that limiting yourself to one team is not the way to get the best possible deal.

It's very unlikely the Knicks are going to get Melo for 50 cents on the dollar.

You do realize that no one gets paid during a lockout, even if Melo signs an extension?

It's not the lockout that Melo fears. It's the possibility that max contracts will be lowered in the new CBA. But several reports, including the one from Ken Berger, have stated that Melo is willing to take that chance and take this all the way to FA. If that's the case, it tells us that going to the team of his choice is more of a priority than getting his extension. Knicks might not be the only team on his list (Bulls are likely there), but we do know that Knicks are at the top of it.

I think more importantly is the opportunity for endorsements that New York presents. Carmelo Anthony, as good as he is, does not have access to the international market as does a LeBron James, Kobe Bryant or even a Tracy McGrady who is still big in China. New York is certainly a stepping stone to that market and the mainstream American sports vernacular. When we were recruiting LeBron, we somehow calculated that he would make in excess of $1 billion from the exposure he'd have here. The difference between that and the next closest competitor (Chicago) was about $250-$300 million, which is no chump change. Carmelo is no LeBron but is a big enough star to be in the vicinity (relatively speaking) of that figure. Whether maximum contracts are reduced or not is questionable. Suffice to say that if it does, Melo will not be hurting for money.

Melo2NYK wrote:

misterearl wrote:Money Can't Buy You Love

or Chemistry

umynot and oldfan - you both are on it.

This entire slurpfest over Carmelo is driven by amateur GM bed-wetters who are never happy with what they have, and the media, who is always looking to drum up the next juicy headline.

Neither of those two have anything to do with building a championship rotation of complimentary skills. The former is always poring over the next perceived fantasy and the latter is more concerned with making a deadline than any serious effort towards sports journalism. The stone cold truth is the new Knicks don't need Carmelo to grow as a team. He stunts that process by commanding more attention. Carmelo is Al Harrington with a slightly better shooting percentage.

The new Knicks are set at every position except lead guard and center. If Mozgov ever recovers from his jet lag, center becomes less an issue. The next person who dares mention Landry Fields, Gallo or The Mayor in any (cough) "trade package" will face the unbridled wrath of The Answer Man.

Al Harrington has never carried a team, that much is for sure. Melo is a bonafide star and has dealt with that pressure. Their games are similar but OJ Mayo also has a similar game to Kobe Bryant. I don't think anyone is going to get the two confused.

And you criticize "Melo to NY" supporters for not being concerned with building a championship rotation; that "we don't need Carmelo to grow as a team." You mean to tell me that you honestly think that this is a championship caliber team in the making, without upgrades?

First we dont really know what we have YET my dude.......

But that being said we do know this....... We are 14-9....... WOW after losing six in a row in first 11
We have won 10 of 11

We are 4th ranked offense in NBA not in East in NBA.....

We know that we are playing as well as I'll say generously 6 teams in NBA....

Mavs Heat Lakers San Antonio and the Celtis have been playing as well or better ball then us!!

We know we can SCORE with anyone in the WORLD!.....

So with what we Know what does Melo offer us?

More scoring? Just doesn't make sense unless its for Chandler AR Walker and Loose ends .....

Then you bring Gallo of Bench as go to guy in relief of Melo Fields and Amare......

Other then that waiting to see what we really need is the smart move...... Melo is just STARFUKCING

I love Melo and His game don't get me wrong and if we had already made trade I would be excited he was here
But the way we are playing it's too HUGE a risk to give up too much to get him is my honest opinion

misterearl wrote:The Godfather

“Using the word stars, that’s getting to be vogue, because three guys went down to Miami,” said that man, the team president Donnie Walsh. “But I’m not accepting that’s the only way to build a team.”

“It does come down to, how good a team do you have?” (Walsh) said.

The point is not to find a player who can do what James does (which is impossible), but someone who can throttle him in the fourth quarter. Walsh is looking for players who can disrupt Rondo and Pierce on the perimeter and harass Orlando’s Dwight Howard in the paint.

“That’s why all of this year is very important,” Walsh said. “Who do we have on this team right now who can match up with those kind of guys?”

“Derrick McKey was not an All-Star,” Walsh said of the tough-minded forward, “but he could guard every one of them and stop them.”

Walsh added: “I had Mark Jackson. Did he make the All-Star team? No. But we couldn’t have won games without him.”

Most important, they all fit well with Stoudemire. Six Knicks have had at least one 20-point game this season. There are players on the roster who may yet emerge as the second-tier stars the team is seeking.

- Jonathan Abrams, NYT

It seems like your defense is rooted in what the Knicks might become and not necessarily what they are. The problem I have with that is the fact that there is little to no certainty in that. How many teams have been burned by the "potential players." Hell, we got one of those types on our team right now: Eddy Curry. We ended up surrending two lottery picks that turned into all-stars (Brandon Roy/LaMarcus Aldridge and Joakim Noah) to get him. I think if your waiting for Gallo/Chandler to become that "second-tier star," I think you'll be sadly mistaken. There hasn't been a European all-star drafted since Pau Gasol in 2001 and that dude was 20-10 by his 3rd season whereas Gallo is struggling to shoot better than 40% from the field. Wilson Chandler is a good role player but he is at his ceiling.

"It seems like your defense is rooted in what the Knicks might become and not necessarily what they are

Nope. My defense is firmly rooted in the present. Does 11 of the last 12 mean anything?

"Wilson Chandler is a good role player but he is at his ceiling."

and you know this how exactly?

The Mayor has improved each year in the league and is still growing.

Carmelo is Al Harrington with a slightly better shooting percentage. He brings no additional defensive tenacity, no rebounding and no additional assists. He does bring a cute wife, high expectations for the press to salivate over and the promise of more manufactured superstar drama.

misterearl wrote:"Al Harrington has never carried a team, that much is for sure. Melo is a bonafide star and has dealt with that pressure."

Melo2NYK - where has Melo carried the Nuggets?There is no pressure in Denver. There is more pressure on airport maintenance people at DIA to keep the runways open so eager skiiers can make their vacation destinations

Carmelo is no savior.

I called him Carmelo Anthony. Not Jesus. Once again, the guy got a 17-65 roster to the playoffs the following year in his rookie season. And he's exponentially better as a ball player today. Unless you've been in a cave the past decade, you should know teams out West have had to post better than a .600 record to even make the playoffs. One to three games is usually all that seperates the 2nd seed from the 8th seed. You don't call that pressure?

On another note, the most productive Al Harrington has ever been in his career came on a Hawks team that was one of the leagues worse. Big difference between what I just described above and what Carmelo is/has been doing for the Nuggets.