fishmike wrote:these threads crack me up. Its constantly two different arguements.The guys who want to trade for Melo constantly argue how much better Melo is than Gallo/AR or whoever else would get lumped in a trade.
The guys who dont want to trade for Melo are simply stating now isnt the time to trade for him.
The absolute BEST (and plausable) possible scenario IMO for the Knicks is Gallo, AR, Douglas and Mosgov all play well, get better, stay healthy and are high end rotation players. we clear out cap space next year by letting the one expiring guys walk, sing Melo to the max, Felton had a very good year running SSOL and our uptempo Knicks (Suns) team for 2011 is
Felton, Carmello, Gallo, Amare, Mosgov, AR, Douglas, Fields as our 8 man rotation next year.
PG Felton
SF Melo 6'8
SF Gallo 6'11
PF Amare 6'10
C Mosgov 7'1
bench AR 6'11, Douglas, Fields 6'8
You coming at teams 8 deep with size and skill on both ends. You can stiffle teams with matchups and size on both ends.
This type of line up how you challenge for a title. 2 all stars surrounded by high caliber size and skill and versatile players.
That'd be great Fish -- I'd love to get Melo w/o giving up any talent although I think there are a few factors at play here which make me feel that's not possible:
(1) There's no guarantee Melo will simply wait out the year in Denver to become a FA, in fact I'd say that scenario's very unlikely at this point. There's the potential for a lot of distraction in Denver for Melo now, ever since he refused to sign that contract extension. How does he go back there at this point??? How will he be received by the fans out there now? Not too good I would think. You know that's on his mind..DEN's fans know he turned down an extension to stay -- he's basically as good as gone or so it would seem. The cat's out of the bag and has been for weeks. In fact I think that's why Melo's reps have come out now and asked Denver to step it up and trade him to either the Bulls or the Knicks by the start of training camp (being reported on ESPN as seen on hoopshype today). So there it is -- Melo's trying to force Denver's hand..Chris Broussard's reporting he won't sign in Jersey but the Bulls are still a big possiblity if NY either won't trade for him or Denver refuses to accomodate him by sending him to NY, his preferred destination. No guarantee he just waits around an entire season for NY. I never felt that would happen..Totally different situation than LeBron's and the two shouldn't be compared. LeBron kept his fans (his hometown fans who many thought he would never desert) in the dark and guessing the whole year---Melo obviously wants out now)...I think he feels he's gonna need to do something here and quick.
(2) The new CBA rumors -- depending on what you believe (it's still all speculation at this point), Melo stands to lose a lot of money with this new CBA pact which rumor has it will be much more owner-friendly. Another big factor which tells me he's eager to get something done ASAP even if he's forced to go with his 2nd choice if push came to shove.
(3) Speaking of his 2nd choice, as Knick fans do we really want this guy going to the friggin' Chicago Bulls?!? I don't want to see that. Rose, Boozer, now Carmelo Anthony? Man, that'd be some squad (I personally think Chicago is nuts if they let Joakim Noah stand in the way of them acquiring Carmelo Anthony, but that's me). As good as some of these other Eastern Conference teams are like Orlando, Chicago (as presently constructed), Miami is the only team that really scares you if you're the Knicks. I think it's safe to say that they're the premiere team now in the East...We'll have to come up with a squad that can eventually stand toe to toe with that club somewhere along the way -- I think adding Melo greatly improves our chances..As of right now, I honestly believe we upped the talent level to the point where we can compete with some of these 2nd tier EC teams..You put Melo on Chicago though, that tips the scale in their favor and instead of worrying about Miami we'll be worrying about 2 EC powerhouses. The last thing I would want to see for the next 5+ years is the Bulls going up against the Heat every year for a trip to the Finals with the rest of the EC on the outside looking in..
Based on these 3 factors alone, I feel he won't make it to free agency, maybe not even to the trading deadline. He'll be signed to an extension and immediately traded at some point soon imo. The only questions now are WHEN, to WHERE and WHAT KIND OF EFFECT IT HAS ON US.
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I like what we have. I really do. Nobody wants to see how this unit gels together more than I do..But I think we have to seriously consider bringing Melo here to team up with Amar'e and let those two headline/anchor a squad that pushes Miami IMMEDIATELY. Even if it means surrendering Gallinari (who I don't rate as high as Anthony Randolph btw--between the two if it came down to it I'd rather hang onto AR), a player at a position we would upgrade instantly in a big way with Anthony anyway, as good as Gallo is and might be one day (I don't ever see Danilo Gallinari being as good as Carmelo Anthony, sorry)...I'm not interested in gutting our whole team to get this guy, never was..I agree that makes zero sense. But when you consider the above 3 factors, there's a little urgency to go get this guy now I feel. TMS mentioned it on another thread recently and I mentioned the same thing weeks ago -- as soon as we brought Amar'e in as the centerpiece the clock started ticking. We signed this guy for 5 years...Here's hoping he remains at top form for the entire length of the contract... You know what, he very well may -- he's in fantastic shape and all injuries appear to be well behind him, but 5 yrs. at top performance is a lot to ask. We really need to evaluate some things -- what Miami did to set the bar so high, what we plan to do to level the playing field, what will be available to us within the next couple of years to do so (tell me who we could get that would make for a better option to play alongside Amar'e within the next couple of years than Carmelo Anthony right now) and how long a window we'll have with our new top player..Gallo, Chandler and a 2014 #1 is a trade idea I've stuck by and still maintain is something that's good for the team. DEN gets a pretty good package right there all considering (if NJ's really out of it, I think NY could put together a better package than CHI using Gallo as a centerpiece -- I like Gallo a lot better than Noah myself, and I'm not just saying that because he's our guy -- I feel Gallinari is a better player than Noah with more upside-----what's Chicago really believe they have there with Noah anyway? Amar'e Stoudemire? Chris Bosh? Great rebounder, big, hard-nosed, good defender and a good competitor but come on man, seriously. Is this guy a top big man in the league? I don't see it. You can make a case that he's not even as good a big as guys a step below Amar'e & Bosh like the Al Horfords, the David Lees...How 'bout the next tier -- is Joakim Noah a better player than than Nene?? I mean the dude barely has an offensive game..
Think about it for a sec. ----> Amar'e, Melo, Randolph, Ray Felton plus another 6-8 deep in quality role players. That's a really strong club right there with a lot of firepower..To me that club closes the gap with our top competitor considerably...Under normal cercumstances I'd say yeah, let's be patient and see what we have here first..But not when Miami just assembled the team that they did..Not when a difference maker like Carmelo Anthony is available and may only be for a short time and not when he could very well end up in Chicago..I LOVE what we have right now and desperately want to see how it works together---it pains me to even write this but here's hoping that rumored Knick offer of Gallo, Chandler and a 2014 #1 is still on the table...
9/22/2010 11:54 AM