DJ I agree.

F500ONE wrote:

djsunyc wrote:

newyorknewyork wrote:For all the love Morey gets on here. He traded Gay in order to tank for Wiggins. He was going to trade Lowry for a 2018 draft pick. The Raptors started winning not by design but despite Morey's desire to tank.

It wasn't a master plan that paid off.

(it's ujiri not morey). ainge was ready to ship out pierce but then he got kg and ray. sheed was a knick until ainge got involved there too. luck is always involved with everything.

Masai traded away a Top Pure Scorer Superstar

And that team remains better than us since

Masai traded away Andrea Bargnani and may end up

With a Top 5 pick next near if Phil isn't more diligent

Masai clearly said he was reviewing the whole team systematically

He did exactly what a GM is supposed to do and he executed to near perfection

Masai has had two summers and a full season. Dude has been brilliant in hindsight!!!
Since his hire date thats 19 months. Im sure your now bench marking him to Phil as your "captain obvious" these days.

PHil been on the job 8 months. Also, try to comprehend Phil has had to tear this team down while Masai had more assets to work with. INcludind Bargnani who yielded a 1st round pick!!!
He got a future asset in return. YOur yelling for TALENT NOW and yet he who is the benchmark gave up Bargnani for an unproductive asset of unknown value. When Nalod says "create opportunity" thats what I mean.

I admire the fact he got rid of Gay in such short time.

franco12 wrote:

jrodmc wrote:

franco12 wrote:

fishmike wrote:

SwishAndDish13 wrote:

fishmike wrote:

SwishAndDish13 wrote:

fishmike wrote:

franco12 wrote:Was Felton and Chandler & Woodson that great of a supporting cast?

I keep saying - but if Melo really is this All Star caliber player, even with a collection of misfits, we should be better.

If Melo is so great, who is holding him back? Who is sabotaging him from winning us a few more games?

Is Fisher this bad of a coach? I mean, if Melo really is this great, then you should be able to pull any coach- someone off the street even- and we would win more than 5 games.

If you believe Melo is this great player, deserving of his massive contract, explain how we are so bad.

This is a fair question but I would ask the opposite. 2 years ago Knicks won 54 games and Melo was 3rd in MVP voting. What is Melo doing differently than he did that year? Ironically I think that was Melo's best year in terms of win shares and he also led the league in usage.

So is the problem Melo and building around or does the team just stink?

We've actually never really attempted to build around Melo in his tenure with the Knicks. We basically just try to plug random scraps in and play since we caped ourselves out with the Amare deal and overpaying Tyson. Would have made more sense to eat Melo's first year here rather than set ourselves back another 3-4 years, but that is not what management chose to do.

actually didnt we? Wasnt the 54 win team a build around Melo? You had Melo a bunch of vets and some shooters. That was essentially the type of teams he had in Denver. Good enough to win, be in next the 50 win range but its too easy to defend in the playoffs and Melo isnt consistent enough a shooter to carry a team that way in the post season.

Yes and no. You are right. That team was built around him. However, they basically picked up scraps but they were vets that we could get for next to nothing (except Fat-ton). I was referring to them picking up players that made sense and would be around for more than a year so they could build some chemistry. Looking at that run, I think the backcourt shot 30% or less in the Indy series if my memory is correct. That clearly cost us.

sure... or its another example of Melo failing to elevate the level of play of his teammates

Its funny. I have no problem with taking shots at Melo. His game has holes. But guys here talk about that team like it didnt happen, or say things like it was Jason Kidd's leadership.. he was the real MVP. He played a nice role. Know how many shots he in 12 playoff games? 3. Dude made 3 baskets.

When the teams win its the team. When they lose its MElo. You might want to write that down.

This is the thing about Melo that bugs me. That 54 win team? I watched it. I kept pinching myself because for the last decade we've been a joke.

But I'm trying to understand the difference between that team and the one we have now.

I thought we overachieved- and Jason Kidd was en fuego at the start of the season, and then plummeted.

This year, I think we're underachieving. OK - we shouldn't have 20 wins - but we have 5.

I think the biggest hole in Melo's game is leadership, and I'm beginning to think he is a negative leadership player - where guys not only don't want to play with him, they don't want to play well with him and want to fail just to drag him down.

This. All dumb pro athletes make this a priority in their careers when playing with people they don't like. Other GM's in the league and Phil will certainly notice this as a great trait to have as an NBA professional. I'm beginning to think THJr is going 0-8 from three just because he doesn't want to play on the see-saw with $124MMeee-low. If Melo was just more likable, I'm sure Dalembert would be Bill Russell by now.

WTF are you beginning to think this is, playground time in the third grade?

If Melo is a prick, is it other people's fault for not liking him?

Hey- I'm not a Melo hater. Maybe Melo just rubs some people the wrong way. I'm like that - some people don't understand my humor and I can be a rude speak my mouth bastard.

But I think people at work like me.

At this stage of the season, I think its fair to ask- is Melo a prick and generally unlikeable? Do we need to surround him with other pricks that don't give a blank about getting along with people.

Does Melo want to win? Or does he only care about getting paid?

With 5 wins, we can provide excuses.

But is Melo buying into the system? Or just trying to float on by?

No, obviously Melo wants to lose. He must positively love losing, mis-answering the same questions over and over, saying the same dumb things that the astounding geniuses who populate this board would never say if they had 40 mics shoved in their all-too-intelligent faces after logging more minutes than almost anyone in a league they wouldn't make as underpaid dancers or ballboys.

He plays through injuries instead of sitting every 4 games because he wants to be an overhyped electronic media cartoon for a losing franchise on the biggest stage on the planet. Don't all dopey atheletes want that?

He scores at nearly a 50% clip and gets 5 or 6 assists here and there and logs steals and blocks only because he's an overpaid douche who's singlehandedly destroying professional basketball with his ability to only purely score.

Does Melo know that he would get paid even more if he wins? Does Melo even realize that?

Winning will change everything. I have to believe it's going to turn around, just like it has before. The only other alternative is to whine and beyatch and moan ****inously for the next 5 years.

Or root for Brooklyn.

F500ONE wrote:

djsunyc wrote:

newyorknewyork wrote:For all the love Morey gets on here. He traded Gay in order to tank for Wiggins. He was going to trade Lowry for a 2018 draft pick. The Raptors started winning not by design but despite Morey's desire to tank.

It wasn't a master plan that paid off.

(it's ujiri not morey). ainge was ready to ship out pierce but then he got kg and ray. sheed was a knick until ainge got involved there too. luck is always involved with everything.

Masai traded away a Top Pure Scorer Superstar

And that team remains better than us since

Masai traded away Andrea Bargnani and may end up

With a Top 5 pick next near if Phil isn't more diligent

Masai clearly said he was reviewing the whole team systematically

He did exactly what a GM is supposed to do and he executed to near perfection

Yea he did what he was suppose to do. None of which was anything special. Gay wasn't a superstar. Superstars don't get dumped twice in there prime for a roll of nickles. His route was the easy route in which he has an organization willing to wait and stay parient. Any GM can come in and sell sell sell if there is O expectations to win.

Moving Bargs was a no brainer which he was lucky to find a trade partner like the Knicks with CAA ties who pushed it on Dolan. Or he would have had to buy him out or amnesty him. If Phil was hired earlier then that would have been the case.

If the Knicks OK the deal for Lowry, they arent in the situation they are in now.