Knixkik wrote:

F500ONE wrote:

smackeddog wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

smackeddog wrote:

Bonn1997 wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:Put it this way, either I get a haul assets for Melo or I'd be more than happy to keep him.

I feel we can get 2-3 highly valuable drafted players who can help now AND a combination of FA that will help fill out the roster nicely. The one thing I want to keep open is money for a super max contract for 2016 because Im not sure Kevin Durant is all that happy in OKC.

Lets say we draft two really good bigs and a guard sign a really good guard and gives us a foundation of a big 4 with 2 upfront and 2 on the wing. KD may like the opportunity in the east. That would give us two elite scorers from the wing--lets say we have two really good 1.5's and two promising 4/5's ---a few smart smaller moves and were right there.

The freed up $25 mil per season in cap space is the boatload of assets.

Too much cap space is counter productive- no talented FA wants to sign with an empty team- thats why the Sixers can't get any free agent. I'd be all for the cap space IF we had our pick in 2016, but not having that royally screws us.

No talented FA wants to come to a 5 win team either.
Rebuilding a .100 team is a long-term process.

It's how you sell them on turning it around- in the offseason, they can say Phil is here, Melo is here, hopefully the number 1 draft pick is here (which is why it's crucial to win the lottery- not just for talent, but also to sell hope to free agents), plus the prospect of signing multiple good players to accompany them. Thats not going to convince guys like Gasol, but it might win round the 2nd tier guys we're targeting. Take Melo off the team, and you'll scare away even those guys unless you massively overpay them.

yr 1 that got us Jason Smith

We'll see what happens in yr 2

You are talking about no cap space (only a mini-mid level exception) vs 30+ mil in cap space. Not sure why you are comparing the 2. Were players supposed to come here for free last summer? I don't get the point.

Because not even premium MLE/LLE guys signed here but they signed elsewhere

Nor did any prominent player agent leverage a S&T to land here

BRIGGS wrote:

Knixkik wrote:

BRIGGS wrote:Put it this way, either I get a haul assets for Melo or I'd be more than happy to keep him.

I feel we can get 2-3 highly valuable drafted players who can help now AND a combination of FA that will help fill out the roster nicely. The one thing I want to keep open is money for a super max contract for 2016 because Im not sure Kevin Durant is all that happy in OKC.

Lets say we draft two really good bigs and a guard sign a really good guard and gives us a foundation of a big 4 with 2 upfront and 2 on the wing. KD may like the opportunity in the east. That would give us two elite scorers from the wing--lets say we have two really good 1.5's and two promising 4/5's ---a few smart smaller moves and were right there.

We will just end up keeping Melo. And we won't get what we gave up for him simply because we got him at age 26, and he is now 30. He still has great years left, but won't improve as a player. I'm hoping we can eventually surround him with another 2 or 3 capable scorers, so eventually his minutes can be reduced to 32 or so, and he doesn't need to score more than 20-22 per game. Maybe then he will remain fresh, and all of the breaking down talk will go away. Adding Dragic, Okafor or Towns, and Millsap or Monroe will go a long way. Not sure if we have a chance at Durant, but we will see.

I like Melo--I have zero qualms about keeping him. The fact is he was on a playoff team that avg a nearly a ..600 regular season record for 11 straight seasons. I really think he should take car of whatever problem is ailing him. At this pace we have a high probability of getting one of Towns or Okafor and maybe the Knicks can be savvy enough to be able to acquire players like Portis or Kaminsky if they are around 16-18. Chicago has 17 and two picks--perhaps theyd like to shift that to 2018.

Whatever it is--we are going to improve next year-but if it was me--Id make sure the cap space for 2016 is there for KD. Im not one of those people who think this team cant be really good with Melo--hes already proven he can be a main cog and win 54 games here. Its not his fault that we had bad secondary parts.

that would really be a good look.

gunsnewing wrote:

yellowboy90 wrote:He should have surgery go to the all-star game and festivities and recruit. He could arrive in a wheel chair like Donnie did Lebron or be cool and use crutches.

that would really be a good look.

He shouldnt go at all but he can't help himself. His brand dictates that he needs to be there in some capacity

so does the melo "brand" dictate he should play monday too? this brand **** is the biggest nonsense i've ever heard on this site. and that's saying something.