Uptown wrote:crzymdups wrote:Rondo is having issues with Rick Carlisle in Dallas. He's unrestricted. And I think he and Melo have always wanted to play together. Maybe it happens? It's a STARPHUCH move, so you know Dolan would be open to it. And supposedly Tobias Harris wants to play with Melo, too and worked out with him all last summer.So going by the "Melo still has juice" theory, maybe something like:
PG Rondo
SG Hardaway / Galloway
SF Melo
PF Tobias Harris
C Karl Anthony Towns
I'd rather spend money on Tobias Harris and Rondo than Monroe. And Towns is the kind of guy who could play for defense and rebounding right off the bat as his offense improves. I'd also be fine with Willie Cauley Stein. Something about Okafor scares me.
I think a player like Rondo pounds the rock too much for a Phil Jackson team. Doubt Phil will even consider him.
Okafor is an offensive beast in the post. His footwork, and skills around the basket are way ahead of anyone in this or last years draft. His defense may not be on par with Towns, but its hard to pass up a talent like Okafor if you have the opp to take him. Okafor is the type of player you would have to game-plan for and his impact on the game is felt. He will command double teams which will open up the floor for his teammates. Towns at this point is a jack of all trades type player who does a little bit of most things, but he may or may nor ever develop into an offensive threat.
I agree Rondo doesn't seem on the surface like a Triangle point guard. But a few things: didn't Rondo play his best in a motion offense moving the ball to a scorer very much like Melo in Paul Pierce? And if Melo loudly says he wants to play with Rondo (as he has in previous summers) is Phil really going to have the juice to overrule him? It will be interesting to see if Melo tries to take team-building into his own hands - like he has before. Things like the Lin decision, bringing in Bargnani (CAA, allowed Melo to not play PF, led to Grunwald stepping down) say that Melo has had a say in personnel decisions here. I think when the chips are down this summer, Dolan is gonna try to make Melo happy and we may see him overrule Phil. I also don't totally buy that Rondo would be a bad fit in the Triangle. He's a top notch passer. Dolan is going to want a name. Melo is going to want a star to play with. We know LMA and Marc Gasol ain't coming. I think if Melo wants Rondo, Dolan will press Phil to do it or else present a very good alternative.
Okafor scares me for some reason. I guess the Greg Oden thing. And the Embiid thing. It seems like draft guys try to tell us there's a once in a generation big man coming along every few years and they rarely seem to pan out. My major draft preference is for D'Angelo Russell. Anyway. Just spitballing on a boring Wednesday.
