Frankly, I'd trade everything not named Amar'e to land Melo because the model for team-building in the NBA has changed. It's a lop-sided deal in that case, but I can find players who are just as good as Landry Fields or Gallo or Mosgov or Chandler or Felton. If you compare that to Anthony, the only scorer like him that's come out since he was drafted is Kevin Durant. Add that to the fact that he's only 26, and that opens at least a 4-5 year window for the Knicks to compete in until Amar'e's done. These days, you put the 2 or 3 superstars together and let the role-players follow. The Lakers did this unsuccessfully in 2004 with Kobe and Shaq, but since then, Boston, LA and Miami have used this formula successfully and this is what the NBA is moving towards.

Denver hasn't said yes to this package, but if you have to give up Gallo, Curry, Chandler, Felton, and Anthony Randolph for a first-rounder plus you get Billups in return, you have a starting lineup that looks like this...

Billups
Fields
Anthony
Amar'e
Mozgov

Add that to Williams, Walker, Ronnie Turiaf, Toney Douglas, and then assume the Knicks bring in Earl Barron as reported, and that's a pretty good team without even considering what you get back in filler. Yeah, it could use a backup point guard and it needs help with a defensive center assuming that Mozgov doesn't pan out next year, but those are the same problems we have now anyway and the lineup with Melo is better.

Just the way I feel.

I know some of you haters wil not get it but
I truly think Gallo us the 3rd star we talk about.

GoNyGoNyGo wrote:For me it comes down to no Gallo. Keep him and get Melo then I am happy. Otherwise I say no.

Just the way I feel.

I know some of you haters wil not get it but
I truly think Gallo us the 3rd star we talk about.

I agree 100%

y2zipper wrote:

GoNyGoNyGo wrote:For me it comes down to no Gallo. Keep him and get Melo then I am happy. Otherwise I say no.

Just the way I feel.

I know some of you haters wil not get it but
I truly think Gallo us the 3rd star we talk about.

I don't understand the love for Gallo. I mean, I understand it because I like Gallo as much as the next Knicks fan, but to me this wreaks of people believing that David Lee and Amar'e were the same player and we all know that's not true. Gallo's a good player, but if letting him go is the difference between getting Melo and not getting Melo, I let him go.

Its not the same

Davis Lee was drafted as a rebound specialist who developed a nice offensive game.
Was 30th pick
Amare was top 10 pick straight out of HS with unlimited potential
Which he reached!

Gallo was drafted as a slashing big ban who can shoot it!
Gallo has proven to be a good offensive threat,
A an above average defender.
Clutch
And has a very high BB IQ at 22 mind you.

Lee was drafted at 22

nixluva wrote:That's the conclusion I finally came to. As much as I like Gallo, you can't let him be what stands between adding an Elite player to pair with Amar'e. Teams will have issues dealing with both Amar'e and Melo on D. We'll always have some kind of mismatch going on. Our role players will be wide open all game. Since this team is predicated on trying to win using a highly efficient offense, you will enhance the teams ability to do that for the full 48 minutes.

The more weapons you put in this offense the tougher it gets to defend. We've been hard to stop with inconsistent guys like Chandler and Gallo and now we'd be relying on guys that get it done every night. That's the big difference between avg. players and stars. Also the fact that stars can raise their game to another level in the big moments. STAT shows up in crunchtime as he leads the league in 4th qtr scoring. Now we'd adding another guy that can give us an edge in games when it counts.

JUST GET IT DONE!!!!

You can't finalize your assessment on two years of NBA experience unless you are a Labron coming into NBA and thats an objective answer. To compare it to amare and melo who have ample of experience is just not objective. I am not disagreeing with the skills each side already have and what the current knicks still have to go just giving a objective perspective.

technomaster wrote:I've enjoyed the Knicks team this year so far... but at this time I'm for the trade framework that's been publicized.
Simply put - Amare's 28. While he's been amazing this year, there's a bit of an age gap to Gallo/Chandler/Fields - and we could be waiting 3-4 years for those guys to really develop (if they indeed truly have star upside). Amare will be 31-32 then. No telling how effective a player that relies so heavily on his athleticism will age. (not even taking into account the history of his knees!)

Best to lock in the 2nd bonafide star NOW. Even if he doesn't work out... I'll still respect the Knicks for trying... (beside, we could always trade him again if it's not working...)

If the trade happens it happens. After all this is Jim Dolan's team and I do agree to some extent regarding concerns about the age of the current star player. It concerns me how Dolan is handling the matter but hey it's his team.

This man is coming back soon, if he isn't back already.