MSG3 wrote:

holfresh wrote:
The Knicks have about three years of Amar'e playing at this level to assemble a team around him to make a run at a Championship...I didn't believe it until this year, but watching Amar'e play on a daily basis made me realize he is a special player...Developing players and watching players blossom isn't really an option if the Knicks are serious about making a run for it...The Knicks need a second star if they are going to challenge teams that have multiple stars currently vying for a Championship...I really don't believe it's the system that determines wins, personnel does...A good coach in my opinion implements a system that best utilizes the talents of his personnel...A few big questions needs to be answered is if the Knicks get Carmelo or a player like Carmelo...Will MDA want to adjust his style of play to take advantage of what Carmelo brings to the table...Does MDA want a player with Melo's skills which doesn't suit his system perfectly???..Does the Knicks quickly make coaching changes if the Knicks show the same short comings in the playoffs that Phoenix showed... If no Carmelo then what?...Mind you I was one of many that thought no LeBron in the off season would mean disaster for this franchise..

I really don't think the Knicks have the luxury to play wait and see on how things pan out with developing players beyond this year...The Knicks have a small window as Boston did to get it right...

I agree 100%. If the end game is a ring we must not waste the next 2 years of Amar'e an Felton. Competing for a ring means goin through Miami and Orlando. These wins against SA and PHO were great. But I think we'll see tomorrow against LA how much we need that one more guy.

agreed... even with the way we're playing now, i wouldn't be surprised if we beat the Lakers tomorrow night... the Lakers are scuffling a bit lately & regular season basketball is nowhere near the same kind of intensity that you get during the playoffs... but if we won it won't mean we have no need for players like Melo... i think guys are getting lulled into a false sense of security w/this team w/their recent run of wins over some of the top teams in the NBA... everyone is going to see how different the game becomes when playoffs roll around... it's so much more physical & cutthroat... when things get rough i think a player like Melo would pay dividends... he's proven he can take the contact & still score in spite of teams game planning to try & stop him... just imagine having him & Amare playing together on the same team... that's a nightmare to match up against i don't care who you are.

holfresh wrote:
The Knicks have about three years of Amar'e playing at this level to assemble a team around him to make a run at a Championship...

Three years?! cmon man, Amare's 27 years old. He could be playing for another 8 years at an extremely high level. Fitness and nutrition keep athletes in really good shape for a longer time now. Look at KG, Ray Allen, Steve Nash, Grant Hill... I don't disagree that he needs help eventually, but if it's done right, this could be a multiple-championship team over the next decade.

holfresh wrote:

efw wrote:

holfresh wrote:
The Knicks have about three years of Amar'e playing at this level to assemble a team around him to make a run at a Championship...

Three years?! cmon man, Amare's 27 years old. He could be playing for another 8 years at an extremely high level. Fitness and nutrition keep athletes in really good shape for a longer time now. Look at KG, Ray Allen, Steve Nash, Grant Hill... I don't disagree that he needs help eventually, but if it's done right, this could be a multiple-championship team over the next decade.

This is his ninth year in the league...At some point the mileage on those knees will show up...We can't expect him to play at this level and with this energy for 8 years...I think that's asking alot...Kobe is slowing now...Garnett slowed a few years ago...

slowed perhaps, but I doubt before he's 32 (knock on wood for injuries). But as those guys have showed, you don't have to be young, athletic to dominate the game. If Amare continues to develop his J, maybe a little hook shot and can still block shots and intimidate, he'll be an anchor for a long time.

TMS wrote:if we're only going to target players that perfectly match MDA's system, we should be talking about guys like Mehmet Okur, Andrea Bargnani, Kevin Martin, Kevin Love, etc... but DW's job is not to exclusively target players that 100% perfectly match the system... his job is to target the players that can make this team better... it's the coach's job to put the players he goes out & gets into positions where they can succeed... any coach worth a damn should be able to tailor his system to the personnel he has... if we bring Melo in then MDA is a good enough coach to have no problems incorporating him successfully into his system one way or another... he's way too good of a player to have that difficult a time working out here.

Think back to the disagreement that D'Antoni had with Kerr. Kerr wanted D'Antoni to change the way he played. D'Antoni essentially said no way. Kerr lost his job. Phoenix Basketball has gone downhill since. D'Antoni's system is fragile. 1 selfish player is enough to screw the team chemistry up. D'Antoni will not incorporate Melo into his system "one way or another". I think Donnie knows that before he trades for Melo, he needs to make Mike comfortable that Melo is prepared to play Mike's way.

Apparently you disagree with the way Mike's system works, and are hoping that Donnie will help circumvent the way Mike wants to run the team. I suggest that the reason that Mike chose the Knicks over the Bulls was because the Bulls refused to promise Mike that he could run the team the way he wanted, and he had a lot more confidence that Donnie and he could cooperate with one another. I also suggest you look at the amazing record that Mike has put together this year with a young team not accustomed to playing with each other. Why would you want to change how he does it and also what makes you think that your basketball philosophy is necessarily better than Mikes? Why are Chandler, Amare and Felton all playing dramatically better than they played on previously?

rvwink wrote:

TMS wrote:if we're only going to target players that perfectly match MDA's system, we should be talking about guys like Mehmet Okur, Andrea Bargnani, Kevin Martin, Kevin Love, etc... but DW's job is not to exclusively target players that 100% perfectly match the system... his job is to target the players that can make this team better... it's the coach's job to put the players he goes out & gets into positions where they can succeed... any coach worth a damn should be able to tailor his system to the personnel he has... if we bring Melo in then MDA is a good enough coach to have no problems incorporating him successfully into his system one way or another... he's way too good of a player to have that difficult a time working out here.

Think back to the disagreement that D'Antoni had with Kerr. Kerr wanted D'Antoni to change the way he played. D'Antoni essentially said no way. Kerr lost his job. Phoenix Basketball has gone downhill since. D'Antoni's system is fragile. 1 selfish player is enough to screw the team chemistry up. D'Antoni will not incorporate Melo into his system "one way or another". I think Donnie knows that before he trades for Melo, he needs to make Mike comfortable that Melo is prepared to play Mike's way.

Apparently you disagree with the way Mike's system works, and are hoping that Donnie will help circumvent the way Mike wants to run the team. I suggest that the reason that Mike chose the Knicks over the Bulls was because the Bulls refused to promise Mike that he could run the team the way he wanted, and he had a lot more confidence that Donnie and he could cooperate with one another. I also suggest you look at the amazing record that Mike has put together this year with a young team not accustomed to playing with each other. Why would you want to change how he does it and also what makes you think that your basketball philosophy is necessarily better than Mikes? Why are Chandler, Amare and Felton all playing dramatically better than they played on previously?

why don't you read the post i actually made & understand it before you comment... ur response has absolutely nothing to do with anything i said in my post above.

btw, your own suggestion of Nene doesn't necessarily fit into MDA's classic style of player either... what makes u think your basketball philosophy is any better than MDA's or DW's? or are you arrogant enough to assume that MDA can somehow incorporate Nene into his system seamlessly but can't do the same for Melo?