smackeddog wrote:F500ONE wrote:H1AND1 wrote:Splat wrote:H1AND1 wrote:Splat wrote:ANSWER: Luck helps a lot. Knicks need multiple instances of luck. Draft position. Picking a great rookie. Signing some overlooked overseas phenom.But usually, a string of luck happens for those who prepare for luck.
A little bit of luck + $124M Melo probably = better.
Contender? Not likely, unless you believe it is possible to upgrade 4 starter positions to be truly competitive with other top starting units, plus stock the bench with a better group of players.
Most of our roster is truly expendable. Cunning, planning, luck, whatever, all of it has to go pretty amazingly well to replenished the personnel on this team like it needs in the next two years.
Contending in a year or two? No way. However if we get a high pick plus spend wisely on FA's and dump this entire roster next season the team _WILL_ be in a better position. Then they can continue to build on that. Especially if the cap jumps as high as some prognosticators say it will.
Don't think it will happen in a year or two either.
That's why spending dope money on Melo really doesn't add up. The so-called rebuild would more or less come to its theoretical fruition in his final season at best, probably when he is less effective and showing his age.
Melo really was not the right move, but the only answer is to continually upgrade the IQ of this club and compensate for his dull brain.
I completely agree with you. And I also thought the absolute best move was letting Melo walk and/or played hardball with salary and/or signed and traded him.
In "a year or two" with some decent maneuvering the Knicks are probably a middle of the pack playoff team with a chance to continue building around an aging Melo due to the clean cap and increase in cap space forthcoming. With uber luck aka winning the lotto and getting a franchise player plus knocking it out of the park in Free agency with undervalued guys who blow up they can be contenders in that time frame but its not likely. Uber lucky means not likely, generally.
Just think we may have been able to pull off
Gibson-McDermott-pick(s) 1st and 2nd for Melo
We would have been under the Tax
We would have generated a sizable TPE
We would have a 1st in 2016
We would have flex to make a trade for a legit backup PG if necessary
We'd have crazy cap space come 2015 and 2016 pending signings
Bulls weren't interested in trading Taj- they had him at the recruitment meeting. Likely the options were just their rookies, Snell a pick or two and some salary. I would still have considered that, but the problem with the complete rebuild is no pick next season.
Of course they didn't have interest
Because they wanted Melo to choose without a S&T and make a sacrifice
But had Melo demanded his money from Chicago in a S&T
Bulls would have to be open to some of things we would want
Maybe not everything but core pieces for sure
As far as pics goes that's why I mentioned snagging a 2016 pick from them
Therefore we'd have our 2015, 2016[Bulls], our 2017 1st round picks