TripleThreat wrote:nixluva wrote:You keep saying things like this as if it actually has some meaning. The Knicks are not actually building around Melo as the centerpiece. He's a Part of the Core, but he's not going to be the sole focus of the team. That's the entire focus of Phil's philosophy.
1) The Knicks are paying Melo about 40 percent of their total cap space. Forty percent.
FORTY PERCENT.
Imagine your workplace. If you were paid 40 PERCENT of the available funds to cover all salaries, you and your workmates would not all be equal. It would be Nixluva and the Pips. Either you are the most integral person in said workplace, or you have Polaroids of the CEO licking an elephants balls covered in grape jam and are extorting him.
At some litmus point, the salary cap is going to dictate who MUST be the primary player for said franchise, whether they are doing the job or not.
2) Every time Melo has a coach that doesn't give him what he wants or doesn't highlight him as the feature player, said coach gets the boot. To me that says he's the sole focus of the team
3) No one in the franchise holds Melo accountable for his lack of leadership, failures in moving off the ball, poor passing, selfish/carefree defense, lack of conditioning, consistently saying stupid things in the press, poor shot selection. Dude, when you can get away with all that FOR YEARS and make the MOST MONEY, you are clearly the sole focus of the team
4) If there is a player who can actually help the Knicks but has taken the spotlight and attention away from Melo or Melo simply can't act like a leader enough to get along with them, and those players are immediately jettisoned. Then that means Melo is the sole focus of the team
5) When your aging team president isn't putting on his Depends and sipping on some Ensure, is trying to trade everyone on the roster but you, in the offseason, you are sole focus of the team.
As usual, I have no idea what Briggs is talking about. Three games don't wipe out 12 years of history of a player's legacy. I guess it's just Brigg's methodology ( i.e. if a player has a couple of good games, then the Knicks must trade for him and give up future assets for him and give him a gigantic contract or if this college player looks good for a stretch, then he must be the apple of the Knicks eye until the next prospect breaks out. Briggs makes Larry Brown's classic reputation of a short memory and impulsiveness seem almost rational. )
Melo has shown for 12 seasons that Melo does what is best for Melo, or what he thinks is best for him.
If hes playing more team oriented now, more likely he is hurt and not wanting to aggravate his injury or he's faking hurt in a game of wills with Zen Master ( i.e. who can be blamed for this season) and trying not to hurt his branding by trying when he's pumping to the media how he needs to be shut down for the year.
When you sign a FIVE YEAR CONTRACT and you say YOU ARE HURT AND NEED TO BE SHUT DOWN but you SELECTIVELY PLAY in FEATURE GAMES GARNERING A NATIONAL OR INTERNATIONAL AUDIENCE and everyone in the sports world says it's obvious you are waiting to PLAY IN THE ALL STAR GAME for your BRANDING before you shut it down, you are acting like the sole focus. A player like that, if he was really hurt, is risking the next four years of his ability to help his team for nothing other than branding/marketing appeal in his own mind. That kind of move is an act of someone who cares more about being the center of attention/sole focus than thinking about what's best for the team.
