TripleThreat wrote:EnySpree wrote:we've definitely gotten rid of guys that have agendas. All the guys we have now all expressed a desire to succeed on the court. They ate people that are family oriented and hard workers.I'm very excited.
Phil even set the salaries up in such a way that we can move guys very easily.
When Melo continued to play to make sure he played in the All Star game for his branding, doing so because he knew he had that long term Knicks deal he signed to fall back on, plus his No Trade Clause, did that fit
A) The Knicks "agenda" for winning and it's long term future?
or
B) Melo's own personal agenda?
Also, Melo has a No Trade Clause. Phil Jackson has tried to trade Calderon from the time he traded for him, no one wants him. No one. Of the major free agent signings, Derrick Williams and Aaron Affalo have team options for next year. If Affalo outplays his contract, the Knicks lose a cost controlled wing. Or if he gets hurt, he cashes in and rehabs on the Knicks time and dime. I don't care how much the cap goes up in the future, no team is going to trade for Derrick Williams and his ability to inflict a 5 million cap hit on their team next season unless he's part of a bigger trade scenario needing a salary match.
Giving Affalo a player option is one thing ( given the valuation of wings in the modern NBA marketplace)
Giving one to Derrick Williams really makes no sense at all.
Robin Lopez and O'Quinn can be useful to another team. But moving them guts the Knicks ( who are already thin on the perimeter) and starts them at Square 1 at the pivot position next year, without said draft pick to bank on.
Everyone has a right to their own opinion and on and on and on and politically correct blurb and so forth, but here's what I see.
IF General Grant and/or Zinger break out and fans are cheering MVP for them and they are getting all the press love and companies start to get interested in them and they do the entire "Mark Sanchez Tour Of New York" thing as young players on a team in a giant media market, do you think Melo at all will be pleased? Or will he do as he always has - sulk, coach kill, freeze out other players and use his media cronies to lay down passive aggressive attacks.
Entering his 13th season, Melo has consistently, over the course of his career and over 30K minutes played, simply not cared about defense. When he doesn't care/doesn't try/worries about his branding and another NBA player torches him like a walking turnstile on defense, and then Fisher doesn't bench him, that will continue to do what it always does - sap morale from the team.
Do I hope Zinger and Grant pan out? Yes. Do I hope that Hernangomez guy develops and pans out in the future? Yes.
Do I hope Affalo and Lopez pan out to their expected baselines? Yes
As a pure shot in the dark, do I hope Derrick Williams finds some kind of useful rotation niche and helps this team? Yes ( but it probably won't happen)
But what I won't do is hope for things that time and pressure have established otherwise.
This was a 17 win team last year, with real systematic and administrative problems all along the organization. ( bad owner, first year coach, controversial offense, geriatric rookie team president, etc) Can it be better? Sure, but there was nowhere to go but up from last year.
You can make lemonade out of lemons, you can't however make a five course gourmet meal out of them overnight.
It's not "optimism" if it denies any type of "pragmatism" Then again, some of you just don't care. But then again, we all have a right to an opinion.
I really don't understand what you are trying to say. Your posts are too long and aren't saying anything.
Melo playing in the all star game and in Europe is irrelevant to this post. You're trying to tie it to a player having an agenda and it doesn't make sense.
You ate trying to make a point about the player options of 2 players, but I don't understand why. Whatever you ate trying to say, the players are still moveable. Calderón can't be moved now but maybe he could later on during the season or next off season when he's an expiring.
No one said anything about record or adding the guys are going to be world beaters. I am simply saying I'm excited because of the kind of group we have. No one is talking about wins or anything like that.
