NardDogNation wrote:WP76 wrote:Popovich players are unselfish, disciplined and committed to defense. "Pop" wouldn't touch Melo with the proverbial ten foot pole.
...he seemed to have no objection to Melo or his play when they were on the Olympic team together. In fact, he seemed willing to build the team's entire offense around Melo and his prowess.
Renting an apartment during college for a few months in the summer time.
Versus
Buying a house when you are married with kids, factoring in how close the parents/grandparents are, where work is located for commute, where the kids are going to go to school and the quality of the neighborhood and city for them to grow up in for good development.
Things you are going to overlook or tolerate or just avoid when you only have to commit for a few months.
If you are there for possibly 40 years, then you have to think hard about that neighborhood, those schools, how you treat your neighbors, how they are going to treat you.
Melo is a cap max aging power forward who refuses to play defense and team basketball. His skill set is not so extreme (i.e. like a prime George Mikan or an Oscar Robertson) where he can be this kind of selfish player and have his talent overwhelm the negative tradeoffs he brings to the table. You can't win a ring without defense. You cannot defend without defending the rim and you cannot defend without a couple of solid wings who can move with elite athleticism and cut off passes on the perimeter with length. These needs cost money, cap space and assets.
It's virtually impossible to build a contender with Melo given what he does and what he refuses to do, within a practical resource management perspective on what is needed to win defensively in this league. If he was an elite pivot or wing who could defend the rim or enforce the wing, and in his prime, that would be a different story.
Can a team with Olympic Melo? WHO WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO WIN ON A TEAM FULL OF HALL OF FAMERS, ALL NBA GUYS, ALL STARS, WHERE THE GUYS CUT OFF THE TEAM WOULD ALMOST INSTANTLY BE THE BEST PLAYER ON MOST OTHER INTERNATIONAL TEAMS. You could dig up Smush Parker and he'd have the time of his life PLAYING NEXT TO HALL OF FAMERS.
The US Olympic team is LIKE PLAYING A VIDEO GAME ON GOD MODE.
Yes, if you could CHERRY PICK the best players on the ENTIRE PLANET, sure , you could build a contender around Melo. Where cap space is not a concern. Long term attrition is not a concern. Injuries are mostly not a concern ( you just pick someone else for the team or use an alternate)
You could build a contender with Byron Mullens if he was surrounded by a nominal US Olympic team.
You could build a contender with Brian Scalabrine if he was surrounded by a nominal US Olympic team.
You could build a contender with Tom Tolbert if he was surrounded by a nominal US Olympic team.
You could build a contender with Smush Parker if he was surrounded by a nominal US Olympic team.
You could build a contender with Zac Efron if he was surrounded by a nominal US Olympic team.
You could build a contender with some adopted 9 year old that Angelina Jolie picked up from some war torn orphanage if he was surrounded by a nominal US Olympic team.
You could build a contender with a non human being if it was surrounded by a nominal US Olympic team. You could literally put a jersey on a goat, and surround him with four HOF bound US players and they'd crush every other team anyway.
No one built a team around Melo. What happened was a coach realized he wasn't going to change an hero ball iso Joe shotjacker from being exactly that, so just let him score and let the other four guys worry about all the other stuff needed to win that Melo is too lazy to do.
Melo won't even put in the half hearted effort to try to close out a shooter during a game. There are times he won't even bother to RAISE HIS HANDS IN THE AIR to even make the token appearance to defend a shot going up. And he's gonna listen to Poppovich?
CP3 and Melo keep playing kiss up and best friend in the press because Leon Rose, their mutual agent, decides that's the way it should be.
When someone sticks mic in CP3's face and says, do you think Melo is a great player, a guy who could really push a team over the top, what is he supposed to say? What do you say when you see an ugly baby of a friend or coworker or even a relative and they ask you if it's cute or not? You gonna tell them it's a butt ugly baby with a face that could stop a clock?
Have you ever seen a goat go to work? They rent out goats to clear out brush and other areas. They just tether them and let them eat and go to town and eventually they can clear an entire area in days. Goats are relentless. They will chew through anything.
Think about that. A GOAT WITH A JERSEY ON WILL WORK HARDER THAN CARMELO ANTHONY AT THEIR RESPECTIVE JOBS. And Gregg Poppovich is going to want that on his roster?
6/3/2017 11:03 AM
