How much would you give up for Carmelo Anthony?

[Beat LA]

Not interested.  It's clear by now that he cannot change his style of play this late in his career, and we don't want an iso-only player, who has never been a playmaker.  Everything just stops when he gets the ball, and he always seemed like a bully and a punk to me on the court, so, no, lol.  Those of you who love Melo should be even more appreciative of Paul Pierce, imo, who could play with and without the ball.  He adapted to any style of play, and that's something that Melo seems unwilling to do, or maybe he just can't.  No, if we want a go-to guy, maybe we could get Joe Johnson in 2 years.  Yes, he'll be older, but, like Pierce, his game will age very well, and if we're only a piece or two away from being a contender, then I'd say go for it, but that's very unlikely, unfortunately.  Sigh.  Say what you will for JJ, but at least he's not only an excellent passer, but setting up his teammates has always been one of his strengths (unlike Melo, who seems to view it as a chore), and he can play the pg, sg, and sf positions.  Sorry for getting off topic.

[LarBrd33]

I know he's the least favorite player of a lot of you guys... But he's an elite go-to scorer who up until recently had made the playoffs every single year he was in the league.  He's signed on for 5 years making 22-27 mil a year.  He's struggling with the triangle, but still effective.  The Knicks have lost 7 in a row.   Also, there was a weird vibe about him re-signing with the Knicks.  It was almost suggested that he was signing with them for now, but he'd find a new destination later.  Almost made me think that his tenure in New York wasn't permanent.    Then again, the Knicks have cap space to build around Melo next year so I doubt they'd move him.  Nonetheless...

Here's the hypothetical:

On December 15, Phil Jackson sends out a memo to every team in the league.  The Knicks are rebuilding.  Melo will be traded at the end of the week to the team that sends the best offer.  They want expiring contracts, young prospects and draft picks.  Also, they'd be happy for you to take Jose Calderon's salary off their hands as well (7 mil a year for 3 years).

Please submit your blind bid.   

I don't know that we want a player that will stop the ball. Looks like for all his elite play I do not think he fits in with what the Cs are trying to do. The kind of money he controls can be better spent elsewhere.

Ummmm...

I'm a huge fan and hater of Melo. But don't say hes an black hole on offense.. He has averaged 3.1 APG his career.. To put in perspective, Pierce has averaged 3.8 and Gay who everyone seems slightly high on to sign in FA hasn't eclipsed anywhere 3...

Melo has no scorers on the Knicks.. A duo of Amare and Melo was supposed to dominate.. Melo on any given day is ago to guy who has never played with a great pass first PG, can rebound well for his position, (6.5,) and can at least score 20 PPG. He can take the tough shots.. Melo has never had a team as good as '08 Celtics... If you replaced Melo with Pierce, I think we would've still won... Melo is excellent at scoring...

All we would need is a good defender and 3pt shooter at the 2, a rebounding PF, and a strong defensive Center.

I would do Bass, Green, Smart, choice of KO or Sully and Celtic pick lottery protected, and Nets 16 unprotected. Maybe even two second rounders as a sweetener.

Melo has to take the shots.. No one else on his team can be considered 2nd or 3rd options on teams like OKC or Bulls/Cavs/GSW, etc...

Not a bad offer.  I was thinking something along those lines as well... except I think I'd rather trade Bradley than Smart.  Not sure if they'd do it, though. 

[Csfan1984]

Assuming you are 100% getting Rondo to resign and are getting a good FA center (Jordan) I'd say

Melo and Calderon
For
Green, Wallace, Bass, Smart, Sully, Philly 1st*, Clipper 1st and 1st pick of their choice.

[moiso]

I don't want to do the tiny championship window thing again.  I definitely would not include Smart in the deal.  He could be great for 10 years.  Anthony will be declining when Smart reaches allstar status.

[Eddie20]

Also, they'd be happy for you to take Jose Calderon's salary off their hands as well (7 mil a year for 3 years). 

This is just wrong. He's a very good player at a very modest contract. He's by no means a salary dump.

  He's kind of a pg equivalent of Brandon Bass. Not really underpaid, not really overpaid, a solid but average player.

Calderon is a good pg, definitely better than average. The guy is one of the best shooters in the game and would fit in seamlessly with probably any team in the league when you combine that shooting with his passing and high basketball IQ . He's not a flashy player and this alters the perception of his true worth.

He's quietly put up some insane efficiency numbers over his career:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/players/3989/

Heh... Eddie, I think you missed the point.  Calderon is 33.  In a world where Phil Jackson offers up Melo to the highest bidder, they have zero use for a 33 year old veteran PG.  They'd want youth and picks to build around... not a guy who will be 36 when his contract ends. 

Not all that important.  More interested in what people would give up with for Melo

I understood what you were saying, and it makes sense if the Knicks would want to get picks/young prospects for him based on your scenario. However, you made it sound as if he was a salary dump when he's far from it. Again, based on your scenario the Knicks could get assets for Melo and Calderon, obviously to different degrees, in two separate trades.

Calderon's game hasn't slipped and he's a player that will age well as he's never relied on athleticism. He'll continue to be effective in the next 3 years, health permitting, as he relies on good size for the position, high IQ, very good passing, and excellent shooting.

[Endless Paradise]

For all of Calderon's strengths that you just mentioned, you've overlooked the fact that he's one of the worst defending point guards in the league.  He's above-average at best if you consider the totality of his game.

[TheFlex]

On the topic of him realistically being available, I'd have to think he'd wait at least one more year in order to give Phil a chance to make something happen this offseason. He may be open to moving elsewhere, but staying with New York would obviously be ideal for him.

[gpap]

-Gerald Wallace's contract
-Jeff Green
-Jared Sullinger or Kelly Olynyk
-Avery Bradley
-Brandon Bass

-Future pick (Brooklyn or Clips)

EDIT: Would love to have Melo on our team. Don't agree with the bad rap he gets and is too good a player to never win a title.

[SHAQATTACK]

Not happening.....he is happy with his NY and contract

[Smokeeye123]

Rondo and a Nets pick. We'd probably be like the 4th seed if we did that

[317]

lets pretend were past the time limit where Thorton cant be traded with other players. in that case i will trade him and Wallace to get the salaries close.

i will open it up to way more players if were moving Melo to a 3rd team, otherwise i almost dont even want him.

[Moranis]

Anthony, Calderon

for

Green, Bass, Thornton, Smart, Sullinger, Boston 2015 1st, LAC 1st

[Yoki_IsTheName]

Jeff Green is an obvious choice. I'd start from there. Then maybe a couple of players to make the salaries match and 2 first round picks, one of them being the Clipppers one.

Although... With Rudy Gay playing well, and becoming a free agent next year, I'd probably wait on him and try to sign him first before I go for Melo. I mean he's not Carmelo Anthony, but he could be cheaper and we probably wont have to give much for Gay than we would for Anthony.

[fairweatherfan]

Resigning Carmelo was never about the Knicks being good this year - they knew they'd have to wait out another year until they get Amar'e/Andrea/several other deals off the books.  2015 has been their target for a while now.  They're very unlikely to give up on him this year no matter how bad the team is.

[Boris Badenov]

I'm with LarBrd33 on this one. I think Carmelo's limitations are overstated by many people. By nearly every metric he's improved both his rebounding and defense over the last few years. I think it's fair to say he's an excellent all-around player at this point - and certainly a top 10-15 player in the league. He probably has 2-3 peak years left, so you'd have a short window, but that's the way it was with Ray and KG too.

He'd also pair well with Rondo, who could get him easier looks than he's ever gotten to date. And having an elite scorer addresses the primary drawback with the "keep Rondo" rebuilding strategy.

I have no idea what the Knicks would need in return to be interested, but something like this works:

Green
Wallace
KO
Smart
Young

We might have to throw in a pick or two but that is on paper a heck of a return. You have two lottery talents in Smart and Young, a valuable and young rotation guy in KO, a decent starter in Jeff Green, and maybe another piece or two.

I guess the question is, what other teams would be interested and what could they offer?

And, what else would we have left in the tank in terms of assets? We'd be looking at Sully/Melo/Bradley/Rondo and not much else in terms of talent. Could we flip our remaining picks for the energy/D guys we'd need at C and off the bench?

Bottom line though I think trading for Melo might be our best "quick rebuild" option. I'd be glad to see it happen assuming the price is right.