Carmelo Anthony

[crimson_stallion]

Carmelo Anthony....

1.) is 31 years old
2.) is not enough for a Knicks team with Porzingis, Afflalo, Lopez, Derrick Williams and Phil Jackson to make the 8th seed when they're all healthy
3.) has a no trade kicker in his contract that will increase his salary way past his production
4.) will not make us title contenders
5.) will cost a lot of assets
6.) is married to someone who wants him to live in NYC
7.) also wants to live in NYC
8.) is unable to attract other FAs to New York of all places, so it's very unlikely to think he will do it in Boston
9.) sells tickets for the Knicks while allowing them to tank and bank assets like Porzingis

2) Porzingis is a rookie, and everybody else in that list is a mediocre role player at best.  That Knicks team is so painfully lacking in talent that I was expecting them to be a bottom 3 team this year - they have massively exceeded my expectations, and I put that down to Porzingis exceeding expectations, and Melo being Melo. 

4) I strongly disagree that Melo wouldn't make us title contenders.  Put Melo at PF with Amir Johnson, Jae Crowder, Avery Bradley and Isaiah Thomas - you have an almost certain  contender. That's probably better than any team Melo has played on since he came to NY. Melo is one of maybe 10 guys in the league who is so good offensively that he would instantly make Thomas a #2 option.

[crimson_stallion]

Here we go with the "Melo to the Celtics" thread of the month. Phil Jackson in his right mind (and that's always debatable) should jump at the chance to get, for example, Marcus Smart and a high pick for Melo. That would jump start their rebuilding process.  It would also set back the Celtics rebuilding by many years.

I would do that deal 10 times over.   

Smart is a nice player, but he is NEVER going to be as good as Melo is right now at 31 years of age. 

21 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists - Smart is never going to put up stat lines like that.

You can quote me on that 5 years from now if I'm wrong, but I am very confident that I won't be.  Smart has talent and a lot of upside, but he doesn't have 'franchise player' superstar upside and I'd question whether he even has all-star upside. 

Melo has been a franchise player his entire career.  He came to New York when Amare was averaging 25 and 10, and Amare stepped down to take the #2 role. That's how good Melo is. Smart will never be that good.

There is not a single asset on this roster that i would not consider including in a trade if it got Melo here - the toughest ones would be Thomas and the Brooklyn pick, but I'd still consider it.   

[D Dub]

Carmelo is a much different fish than Dwight.   

AB, Kelly, Rozier, Lee + the 2017 BKL pick and we take back Calderons salary.   That ought to be enough to keep IT, Smart Jae and the 16 lotto pick off the table.

[Monkhouse]

Here we go with the "Melo to the Celtics" thread of the month. Phil Jackson in his right mind (and that's always debatable) should jump at the chance to get, for example, Marcus Smart and a high pick for Melo. That would jump start their rebuilding process.  It would also set back the Celtics rebuilding by many years.

I would do that deal 10 times over.   

Smart is a nice player, but he is NEVER going to be as good as Melo is right now at 31 years of age. 

21 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists - Smart is never going to put up stat lines like that.

You can quote me on that 5 years from now if I'm wrong, but I am very confident that I won't be.  Smart has talent and a lot of upside, but he doesn't have 'franchise player' superstar upside and I'd question whether he even has all-star upside. 

Melo has been a franchise player his entire career.  He came to New York when Amare was averaging 25 and 10, and Amare stepped down to take the #2 role. That's how good Melo is. Smart will never be that good.

There is not a single asset on this roster that i would not consider including in a trade if it got Melo here - the toughest ones would be Thomas and the Brooklyn pick, but I'd still consider it.

Something about Smart tells me, he's going to have an fantastic career, and I can certainly see plenty of All-Defensive, and even maybe one Allstar.

Hes got the hustle and right mentality that you need in a glue guy. Yes hes no superstar, but I can see him having such a huge impact. I would give up Smart for Melo, but it would be very tough for me to stomach. I just love his impact and intensity on the floor. Smart has also switched and guarded Melo, and hes done a pretty darn good job.

But the idea of an offense centered around IT, Melo, and Crowder makes me drool.

Could we possibly even add Durant? I would die in heaven.

3 offensive players that can score, go to guys, and great passers for their position. Brad Stevens would have a field day with that lol. 

[crimson_stallion]

I feel exactly the same way.

I really like Smart a lot, and I have always liked guys like him who work hard, play hard, and give it their 110% every night.  I really appreciate that, which is why I've always been a (seemingly one of the few) big supporter of Avery Bradley.

But if  the opportunity arises to grab a fish as big a Melo, and it takes including Smart in a trade to do that, then sorry kid but I have to let you go.

There is honestly nobody from the 2014 draft that I WOULDN'T trade for Melo with the exception of Wiggins, and even then I'd have to think long and hard about it.

Even from this year's draft - I would trade anybody not named 'Towns' or  and 'Porzingis' if it meant getting Melo.

Getting a superstar is hard.  Doesn't matter if it's through trades, through free agency, or through the draft, getting a superstar is REALLY hard. 

Hell, even getting a 30 year old Superstar is hard.  You need to work your butt off to build the right assets, and you also need a good portion of luck to go with it.  Ainge knows how lucky he was to get a 30 year old Ray and KG here in 08. 

Smart is a nice player, but he's not even a starter right now and while he might become a star, he may just as easily become a bust.  He's an unknown at the end of the day, and if giving him up means bringing back a legit superstar, then IMHO you have to do it.

It would be painful to do, but you just can't say no to that. 

[byennie]

The problem is simple. Carmelo isn't a superstar. In fact, our own Isaiah Thomas has been a better player this year.

Isaiah Thomas is 26 and outscoring Carmelo in 2 fewer minutes per game.
Beats him by 3 points (56% to 53%) in true shooting percentage.
Has a better offensive rating (112 to 106) and defensive (105 to 106).
Shoots more free throws and gets more steals.
Rebounds + assists, a slight edge to Carmelo.
Win shares: 6.3 to 4.0 (Thomas)

So I ask you, if Carmelo is going to be a superstar at ages 32+, then Thomas must be a superstar for the coming years at 27+?

27 year old Carmelo might have been a superstar, depending on how much you care about defense and efficiency... signing up for his 32-35 years? Not a great bet if you pay for more than an above average starter.

[Endless Paradise]

Absolutely overrated. Abuses star status to take 20 shots a game(good or bad)

Makes how much?? If I were the fans I would be booing him on a nightly basis

The idiot in this is phil Jackson for signing him to a ridiculous deal.  Prob the only one mistake Phil Jackson has made in the NBA period


Luckily they drafted porzingis for the future

****, spoken like someone who hasn't even bothered to watch Melo and the Knicks this year.

[jmen788]

Here's two trades that I'd offer up to New York:

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=j8hatld

Boston In: Melo

New York In: Lee, JJ, Sullinger, Young, Brooklyn 2016 1st, Dallas 2016 1st, Boston 2018 1st

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=hah7hop

Boston In: Melo, Lopez

New York In: Lee, Johnson, JJ, Sullinger, Young, Brooklyn 2016 1st, Dallas 2016 1st, Boston 2018 1st

Personally, I'd probably due either of these deals, because Lopez would be a nice, defensive big to have at a reasonable rate through his prime. However, I'd prefer the first deal, because then we could possibly still afford a Durant/Horford type this offseason to go along with it. So we'd have:

PG: IT, Smart
SG: Bradley, Hunter
SF: Crowder, Turner
PF: Melo, KO
C: Amir, Zeller

That addition right there actually cures probably 80% of our problems, because it gives us A) another go-to scorer, B) a closer, and C) even more spacing for IT to penetrate. We also don't lose much in rebounding and defense, too, because Melo has always been an above average rebounder.

Now, if we'd add Durant to that core, too? Wow. Here's what we'd have:

PG: IT, Smart
SG: Crowder, Bradley (I did this switch to counter Lebron and the other wings we'd face)
SF: Durant, FA (perhaps Turner at a decent price?)
PF: Melo, KO
C: Amir (unless he had to be dropped to get Durant), Zeller/Mickey

That's a ridiculous lineup right there, and if we could somehow pull off a trade for Melo, it's not all that far-fetched. Could someone check the money? I think we'd still be able to get Durant in this scenario, though I don't know what that means for Amir's non-guaranteed contract.

Just... wow. So glad you're not our GM.

[jpotter33]

Here's two trades that I'd offer up to New York:

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=j8hatld

Boston In: Melo

New York In: Lee, JJ, Sullinger, Young, Brooklyn 2016 1st, Dallas 2016 1st, Boston 2018 1st

http://espn.go.com/nba/tradeMachine?tradeId=hah7hop

Boston In: Melo, Lopez

New York In: Lee, Johnson, JJ, Sullinger, Young, Brooklyn 2016 1st, Dallas 2016 1st, Boston 2018 1st

Personally, I'd probably due either of these deals, because Lopez would be a nice, defensive big to have at a reasonable rate through his prime. However, I'd prefer the first deal, because then we could possibly still afford a Durant/Horford type this offseason to go along with it. So we'd have:

PG: IT, Smart
SG: Bradley, Hunter
SF: Crowder, Turner
PF: Melo, KO
C: Amir, Zeller

That addition right there actually cures probably 80% of our problems, because it gives us A) another go-to scorer, B) a closer, and C) even more spacing for IT to penetrate. We also don't lose much in rebounding and defense, too, because Melo has always been an above average rebounder.

Now, if we'd add Durant to that core, too? Wow. Here's what we'd have:

PG: IT, Smart
SG: Crowder, Bradley (I did this switch to counter Lebron and the other wings we'd face)
SF: Durant, FA (perhaps Turner at a decent price?)
PF: Melo, KO
C: Amir (unless he had to be dropped to get Durant), Zeller/Mickey

That's a ridiculous lineup right there, and if we could somehow pull off a trade for Melo, it's not all that far-fetched. Could someone check the money? I think we'd still be able to get Durant in this scenario, though I don't know what that means for Amir's non-guaranteed contract.

Just... wow. So glad you're not our GM.

[mctyson]

http://m.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/knicks/isola-carmelo-knicks-trade-article-1.2519555?utm_content=buffer57aa7&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=NYDNSports+Twitter

I have a hard time seeing Phil and the Knicks trading melo to the Celtics but we have the assets that they would want. I can see ainge loving the idea of getting melo here. Then brining in gasol or horford and really going for it.

How about this:

OKC gets:  Melo

NYK gets:  Ibaka, Waiters, Cameron Payne

NY pairs a promising young PG with Zinger and assumes only 1 year of an Ibaka tryout.  Waiters comes off the books and they have more money to lure in a younger FA to build a long-term nucleus.

OKC gets Melo for the last 2-3 years of his prime.  Durant and Westbrook stay.  Those 3 can definitely give GSW a scare.