How long would Jahlil and Melo cross timelines though? I think somebody is going to be crazy enough to trade for him after next season (no-trade clause in play, but is he in NY for anything other than $?
The no-trade clause is there because he doesn't want to get dealt to the Kings or some ****, but he'd absolutely go to the Mavericks if Cuban throws everything he has now in the trash, even the Lakers in spite of the fact that that probably wouldn't meld well with Julius Randle.
I understand that argument but thats is just the absolute wrong mindset to take with this team, which is what I was trying to get at. The Knicks didnt sign Carmelo this summer so we can try and dump him and his salary on the Mavericks, the Knicks signed Carmelo Anthony because Phil Jackson believes it is possible to build a championship team around Carmelo Anthony and the triangle offense, so the Knicks should be looking to acquire players that best suit both Carmelo and the triangle.
Instead of thinking, "Well how long will Melo and Jahil really even have to put up with each other before we can dump Melo on somebody else." We should be thinking "Which one of these players not only has the kind of (2-way) skill set that could make him a legitimate franchise player for us in the triangle offense. But also, which player can be the kind of player who would not only mesh with a player like Carmelo (who is here for the long haul) but also enhance Carmelo's game as much as possible so we can get the absolute best out of him (which we all know can be great), while also getting the best out of himself."
To me that player is D'Angelo Russell. I also acknowledge that I think Towns would be a great option for us. As I think him and Melo would fit better in the offense together than Melo and Jahil would because Towns is more athletic, a better passer, has floor spacing ability, and is not as ball dominant as Okafor is. PLUS (a major plus) Towns is a phenomenal rim protector who will only get better in that regard, which is practically a must for a team built around Carmelo.
I just think that as important as it is for the Knicks to find a center to fit this roster, and Towns would more than fit the bill and play well with Carmelo, I think it is of even greater importance for us to find a franchise point guard who fits the triangle and would make Carmelo a better player. While I can see Towns and Melo meshing together, I dont see Towns actually making Melo a better player like I see Russell doing. I also think that the Knicks would have a much easier time in free agency finding a center to start on this team than we would finding a franchise point guard who fits in the triangle the way Russell could. That kind of player may not even truly exist in the NBA outside of Steph Curry. Most elite PGs in the NBA today are more in the John Wall mode that doesnt mesh with the triangle offense. Most of the PGs that fit the triangle mold nowadays are players like Jose Calderon who simply are not talented enough to get the job done. I feel like D'Angelo Russell is molded to fit exactly what the Knicks need in a player/PG right now and he should be available for us to draft.
Anyway Im done with this argument. I said what I have wanted to say and obviously yall know how I feel and yall either agree or you dont.
Thanks everybody for at least attempting to read my essay. I knew from the get go that was going to be a bad one but I really wanted to get everything out there.
Been studying my *** off for the series 7 and my meds will do crazy things to my already hyperactive brain when it comes to the Knickerbockers. I'll try and keep it shorter for yall
EDIT:
It's certainly possible that he will, I just have gleaned nothing other than the cliche quotes after signing that tells me he is tied to New York.
Yeah but you probably buy all of the "Lebron loves Cleveland" propoganda bull **** because he posted some phony *** letter about "Coming Home."
Actions speak louder than words my man. You can try and paint the picture any way you want it, the fact remains that Lebron abandoned Cleveland when they needed him the most and only came back because they struck gold in the lottery a couple of times.
Lebron is a mercenary. He went out of his way on multiple occasions before 2010 to declare that he is not tied to Cleveland and that Celeveland is not the same as Akron. Now, because it serves in his best image, Lebron is all about Northeast Ohio. ***** with that corny *** bull ****.
You could read into quotes all day long. The fact remains that Melo forced his way to NY and showed his loyalty by signing a 5 year contract extention this summer when it probably would have been a lot easier not to.
Sure, you could argue that Melo went and "chased the money." That he doesnt care about the Knicks or NYC. It could of been Team X that offered him the most money and he would of took it. Just happened to be the Knicks on this occasion. Lucky us.
Sure, be like the rest of the world. The unspoken truth of the matter remains that if Melo really wanted to, he could have easily signed a 2 year deal in Chicago or Houston/Dallas (with no state taxes), taken the easy way out by giving himself a better immediate chance at winning a ring, and tried to bank it in with a long term deal with that team in 2015 when they owned his bird rights. Like his buddy Lebron is doing with Cleveland.
The greatest trick Lebron ever pulled was convincing the world that he gives a **** about Cleveland. Or anybody except himself for that matter.
Nope, Melo decided to stay right here, the city that birthed him, the team he forced a trade to, and the fans who have for the most part embraced him. Instead of choosing a team with a better immediate chance of winning a ring for a city he was not tied to, he decided to stay right at home and put his trust into Phil Jackson, a man with 11 championship rings to boot and try his hardest to win a championship in the city he wanted to play for all along. Now Melo will either win a ring with the Knicks or go out fighting to achieve the very goal Patrick Ewing was never able to accomplish before him, but when it is all said and done, I guarantee that New Yorkers will come to appreciate what Carmelo is trying to do right now.
So you could say that he chased the money or that he has never proved his loyalty to New York, but you would simply be wrong to do so. Melo even took a pay cut to set out on this mission, exactly what Phil Jackson asked for him to do, and this will become even more apparent in 2016. So ***** with that whole "Melo has done nothing to prove his loyalty to this city."
Im not going to deny that Melo loves making money, he loves what NY can do for his image, etc. etc. ALL pro athletes do and why should they not? These guys have a 15 year window (tops) to make as much money as they possibly can and try to set themselves up financially for the rest of their lives. They are part of a system that will love them when they are at the top but will spit them out the second they cant do it any more. It is Melo's right to try and make as much money as he possibly can. As it is Lebron's.
It is not that Melo isnt loyal to the Knicks, it is that he is part of a system where loyalty very rarely tends to exist. But as far as professional athlete's loyalty goes, Melo has shown his loyalty to NYC ALOT more than Lebron has to Cleveland, or most athletes have shown to their respective cities for that matter. Maybe its because he loves NY being the hometown kid trying to win for his city, maybe its because he loves what NYC does for his marketing, maybe its because he knows he will be immortalized if he wins for NYC, maybe its some combination of it all, that I do not know. But dont tell me that Melo hasnt shown his loyalty to this city because you read too much into a bunch of bull **** quotes misconstrued by the media and saw that Melo visited with other teams in free agency. Lol. Because if that determines loyalty than no athlete in this history of sports has ever been loyal to a city.
But you are right to say that the most success Melo has had in NY was the one season we lost to the Pacers in the playoffs. But that has nothing to do with loyalty either or even his talent. Melo is not Lebron James, but he has shown on many occasions that if he is surrounded by the right pieces, Melo can be the best player on a winning basketball team. Possibly even a championship team if he is surrounded by the right pieces.
That is what I have been trying to get at all along. Instead of saying the Knicks should draft a player like Okafor because even though his game doesnt mesh well with Carmelo, the Knicks cant win with Melo anyway and he hasnt shown his loyalty to the Knicks before. Say who can the Knicks bring in to win WITH Carmelo? Because Carmelo is an incredible talent who has proven his loyalty to this city. It would be dumb to try and find players to win in spite of Melo when you have him locked up for another 4 years. The Knicks need to make it their goal to build a roster to win around Carmelo Anthony. Because he will be this team's best player for at least another 2-3 more years.
The pieces the Knicks need to put around Melo start with a point guard. The main reason Melo has missed the playoffs for the first time in his professional career these last 2 seasons is because he has had to deal with the worst point guard play in the NBA. Just like team records and quality of PG play have become incredibly correlated over the past couple of seasons, viewing the trajectory of Carmelo Anthony's entire career, the correlation between his most successful seasons on the teams he has played for has been indicated by the quality of PG play around him. The better the PG, the better the Melo. George Karl recently came out and said this and he was dead on. If you want a Carmelo Anthony team to be elite, you need to pair him with an elite floor general.
One writer put it well, I forget who exactly, maybe Chris Herring, but he said that "Melo is at his best when he serves as the tip of the sword, not initiating the offensive direction." Meaning that Melo has a particular skillset and he might be the best at that skillset in the entire NBA. He is an absolutely deadly scorer who can score from anywhere on the court. Melo just might be the deadliest versatile scorer in the NBA today and that skillset of his is not most effective when he is given the ball for too long and/or he is asked to create offense for the rest of the team.
Melo is not like Lebron James in that aspect. However, if Melo is playing with an elite playmaking PG, someone who is at his best setting up offense for the rest of the team (including for Carmelo himself), than Melo is at his best being the "tip of the sword." Somebody who can score the ball from anywhere on the floor and be the dagger of the offense. A team's leading scorer and best offensive weapon but not the player the offense is controlled by. This is not to say Melo isnt a great passer either. Melo is even somebody who if set up in the right position will find his teammates if the offense is already set up and moving. But Melo is not at his best being playmaker. Part of this will be helped out by the triangle offense because there is a lot less standing around like we saw last season, but a major part to the triangle working with Melo in 2015 and beyond will be to find ourselves a PG who can make it happen.
While Melo can score in isolation settings as good or better than anybody in the league right now, isolations are an extremely inefficient form of offense. Phil Jackson has come in with his primary goal being to change that mentality. Giving Melo the ball and asking him to "create" is asking for trouble. Sure, that could sometimes be used to bail you out of a bad possession but the Knicks need to find themselves a point guard who can turn Melo back into that deadly "tip of the sword" like he is and belongs to be utilized. Because when he is put into that type of role, there are few better at it (if any) in the entire NBA, and that is how the Knicks are going to build a championship contender around Carmelo...
Sorry I forgot about the whole keeping it short thing. Next time.
