Add 2013 Melo to these Knicks. Title Contenders?

[Capn'O]

Depends how Melo regarded Brunson but he typically deferred to great guards. His best years were worth Billups and Kidd and Brunson is in that class. But he's also younger. Play off ball and stay in motion and he'd be amazing. Randle has needed to learn to do the same. Both had a tendency to hold the ball for too long but both showed they could adapt with cajoling.

Some people really dislike Melo.

[KnixtapeH20]

Nobody would touch us with Brunson & Melo.... add crazy defenders OG, Mitch, Deuce... 3pt snipers Divo, Bogs

Yall really forget just how unstoppable Melo was and what little talent he played with

[floppymoose]

Non contender
+ Melo
—————————
Non contender

[JustBuzzin]

Melo was a ball stopper. No bueno!

[uncleduck13]

If Melo ain’t willing to acknowledge Brunson as the leader and ain’t willing to be a sidekick then it would just be Jeremy Lin type situation all over again

Agree any success is dependent on Melo and Brunson buying in.

But I can't see a comparison to Linsanity, Jeremy isn't in the same universe as Brunson as a player.

If anything Melo was vindicated with Jeremy, this is a very different proposition.

I’m only making the comparison from a team dynamic standpoint. I think in order for that Knicks team to work, Lin (despite not being a better player than Melo) HAD to be the focal point of the offense…It would be the same today, except you have a guy in Brunson, who is a legitimate star and probably a better player than Melo as well.

Overall, there would have to be a clear hierarchy established…no jealousy, no ego involved.

[AleksandarN]

I am sure thibs would love a non defensive chucker

[KnicksGadfly]

Not the biggest fan of Melo, but I'd think so, with the caveat that Melo understands this is Brunson's team, Brunson gets the ball in crunch time, and Brunson is better.

We were playing great defense with Randle, OG, and Brunson together already. Melo around that time was willing to play d and play within a team concept, probably because the Knicks surrounded him with a bunch of vets that provided the leadership he needed. I think it could work. Also, we have a terrible bench -- our non-Brunson minutes are terrible. Getting Melo out there during those minutes would be great. We'd probably end up benching Bogan and playing Precious more too, in those bench minutes. So something like, Mitch, Precious/OG, Melo, Donte/Hart, McBride.

I feel like that makes us contenders. At the very least, we'd be a lot more dangerous to Boston and we'd have a second option.