MeloDrama 6.5: The Prelude

[giantsx6]

The last Carl prophesy took 2 days to fullfill so this one is still in the incubation period.

[Jay10]

Ken Berger ‏@KBergCBS 27s

Knicks not fully eliminated from Pau Gasol chase, source says. But they're far behind Bulls, OKC and Lakers. Spurs on periphery.

Did Carl f*ck us? Did he? Is that what you're saying?

[tweet]https://twitter.com/mcten/status/486571399889162242[/tweet]

who's telling the truth?

[LJ4pointplay]

You're right, it's possible. I just don't see them agreeing to take on both Lin and STAT, but yes it could happen.

Also, how much room are we left with if we're adding J-Rich's salary to the books?

I don't know. Unsure if we would have any. I assume if we are only clearing Amare (and not Bargs) the plan is to have use of the non taxpaper MLE.

Gotcha, we're on the same page then.

What I was speaking of earlier was the idea of clearing both STAT and Bargs, and getting LeBron. It'd be nearly impossible to pull off, unless HOU can find another taker for Lin, or we can find another taker for Amare, or PHI takes both without us adding any salary. And then we'd still have to trade Bargs too.

Yeah, I think it depends on how badly we want to clear the space. If LeBron is on the table we can clear 33 million off the cap in one trade with Sixers.. we give them THJ, Shump, Early, Larkin, whoever they want to make it work and whatever future picks they want. For LeBron, I'm sure management would give Philly anything they wanted.


We could clear more space if needed through a buy out with JR (I think). I believe that if JR agrees to the buy out then the reduction in what we owe him post-buy out is not counted against the cap. JR can take a look around the league at what other SGs are getting paid and might jump on the opportunity to agree to a buy-out.. maybe even for pennies.

[Lord Commander]

Marc Berman ‏@NYPost_Berman 1m

Phil Jackson is in gym here at Clark High in Vegas for summer league practice but not speaking.

That old mofo is up to something sinister.

[kane]

I still say melo holding out has nothing to do with lebron or bosh he just wants to keep pressure on Phil to keep making moves so next year isn't just a throw away season

If melo were to go to Miami he would have to take the paycut the heat are expecting bosh to take, and is the even a guarantee winning team? You could argue that it's a worse lineup then last years team witch almost got swept out of the finales

[god shammgod]

Al Iannazzone ‏@Al_Iannazzone 1m

Phil Jackson just left the gym in Vegas without speaking to the media.

[MKCATL]

Al Iannazzone ‏@Al_Iannazzone 1m

Phil Jackson just left the gym in Vegas without speaking to the media.

This is insane

[K_ick_God]

RR is crazy but not completely crazy.

The Knicks are not looking to shop Amar'e and Bargs, IF they are, to clear room for Gasol. It's for who you think it is.

And if that's the case, then maybe Melo heard something from the horse's mouth.

Would also explain why Melo hasn't agreed -- don't know what is needed for LeBron to fit in.

[suicidedeuce]

July 8, 2014 | 01:04 PM ET Update

The source says the Knicks are also trying to move Andrea Bargnani and his $11.5 million salary in an effort to create cap space to make a run at free agents this summer. ESPN.com
Rumors tagsNew York Knicks, Trade, Andrea Bargnani

- See more at: http://hoopshype.com/rumors.htm#sthash.VsHlBRhj.dpuf

See what I'm say'in son?
You don't understand the science!!!
The fundamental principals...

Well if true, the Knicks are going for LeBron.

That just cites the same ESPN report about Stat and Bargnani. It doesn't further corroborate, it just repeats it.

[Johnny Hoops]

I don't get this whole pressure thing. Like Phil Jackson and Riley are going to try and NOT improve the roster unless you force them to. If that is a legitimate thought in any of these guy's heads, they should be checked into an asylum.

Yep. Phil and Melo already met several times and Phil has probably known for a while what it takes to retain Melo. Either Melo told him (a long time before free agency) or Phil just read between the lines. Ain't that difficult. Especially for someone like Phil. He's pretty good when it comes to psychology.

i don't think Phil's harassing Melo either but at some point he'll probably take action if he thinks Melo will leave the team.At this point, I still think Melo's taking his time and he's having the experience he wanted (free agency).

July moratorium ends tomorrow (july 9th) and the new numbers (salary cap, luxury tax level, max salaries per years of service, etc.) will be released by the league. As soon as thursday, players can sign contracts officially.

There's a possibility Lebron, Melo and co are waiting for the exact salary cap number to know exactly how much room under the cap the Heat (and other teams) can clear. The league released projections in april but maybe the players think one or two million more can make a big difference for them and taht's why they're waiting for the exact number. I don't know. Just an idea.

Wouldn't it make sense for the CAP #s to be set prior to the damn start of free agency?

I mean I know the date for signing contracts is the 10th but what about the 10 days of toture between the 1st and 10th of July.

[F N 11]

http://instagram.com/p/qLCIxsNO75/



Something to laugh at with all this madness going on.


Sent from my iPhone using RealGM Forums

[liknicks7]

I still say melo holding out has nothing to do with lebron or bosh he just wants to keep pressure on Phil to keep making moves so next year isn't just a throw away season

If melo were to go to Miami he would have to take the paycut the heat are expecting bosh to take, and is the even a guarantee winning team? You could argue that it's a worse lineup then last years team witch almost got swept out of the finales

Melo is way better than Bosh and fits better with Lebron. I honestly can't think of 2 players better suited for each other. That being said, with a broken down Wade, they need alot more help than just McRoberts and Ray Allen. They just dont have enough size.

[BugginOut]

Not sure why people think Bron would value Melo much more highly than Bosh.

Bron knows they're about the same age, and that Melo was on a bad team taking a lot of shots, staying in rhythm all the time. Add in that you have to openly dis a guy you won 2 titles with, and who has sacrificed his game, and pay BOTH Melo and Wade much less than they'd have to take with Bosh/Wade ... all for the Heat to get smaller upfront with less inside game ....

And I'll have to say I don't buy the Heat thing either.

The only thing that would make some sense to me, besides Melo waiting for attention/roster improvement/etc., is the Bulls but not at 15. With a S&T maybe. But it doesn't really make sense that Leon wouldn't already have gotten that going. Time's awasting and yet no media reports on Bulls-Knicks talks for S&T.

Bron has been friends with Melo since highschool and any non bias fan knows Melo>>>>>>>>Bosh.

Bosh also always felt like the odd man out in Miami. Wade and Lebron were always palling around like best friends, and Bosh was just there, but he was never fully embraced IMO

He's friends with Bosh too, and even if he wasn't, I think it's a questionable basketball move. Melo >>>> Bosh on a bad team. Melo means dissing Bosh publicly in a big way. Melo means getting smaller. Melo means pay cuts for Melo and Wade. It makes little sense.

No Melo>>>Bosh Regardless

Only on Real GM can you take a 16/6/1 player and replace him with a 28/8/3 player and get worse. Yeah Melo can't play center, but put him at PF and he can do anything Bosh can do, but better. Including on Defense.

Also if Lebron is really running the show he isn't thinking logically he is just thinking he needs to get the players he thinks are better and the Heat will accommodate his every demand. Same way he basically forced the Heat to pick Napier for no reason.

But in all actuality I don't think Melo is going to the Heat.

[K_ick_God]

July 8, 2014 | 01:04 PM ET Update

The source says the Knicks are also trying to move Andrea Bargnani and his $11.5 million salary in an effort to create cap space to make a run at free agents this summer. ESPN.com
Rumors tagsNew York Knicks, Trade, Andrea Bargnani

- See more at: http://hoopshype.com/rumors.htm#sthash.VsHlBRhj.dpuf

See what I'm say'in son?
You don't understand the science!!!
The fundamental principals...

Well if true, the Knicks are going for LeBron.

That just cites the same ESPN report about Stat and Bargnani. It doesn't further corroborate, it just repeats it.

Well this is the first I've seen of any report saying the Knicks are looking to move both guys.

[Capn'O]

Al Iannazzone ‏@Al_Iannazzone 1m

Phil Jackson just left the gym in Vegas without speaking to the media.

Something big is up. That's for damn sure.

[knickabocker88]

The last Carl prophesy took 2 days to fullfill so this one is still in the incubation period.

Buffy

[Capn'O]

PMFJB?

[moocow007]

This is probably representative of the mental state of half the board

[Starksfor3]

I want to be cryogenically frozen until all this is over.

[JohnStarksTheDunk]

I don't know. Unsure if we would have any. I assume if we are only clearing Amare (and not Bargs) the plan is to have use of the non taxpaper MLE.

Gotcha, we're on the same page then.

What I was speaking of earlier was the idea of clearing both STAT and Bargs, and getting LeBron. It'd be nearly impossible to pull off, unless HOU can find another taker for Lin, or we can find another taker for Amare, or PHI takes both without us adding any salary. And then we'd still have to trade Bargs too.

Yeah, I think it depends on how badly we want to clear the space. If LeBron is on the table we can clear 33 million off the cap in one trade with Sixers.. we give them THJ, Shump, Early, Larkin, whoever they want to make it work and whatever future picks they want. For LeBron, I'm sure management would give Philly anything they wanted.


We could clear more space if needed through a buy out with JR (I think). I believe that if JR agrees to the buy out then the reduction in what we owe him post-buy out is not counted against the cap. JR can take a look around the league at what other SGs are getting paid and might jump on the opportunity to agree to a buy-out.. maybe even for pennies.

Yeah, in this hypothetical I guess it doesn't matter where Bosh ends up or whether they are trying to move Lin to PHI. We could (and would) simply offer more to PHI to take on Bargs and STAT than what HOU would be offering them to take on Lin.