Chanel Bomber wrote:Phil Jackson is the one who did us dirty with the NTC. He could have had the foresight to let him go if the NTC was such a deal-breaker for Melo. Giving him that power was a stupid executive decision. But Melo had every right to exercise it once given.
Remember when Melo was signing that contract Phil said he gave him five different options? If I were a betting man I'd guess he was offered:
- 5 years, full value, opt out after year 2
- Less than what he accepted, no NTC
- A shorter contract.
- The one he signed
- Full value but with some mix of team and player options
Just speculation but given Phil's Zen shenanigans those contract differ in ways where which one he chooses provides different information about Melo to him. Which was more his game than, you know, building a good team. But the other point being that I don't think people really understood how much money he left on the table by taking the contract he did. In 2016, Evan Turner, who was trash, signed a 4-yr $70 million deal. If Melo had taken a deal where he opted out then he could have made a lot more going forward. Probably to the tune of 5-10mil annually. But he also liked things guaranteed
The NTC provided some security that he'd control his destiny but he actually left a LOT of money on the table to the point where the Knicks had a TON of cap space in 2017. That was also part of his calculus. What they did with that money was... unfortunate. The NTC didn't really **** us. Phil being a terrible manager did.
Melo's game left a lot to be desired for me but I actually think he really tried to do right by the Knicks and the City. Like Randle, I think it's really hard to build a champion with him but he brought us to respectability.