Alternate History: What if Carmelo and LeBron switched places?

[PistolPeteJR]

Another interesting one would be Steph and Harden switching draft positions

Presti wouldn’t have the clout he has now if he was known for the guy who traded Stephen Curry away.

Ah but does the "Steph has no ankles" discount extension encourage OKC to keep the squad together? I don't know enough about the cap at the time to say

Maybe. Harden rejected a four-year, $55mil offer, and Steph accepted a four-year, $44mil extension.

Imagine how we view Durant and Westbrook if this happens.

[NO-KG-AI]

Imagine if Carmelo is drafted in 2002 or 2004 and doesn’t get to live off the idea that he and LeBron are kind of close, and are rivals ir something

[tsherkin]

Imagine if Carmelo is drafted in 2002 or 2004 and doesn’t get to live off the idea that he and LeBron are kind of close, and are rivals ir something

Melo's entire reputation came from aesthetic and volume. He was basically his era's version of Dominique Wilkins. Which isn't to say that he was a bad player, but very much worse as an impact player than his reputation might otherwise suggest. Anthony had a fondness for slow-down isolations that took forever, let the defense get set and typically ended in a fadeaway.

I think he might have been better if he'd been drafted in, like, 2012, and played most of his career as an undersized 4 emphasizing the 3 a bit more, the way he did in New York. That version of Melo was actually pretty good. But yeah, he was always super overrated in Denver.

[sp6r=underrated]

Those Nugget teams were loaded 2-12. If you keep the rosters exactly the same year-for-year but the switch it might have been the best fit for Lebron of any supporting cast he had. They win title(s).

My only concerns are Karl is a good coach but he grates and Denver retaining Lebron. The former is solveable. You keep him as long as you can but then ruthlessly can him as the Lakers did with Riley when burnout is reached. The latter is probably unsolveable. I just don't think Lebron spends his entire career in a tiny city with no ties keeping him there. But it does end in titles. Those Denver clubs were very, very strong.

Carmelo probably benefits from this switch as well. Melo getting credit for turning around Denver accentuated his flaws. If he joins a bad team he never gets his stature incorrectly elevated as happened and is willing to develop the skills he didn't in our timeline.

[tsherkin]

Carmelo probably benefits from this switch as well. Melo getting credit for turning around Denver accentuated his flaws. If he joins a bad team he never gets his stature incorrectly elevated as happened and is willing to develop the skills he didn't in our timeline.

Doubt he changes his game going to a bad team and still just bombing away in volume as he did. But surely doesn't get elevated to the same inappropriate level, no doubt. The better scenario for Melo would have probably been going somewhere like Detroit, with an established winning culture where he had to fit in. Probably would have exploded, but given the Melo played for Team USA, he certainly had the capacity to do well in an ensemble cast.

[sp6r=underrated]

Doubt he changes his game going to a bad team and still just bombing away in volume as he did. But surely doesn't get elevated to the same inappropriate level, no doubt.

You're probably right but the behavior of teams is why I think there is a decent chance he changes his game. Melo gunned so much in part because teams incorrectly thought he was carrying Denver. I2f the win total are between 20-30 every year that false perception never gains any traction.

Again you're probably right.

[tsherkin]

You're probably right but the behavior of teams is why I think there is a decent chance he changes his game. Melo gunned so much in part because teams incorrectly thought he was carrying Denver. I2f the win total are between 20-30 every year that false perception never gains any traction.

Again you're probably right.

He was a scorer; that was his whole appeal. Had he gone to a team less well-disposed than Denver, they'd have had even MORE need for him to score, and less in the way of vets who could guide him. So like, in Cleveland, unless we think Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Ricky Davis were going to help develop Melo's mentality, you know what I mean?

But I hear you. There's a chance that under the right circumstances, he might have looked differently. That's why I referenced Detroit. They had a good coach with a good squad which was in contending status (and indeed, won the title his rookie year). Melo also showed numerous times that on good teams with guys he respected, he could at least a little bit limit his game and work inside some structure. Granted, he scored a bunch (relatively) for Team USA, but no one was complaining that he was ball-hogging, or taking too long, we got to see more of his off-ball game, etc.

So I think there was definitely a way for him to fit in more effectively SOMEwhere, it just had to be a better scenario than your average lottery team, you know? He was a good overall player; there's a lot of pushback on him because of the Lebron comparisons and because he was a volume scorer who generally wasn't very inefficient, and perhaps unfairly, because he faced a lot of high-end teams with great defenses in the playoffs who kicked his ass while he struggled, but there are layers to that.

Imagine him, though, playing for the Joe Johnson-era Hawks? That might have gone pretty well. I don't see a draft scenario where that happens, obviously, but just to illustrate the idea. Or I have to wonder what he would have looked like in Phoenix with peak Nash, etc.

[Dr Positivity]

Nuggets win in 2009 if they have Billups.

[EmpireFalls]

Make no mistake LeBron still would’ve left and so would’ve Carmelo.

What’s interesting here is that, regardless of any other events in the timeline, you can bet your bottom dollar LBJ would be “returning home” to play with Joker sometime around 2021, and almost certainly winning multiple titles in the process.

[tsherkin]

Make no mistake LeBron still would’ve left and so would’ve Carmelo.

Would he?

Part of the frustration was 7 years flailing around without any real, substantive help. In Denver, he would have had a lot more help far earlier, relatively speaking. Obviously, the conference was much more challenging, so it's possible, but I have to wonder what James would have done with the relative spoils in Denver versus what he had in Cleveland. And what Denver management might have done with a guy like James.