Baller 24 wrote:That Nuggets team was missing one thing on their team in 2003, and that was scoring. Melo came onto a team that had a starting lineup of Miller, Lenard, Melo, Nene, Camby, pretty damn all around team if you ask me. He came in and did what he had to do, and that was score points.
I heard this argument a lot, and I've seen it several times from you. It sounds good, but there's a reason that the Nuggtes only won 17 games and were in place to draft Anthony in the first place.
Camby averaged 7-7, and missed 50 games. Nothing has really changed in that department since. His numbers are a little better (10-10), but he misses a ton of games every season.
Voshon Lenard was actually added in the same offseason as Carmelo, despite being literally beyond his last legs at that point. Sure he was 30, but his achilles was so beyond repair that he played 3 games the next season before calling it quits. He may have scored 14 points a game, but he did it at a .422 clip and contributed nothing else but turnovers.
Andre Miller was also added that offseason, and he was the only consistent piece alongside Melo. But it's not like he was much more than an above-average point guard. He can't shoot, but he is ball dominant. He's a great playmaker for other players, but he can't get an open shot for himself. If you sit and think about it, there are a lot of point guards who are better than him. He is servicable.
Boykins was an atrocious chucker who fired up the ball every time he touched it. But he was considered a "sparkplug" because you could actually fit him in the engine of your mini cooper.
Obviously the team was having bigger problems than one scorer could fix. They were the worst offensive team in the league. Now, after adding one of the best finishers, they've been making the playoffs with 40-50 wins every season. Nene almost averaged 10-6...
almost. But he also missed 30 games with an injury.
Are you forgetting that the Nuggets have been the most injury-plagued franchise since drafting Carmelo? The next year they added K-Mart from Jersey, who proceeded to miss beaucoup games over the next few seasons with lingering microfracture issues.
While I'm aware that win shares are generally credible, I'm wary of "advanced statistics" and other things you don't really see from watching the games themselves.
To me, Iverson had trouble coexisting with a second option for years in Philly. There was nobody they could bring in to put up enough points or shoot a good enough percentage. Iggy was a high % guard, but was too young to bring volume scoring and was hampered in that respect by Iverson. Webber got his 20/10, but it seems like he was taking 30 shots a night. Stick him in Denver, and they let him be the main facilitator. However he didn't also have to be the #1 option, because Melo is such a great finisher. Voila! You have Iverson putting up ridiculous assist numbers, and his FG% was higher than he could ever dream.
Melos best season as an all around player was 2006, and he played terrific, while even helping his team, his turnovers were lower, and his win shares were a career best. Playing with AI has made all that disappear and he has since turned into hurting his team as much as helping them. But the reason I say the Nuggets are better with AI, is because of his win production, he gives you a solid all around player compared to Melo. If there is a player the Nuggets want to keep, its AI, not Melo. It also shows when Melo has been mentioned in many rumors.
The Nuggets would be stupid to keep Iverson over Carmelo. Don't get me wrong--Iverson was my favorite player until the Heat drafted Wade. But doesn't what you just told me indicate that having Iverson on the team is hurting Carmelo? Every offseason people question whether Iverson is finally going to drop off. Personally, I'll believe it when I see it. But that doesn't mean that you dump a much younger franchise player to get a point guard who could drop off any day. Plus, Iverson's contract is running out. If you had him on the Nuggets without Melo, they would be in much worse shape...why do you think Iverson is having the best production of his career?
They were "shopping" Carmelo because they wanted to see who was available. They had absolutely no intention of trading him. That was just pre-lottery draft hype.
That's just laughable. Monta was putting up this season's numbers in his first year as a full-time starter in his third year out of high school, accomplishing several historic feats this year. IMO he's already a tier 2/top 10 SG, and he's just gonna get better. He's MUCH, MUCH better than a cog in a machine. Just wait till next year.