Melo?

[miller31time]

I'm be down for a Porter/Nene for Melo swap (with fillers to be thrown in as necessary).

This team, as currently constructed (and especially after losing our 2014 1st rounder) is headed for a stretch of mediocrity -- maybe worse considering Nene's health issues.

Would acquiring Melo make us a title-contending team? Probably not but it would certainly take us out of mediocrity and we'd be a lot of fun to watch for a while. And you can't underrate how important simply being a good team is. Just by being a 50-win team with 2 superstars (Wall and Melo) and up-in-coming players like Beal, the entire perception of the Wizards being this bottom-feeding team that won't ever be taken seriously is out the door and old news.

I just don't see any way we have a legitimate shot at acquiring him. I don't think NYK bites on that deal and I believe there will be far better offers out there.

I also worry about our ability to retain him.

[hands11]

http://www.monumentalnetwork.com/videos ... -wizknicks

anthony-postgame-wizknicks

[hands11]

There's no way I give up Porter, but I'd give them Ariza, Nene and our 2015 pick.

The guys underrated talent is rebounding. We're a terrible rebounding team right now. Him as a stretch 4 that can rebound would help us so much, and can you imagine a lineup of:

Wall
Beal
Webster
Melo
Gortat

The spacing would simply be ridiculous.

But like everyones saying though--16-17 mill a year--alright lets go, 20-23 mill he's looking for? No way.

He and Amare's contract are just killing that team.

http://hoopshype.com/salaries/new_york.htm

Problem is, does that roster really make sense ?

http://espn.go.com/nba/team/depth/_/nam ... ork-knicks

Chandler and Bargnani ? Thats a lot of money if one is the back up. If not, Bargnani moves to PF and Melo to SF ? And then Amare is a $21,679,893 back up PF or is that Bargnani backing up for 11M ?

Hey, if they can get Amare healthy and playing like he used to and get Chandler back, which they say they will soon, that could be a loaded team. Expensive as balls but loaded. There problem was always injury concerns and Amare's health to return. Not lack of talent.

How would Nene make sense to them? He wouldn't. Trevor A would. It would have to be something like Trevor A, Gortat, Maynor, Booker for Melo and MWP.

Next year we sign Okafor back on the cheap.

NY gets out of Melo walking for nothing or staying for a boat load. I don't know. Melo is a great scorer but I have no interest in playing him $23,410,988 to share the floor as part of a TEAM that has Beal and Wall. We would have to make a separate trade to move Nene and bring back a center with Gortat gone.

It would be a lot of change. Note sure the team is ready to do that without a long term GM inked.

[hands11]

http://espn.go.com/nba/player/stats/_/id/1975/carmelo-anthony

Melo really is just and insane scoring machine. Gotta give him that.

And 7 to 8 FTA a game year after year after year.

Problem is his contract. Melo at 16 or 17M a year, hell yeah. Just get a good coach that can get the most from him.

All this losing with New York should actually be good for him. Its an opportunity to mature.

If Phil Jackson were our coach, I'd be all in for Melo.

He needs a super well respected coach (doesn't have to be Jackson, but could be Coach K, Pops, or even Thibs) who understands how to get guys to buy into a team concept. Melo playing for Woodson (or Witt for that matter) is never going to work.

Wall, Beal, Webby, Melo and Gortat w. adequate filler behind them and Phil Jackson etc. coaching is enough to make you start thinking about competing for the ECFs.

I agree. He is the right age and has not reached his goals. I think they right coach and right team, he would be awesome.

[Dark Faze]

I actually don't think that Melo is all that selfish. I know the stats say otherwise, but if you look at the teams he's been on--they are all pretty much a bunch of chuckers and he's usually the best chucker on the team, so why shouldn't he take most shots? And we see how Nene is--he'll take any excuse he can get to pass the ball out.

Lets look at the Knicks: Who should be taking shots exactly? Nobody is running offense, so options are limited. Pablo Prigioni and Bargs PNR? J.R Smith iso shot? Zombie Amare post play? Tyson Chandler low percentage iso?

The Iverson and Melo nuggets were basically built like those old sixers teams where it was just a bunch of roleplayers and then two scorers.

I still think Melo would probably average 17-18 shots here, but that's a lot better than 22 and the looks will be more efficient.

It's a moot point because it will never happen, but the guys never played with a point guard that can create looks for him.

[Nivek]

I've never bought the basketball "logic" wherein: taking lots of of shots = selfish. I don't agree that Anthony hasn't played with PGs who "create" shots, although that is the case this season.

[Dat2U]

I've never bought the basketball "logic" wherein: taking lots of of shots = selfish. I don't agree that Anthony hasn't played with PGs who "create" shots, although that is the case this season.

I think there's something to this though:

[tweet]https://twitter.com/benchwarmerdan/status/412259616001503232[/tweet]

[tweet]https://twitter.com/benchwarmerdan/status/412263439688429568[/tweet]

When Prigs is on the floor, Melo gets alot more Catch and Shoot opportunities, Which is basically what he does in the Olympics.

Also probably not a coincidence that Melo went into God Mode last April when Pablo was in the starting lineup

I would think Melo would do a lot better with a real distributor like Wall. Playing with a dud like Felton who can't get into the lane and doesn't see the court well has to make Melo's job a lot harder.

[Nivek]

No, I agree that Carmelo could be made more efficient by being placed in a different situation with a true PG -- someone like Wall. Players are more efficient when they're taking shots in the flow of the offense (especially if they're taking more open shots than contested ones) rather than "creating" them. Carmelo would be no different.

[hands11]

Melo cracks starting to form

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/23 ... -Win-There

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/23 ... ves-Knicks

Would he go in a trade ?

Does he wait for the year to end and resign some place for less money ?

Part of the problem is, he isn't worth 21M. Only prime Kobe, Duncan, and LeBron types are worth that.

What he needs is to join a team and be a part of it, in a winning way. He needs to play the role like PP did for the Celtics when they had RA and KG. You can be important and a prime scorer with in the flow of a game where other players still have important roles. That has been Melo's problem. He has to much AI in him. You have to wonder if after this taste of failure and time running out if now would be a great time to get him. He would be way more willing to try something different if it meant winning.

[Wizardspride]

He gets more rebounds, but when he's on the court - NY gets outrebounded by 3%, and when Nene's on the court, Washington is even in rebounding. He gets more rebounds because he's playing with guys like Bargnani who don't rebound. If he replaced Nene, the Wizards rebounding would most likely not improve, the defense would get significantly worse, and the offense would probably be less efficient.

The main issues to me are the money and non-basketball stuff effecting his fit here. First off, I doubt we can afford him without going into the tax. That's not desirable. Second, I seriously doubt he'd except a more limited role as a second banana here. That makes the idea a non-starter. I doubt he'll go somewhere that's not hooking him up like the Knicks are, treating him like a super duper star, giving him a voice in team direction, etc. Getting his wife on board to come here also seems like a long shot, and she seems to be a pretty big part of his decision making process.

You'd be surprised. Fwiw, she did go to college here and still has ties.

[dangermouse]

I dont want Melo either...

But why would his options include the Bulls instead of us?

That just leads me to believe there is some stigma against players coming to DC to be a Wizard, as others have long said but i have ignored.

This team with Melo as a scorer would be great. Championship contender? Maybe when the Miami 3 get broken up. Why can't he see that if a casual fan can see that? Conclusion: he doesnt want to see that because DC isnt a glamorous destination no matter how good we look on paper.

[Dat2U]

I dont want Melo either...

But why would his options include the Bulls instead of us?

That just leads me to believe there is some stigma against players coming to DC to be a Wizard, as others have long said but i have ignored.

This team with Melo as a scorer would be great. Championship contender? Maybe when the Miami 3 get broken up. Why can't he see that if a casual fan can see that? Conclusion: he doesnt want to see that because DC isnt a glamorous destination no matter how good we look on paper.

It probably has nothing to do with DC being glamorous, IMO it's because players, agents and other GMs don't take the Wizards seriously as long as we have a F-level GM and a D-level coach. You get a guy in the organization that other players, GMs and agents around the league respect (and not just like because they can take advantage of him) then it's a different story. Remember this is a front office that would rather throw money & picks at other team's trash than risk free agency. They don't bother with free agency because they know how their viewed around the league. Even now, as we climb the ladder towards mediocrity, were still seen as a 3rd rate organization. That's probably not going to change while Ernie/Witt are still in charge.

[Induveca]

DC isn't viewed as a large city by frequent travelers. It's a small southern vibe city with massive suburbs.

Great place for business, but not exactly enticing for those with extra cash to burn when they have other options.

[Dat2U]

DC isn't viewed as a large city by frequent travelers. It's a small southern vibe city with massive suburbs.

Great place for business, but not exactly enticing for those with extra cash to burn when they have other options.

I'm sorry but I seriously doubt your worldview would sync up with many young basketball players.

Maybe to you, in your own eyes, DC isn't a metropolitan city. I'm sure you've been all over the world and seen examples of great nightlife and a quality of living that DC may not quite live up too, but to many people domestically and internationally, DC is seen as cultural melting pot with an expansive nightlife and endless neighborhoods and activities to explore. For a kid who went to college in Kentucky, Kansas or many other small college towns, DC looks like a metropolis and outside of NY, Miami, LA & possibly Chicago, DC is right there with any major city in America. If cities like Oakland, Dallas & Houston can recruit talent than so could DC.

[Induveca]

Dat, I hear you and agree.

I'm talking about veteran free agents/professionals (Anthony) who have experienced the nightlife/shopping in every nba city for multiple years.

Force me to choose a city in which to live in the US based upon excitement/shopping/single life and it's:

NY
LA
Miami

Now when considering finances in their position I'm looking at 5 NBA cities only.

Miami
Orlando
Houston
Dallas
San Antonio

Why? No state or metropolitan tax. Avoiding a 6-15 percent hit on a 100 million contract would have me avoiding NY and California. Out of those 5 it's Miami or Dallas for me...Houston a close third. Just in Texas wiser to rent a home/lease out of state car to avoid heavy property taxes.

I'm personally not a big Chicago fan, but I see the draw. I'm surprised Golden State doesn't show up on more lists....SF is a wonderful city. I suspect it's the overwhelming tax.

[Kanyewest]

The list has more to do with recent success. Looking at his list closely:

Lakers- won multiple championships
Bulls- recently made it to the conference finals, and made it to the 2nd round without D-Rose
Clippers- not sure how Melo would sign there, but they have CP3

If the Wizards made some noise this season- ie getting to the 2nd round- Anthony would be persuaded to consider the Wizards.

[stevemcqueen1]

Not just Melo you have to sell on D.C. And honestly, I think that would be the easy part. What players want is a job and a chance to win and we'd have to offer that. Max money is about the same here as it is in Chicago or LA.

You have to sell La La Vasquez on D.C., which would be hard IMO. Wouldn't be worth the effort to me. That's why I think Melo will only consider staying in NY or moving to LA.

[verbal8]

Not just Melo you have to sell on D.C. And honestly, I think that would be the easy part. What players want is a job and a chance to win and we'd have to offer that. Max money is about the same here as it is in Chicago or LA.

You have to sell La La Vasquez on D.C., which would be hard IMO. Wouldn't be worth the effort to me. That's why I think Melo will only consider staying in NY or moving to LA.

It definitely looks more like cities than teams on his list to me.

[pancakes3]

I'm sorry but I seriously doubt your worldview would sync up with many young basketball players.

Maybe to you, in your own eyes, DC isn't a metropolitan city. I'm sure you've been all over the world and seen examples of great nightlife and a quality of living that DC may not quite live up too, but to many people domestically and internationally, DC is seen as cultural melting pot with an expansive nightlife and endless neighborhoods and activities to explore. For a kid who went to college in Kentucky, Kansas or many other small college towns, DC looks like a metropolis and outside of NY, Miami, LA & possibly Chicago, DC is right there with any major city in America. If cities like Oakland, Dallas & Houston can recruit talent than so could DC.

Maybe to a 17 year old kid trying to sign to a college or even a kid getting drafted into the league but given even 1 year in the league, every rookie makes the rounds and can see what the nightlife is like for themselves.

[hands11]

DC isn't viewed as a large city by frequent travelers. It's a small southern vibe city with massive suburbs.

Great place for business, but not exactly enticing for those with extra cash to burn when they have other options.

It does ?

I've lived here my entire life. Can't say I've gotten the small southern vibe thing.