Post#638 » by GettinitDone » Tue Jan 3, 2017 12:37 pm
The problem I have with Melo is when we were 4 games above .500 and looking like top 3 teams in the East, he was playing what I call "engaged" and "on a mission" and he would do whatever it took to win, whether shooting 20 times or passing 20 times.
But 10 games later, he seems to check out, like he already gave up on the team when 10 games ago he was "on a mission".
The team may be in a funk but so many playoffs teams struggle during the course of a season and they work it out and make noise in the playoffs. Usually the problems can be righted with a few tweaks and adjustments.
Instead of working on righting the course, he seems to check out.
I was a Nugget fan during all of Melo's years there, and I can say 100% that the only season Melo was on a mission consistently for a full season was when they traded for Billups in 2008-09 and ended up making it to WCF.
(btw, I became a Knicks fan because of Lin, not because I followed Melo here)
The problem I have with Melo as a player during his career is he NEVER seems to have a mission for winning a championship, like it is not on his agenda and he seems to have something better to do.
You see championship players like Wade, LeBron, Dirk, Duncan, KG, they seemed to have a sense of mission, they displayed it with their high level of engagement, honest body language/ signals which are almost impossible to fake. They seem to play every possession on both ends with a purpose.
Melo doesn't have it. Too often he seems like he has something else on his mind, like his off court activities (I learned that he has started off the court business endeavors which he takes seriously and he really takes a pride in being a businessman instead of handing it over to his financial team/ manager). The shots that he takes thesedays are like just turnaround heaves that "have a 35-40% chance of going in" but he can't care less whether it was a good shot for the team, as long as he has done playing and "earning" those cheques and playing the regular season games.
Having been a close observer of Melo since his rookie season, I learn that he NEEDS someone who has strong leadership qualities next to him who would take that leadership "pressure" off him and allow him to be "himself". That's why when Billups first came to Nuggets he was able to immediately lock in for the course of a full season. It's why he thrived on Olympics teams, having Coach K, Pop, LeBron and all the strong leaders around him to allow him to be who he is.
---
I think he would only accept a trade to a team to Cavs where he could play with LeBron (strong leader) and have a chance for a championship, or to a team like Clips to play for Doc and with guys like CP3 and Paul Pierce (strong leaders) where they could view him as a difference maker who could push them over the edge.
Wade is his buddy, but I don't think he'd accept trade to Bulls as they are not quite a championship team and Butler and Wade are not exactly strong leaders.
I'd trade Melo to Cavs or Clips for salary flexibilities and draft picks as it's only our chance to unload him. We need someone who approaches the game with right sense of urgency and that sense of mission. KP is that guy. Build around him.
RIP mags
