The sports world is abuzz with the news that ‘melo is coming to the Knicks. Many fans are excited and believe the Knicks are now contenders in the east.
I never wanted this trade to happen.
Carmelo is a great fit for the Dantoni system, but if NY ever wants to get out of the east, he’s not the superstar they need. This trade sets the Knicks up to be second round fodder for the elite eastern teams (Boston, Miami, Chicago/Orlando). The Dantoni system (get rid of it immediately) is the root of the problem, but I’ll just discuss the trade.
Neither Carmelo or Amare play winning basketball. Carmelo and Amare are both in the top five of points scored per game this season, but scoring is highly-overrated. “Points Scored” is one of the easiest statistics to calculate and is the metric we use to separate the losers and winners of each game.
Unfortunately, great “scorers” and great “players” are not one and the same.
Both Amare and Carmelo are mediocre-to-poor defenders and underachieve in the rebound department (given their size and athletic ability). Their defensive shortcomings will only be exacerbated in the Dantoni “we-don’t-care-about-defense” system. Passing isn’t high on the priority list of either superstar. Carmelo, in particular, is a black hole on the basketball court.
People are comparing the Dwayne Wade/Lebron James duo to the new pairing of Carmelo and Amare. ‘Two Great Players on both teams’ is what many in the sports world are saying.
Amare/Carmelo isn’t even in the same stratosphere as the Miami dynamic duo.
Like Carmelo, Lebron and D-wade are prolific scorers. Where Carmelo falls short is his aversion to passing—both Wade and Lebron have averaged 4+ assists for their careers;’Melo has averaged less than two— and defense.
Passing, defense, and rebounding are cornerstones of championship teams. The Knicks are missing it in spades.
To be clear, I did NOT think the Knicks had a chance at a title this year. The Knicks’ roster Pre-Carmelo was not going to get past the 2nd round of the playoffs. I preferred the previous roster because it left a lot more room for sign, trade, and draft flexibility in the present and future.
I’m not the only one who doesn’t like the Carmelo Trade:
http://dberri.wordpress.com/2011/02/21/quick-thoughts-on-the-melo-trade/
The Knicks have just committed an estimated 90 million dollars over the next couple of years to Amare and Carmelo. With the Collective Bargaining Agreement expiring, we don’t know what changes to the salary cap system will be instituted. “Franchise” tags could be added and the salary cap could be greatly reduced. The Knicks are also considerably less likely to land a ‘third’ star after committing so much of their cap space to Carmelo. Rumor is the Knicks prefer Derron Williams over Chris Paul in 2012 (Williams was just traded to the NJ Nets today).
If the Knicks discover that they can’t win a title with the new dynamic duo, Carmelo (big contract) and Amare (Big Contract, Balky Knees) could be difficult, if not impossible, to trade.
It’s possible that Carmelo changes his game and starts playing team-oriented basketball, so all hope isn’t lost.
I’m a Knick Fan, so I hope this deal works out for Knicks Nation.