Melo should have went to Chicago

[Melancer46]

It won't happen, but man, it would be hilarious to see Kobe and Melo fight over the ball in an offensive system that's all about sharing the ball. And it would cost the Knicks more draft picks and whatever young assets they can muster together to do it. And on top of that, it still wouldn't fix the fact that they have 2.5 players that play defense on their team. And 2 of that 2.5 come off the bench.

 

[Orangezoo]

Bet chicago is thinking that now with d rose going down with a sprained ankle. That poor kid cant catch a break.

 

[cuseguy]

D Rose meet B Estime.

 

[jordoo]

Chicago could really use Melo.

 

[sufandu]

It's easy for you to tell other people to take $20 - 30 million less. Could you do the same? Does this mean that when your boss comes to you to give you a raise, you turn it down?

I think it is safe to say that Mr. Anthony has a different viewpoint that you do. Titles are nice, and records are lots of fun, but they don't pay the bills. He has maybe 5-7 more years to make $. After that, his career is done, and his earning potential drops considerably. I certainly don't feel sorry for him, but I don't think any less of him for wanting to take care of his family.

Lebron did. Tim Duncan has done it for most of his career too. It's not like anyone is talking about him taking the league minimum (which is still more than most will ever make). The difference between staying with the Knicks and going elsewhere was being extremely wealthy and even more extremely wealthy. The "taking care of his family" line is BS. If he's not a moron, they were taken care of, and then some, with his second contract. He can find a financial adviser with a respected reputation, invest his current earnings conservatively, and make well into the six figures (seven figures is probably more accurate) annually for the rest of his life.

In my chosen field, physical therapy, people choose less money all of the time. I could've made more money straight out of school by working in a nursing home, but I prefer the outpatient setting for a number of reasons, as do many many other clinicians, seeing as there is more competition for outpatient jobs than nursing home jobs, so yes, I could take $20-30 million less if it meant achieving other goals.

If he's in it for the money, that's fine, it's his life. However, if winning a championship is his primary goal, he made a mistake staying with the Knicks.

 

[TheCusian]

Lebron did. Tim Duncan has done it for most of his career too. It's not like anyone is talking about him taking the league minimum (which is still more than most will ever make). The difference between staying with the Knicks and going elsewhere was being extremely wealthy and even more extremely wealthy. The "taking care of his family" line is BS. If he's not a moron, they were taken care of, and then some, with his second contract. He can find a financial adviser with a respected reputation, invest his current earnings conservatively, and make well into the six figures (seven figures is probably more accurate) annually for the rest of his life. In my chosen field, physical therapy, people choose less money all of the time. I could've made more money straight out of school by working in a nursing home, but I prefer the outpatient setting for a number of reasons, as do many many other clinicians, seeing as there is more competition for outpatient jobs than nursing home jobs, so yes, I could take $20-30 million less if it meant achieving other goals. If he's in it for the money, that's fine, it's his life. However, if winning a championship is his primary goal, he made a mistake staying with the Knicks.

Don't have a problem saying his chances would be better. Have a problem saying that they would be that much better. Stuff is a crapshoot. OKC looked like multi-year champs and now it's looking bleak. Chicago was already supposed to have already sniffed one.

I'd say go with the money and trust Phil.

 

[Orangezoo]

Lebron did. Tim Duncan has done it for most of his career too. It's not like anyone is talking about him taking the league minimum (which is still more than most will ever make). The difference between staying with the Knicks and going elsewhere was being extremely wealthy and even more extremely wealthy. The "taking care of his family" line is BS. If he's not a moron, they were taken care of, and then some, with his second contract. He can find a financial adviser with a respected reputation, invest his current earnings conservatively, and make well into the six figures (seven figures is probably more accurate) annually for the rest of his life.

In my chosen field, physical therapy, people choose less money all of the time. I could've made more money straight out of school by working in a nursing home, but I prefer the outpatient setting for a number of reasons, as do many many other clinicians, seeing as there is more competition for outpatient jobs than nursing home jobs, so yes, I could take $20-30 million less if it meant achieving other goals.

If he's in it for the money, that's fine, it's his life. However, if winning a championship is his primary goal, he made a mistake staying with the Knicks.

Well unless you are in the Anthony household this an awfully presumptuous opinion. Its a bit of character assassination as well of melo without support to your theory. Given he surrounds himself with others who value winning and family (lebron a good example) and given half these nba players have no semblance of family life and melo has consistently done so without any sort of expectation like a politician has, i think its highly plausible this was a decision for his family and for himself to try and bring a title to ny and having belief in a guy with a boatload of rings. To say it was all about the money is pure armchair analyst and not fact with evidence to the contrary. Add in the respect among these guys like melo and rose to not bash eachother despite having concerns over things like an anemic offense and rose having not played 2 yrs and being unable to stay healthy (last night validating that hasnt changed).

 

[sufandu]

Well unless you are in the Anthony household this an awfully presumptuous opinion. Its a bit of character assassination as well of melo without support to your theory. Given he surrounds himself with others who value winning and family (lebron a good example) and given half these nba players have no semblance of family life and melo has consistently done so without any sort of expectation like a politician has, i think its highly plausible this was a decision for his family and for himself to try and bring a title to ny and having belief in a guy with a boatload of rings. To say it was all about the money is pure armchair analyst and not fact with evidence to the contrary. Add in the respect among these guys like melo and rose to not bash eachother despite having concerns over things like an anemic offense and rose having not played 2 yrs and being unable to stay healthy (last night validating that hasnt changed).

You're right, it is arm chair analysis, as is everything on this message board. That's the nature of a sports message board. I didn't at any point question his dedication to his family. I'm not sure where you got that. I'd say it's more presumptuous of you to assume half the players in the league have no semblance of a family life. I said his family was financially taken care of by his second contract, and to suggest he required a max contract this time around to do that is silly, considering he's made much more money in his short career than 90% of the population will in their lifetime. That's not presumption, it's math and common sense.

If he chose to stay in NY to try to bring them a title out of a sense of dedication or loyalty (an assumption on your part), that's commendable. However, if that's the case, taking a max contract was contrary to that goal. He could have taken the home town discount like other players have (I gave Lebron and Duncan as examples in my previous post).

In my previous post I didn't specifically mention Chicago. I simply said elsewhere, but since you brought up Rose and Chicago, I'll go with it. Why do so many assume a healthy Rose is necessary to make Chicago a better title contender than NY? They're a good team without him. They had a better record last year without Rose than NY did with Melo, tied for third best in the east. They have a proven coach, not one that is learning on the job. If he goes to Chicago without a healthy Rose they're one of the favorites to win the Eastern conference. If Rose is healthy, they're probably THE favorite in the east. Either way, it's a team better positioned to win now than NY.

Nothing about his decision to stay in NY suggests winning was the primary goal.

 

[sufandu]

Don't have a problem saying his chances would be better. Have a problem saying that they would be that much better. Stuff is a crapshoot. OKC looked like multi-year champs and now it's looking bleak. Chicago was already supposed to have already sniffed one.

I'd say go with the money and trust Phil.

Sure, all of life is a crapshoot. The next charter jet he's on could crash too, but that's no reason to catch a bus. I would say it's less of a crapshoot, however, if you can influence some variables. If winning is the goal, you try to put the odds in your favor. Chicago has been a winning team without Rose. They have one of the current top coaches in the game and team management has been able to put a good team together without their superstar. They win with great defense and lack a top scorer, a hole Melo could've filled. NY has an unproven coach and a President who is one the best coaches ever, but no track record as a President. Was it Phil that put Jordan and Pippen on the Bulls in the 90's or Kobe, Shaq, and Gasol on the Lakers? Nope. He may end up being just as good at running a team as he was at coaching, and Fisher may end up being a great coach, but with the small window Melo has left at his peak, are those the best odds?

 

[Orangezoo]

You're right, it is arm chair analysis, as is everything on this message board. That's the nature of a sports message board. I didn't at any point question his dedication to his family. I'm not sure where you got that. I'd say it's more presumptuous of you to assume half the players in the league have no semblance of a family life. I said his family was financially taken care of by his second contract, and to suggest he required a max contract this time around to do that is silly, considering he's made much more money in his short career than 90% of the population will in their lifetime. That's not presumption, it's math and common sense.

If he chose to stay in NY to try to bring them a title out of a sense of dedication or loyalty (an assumption on your part), that's commendable. However, if that's the case, taking a max contract was contrary to that goal. He could have taken the home town discount like other players have (I gave Lebron and Duncan as examples in my previous post).

In my previous post I didn't specifically mention Chicago. I simply said elsewhere, but since you brought up Rose and Chicago, I'll go with it. Why do so many assume a healthy Rose is necessary to make Chicago a better title contender than NY? They're a good team without him. They had a better record last year without Rose than NY did with Melo, tied for third best in the east. They have a proven coach, not one that is learning on the job. If he goes to Chicago without a healthy Rose they're one of the favorites to win the Eastern conference. If Rose is healthy, they're probably THE favorite in the east. Either way, it's a team better positioned to win now than NY.

Couple of things: as opposed to working off of presumption I actually have several friends who work for or have worked for NBA organizations and therefore the family comment is not out of left field. It is common sense really considering the requirement of these athletes regarding travel and how many young players their are. If melo was 24 and doing this it is a bit different.

The comment was to highlight the fact that melo has not been shy about indicating his family being part of the decision. So it is not quite some wild assumption. In addition, melo has spoken to the media or provided statements to the effect of stating family and winning a title were key in his decision. So if you want to call it bs then you are calling melo a liar vs trying to point to some assumption on my part.

Lebron took a large sum of money and melo didn't take the max. Additionally this was a sum offered to him. If his agent negotiated higher we will never know but once again business is conducted by agents and players and if something is offered I don't care who you are you don't say hey I want less money. Chicago was clearly the biggest contender per many news sources including one very close source I have I am not going to out on a message board. So that is why I brought chicago into the mix.

So when I say assumption on your part I am not off base. And while yes armchair analysis is part of a message board, your opinion is not congruent with what has been published to this point. It is rampant speculation and not as simple as he was not as humble as others like lebron and just took the money.

 

[Knicks411]

One thing I'll say; Duncan was on a max deal like 3 years ago. It's not like he was taking huge discounts his entire career.

 

[sufandu]

Couple of things: as opposed to working off of presumption I actually have several friends who work for or have worked for NBA organizations and therefore the family comment is not out of left field. It is common sense really considering the requirement of these athletes regarding travel and how many young players their are. If melo was 24 and doing this it is a bit different.

The comment was to highlight the fact that melo has not been shy about indicating his family being part of the decision. So it is not quite some wild assumption. In addition, melo has spoken to the media or provided statements to the effect of stating family and winning a title were key in his decision. So if you want to call it bs then you are calling melo a liar vs trying to point to some assumption on my part.

Lebron took a large sum of money and melo didn't take the max. Additionally this was a sum offered to him. If his agent negotiated higher we will never know but once again business is conducted by agents and players and if something is offered I don't care who you are you don't say hey I want less money. Chicago was clearly the biggest contender per many news sources including one very close source I have I am not going to out on a message board. So that is why I brought chicago into the mix.

So when I say assumption on your part I am not off base. And while yes armchair analysis is part of a message board, your opinion is not congruent with what has been published to this point. It is rampant speculation and not as simple as he was not as humble as others like lebron and just took the money.

I acknowledge you probably have more inside information than me considering your connections. I'm assuming then that your friends know half of these players personally that have no semblance of a family life (your statement not mine). Taking $124 million versus $129 million isn't much wiggle room if the goal is winning. It's $1 million per year. Who is NY drawing with that?

"Lebron James took a large sum of money." That's an obvious statement. Everyone in the NBA makes a large sum of money. In his two year contract, Lebron will make less in his highest paid year than Melo will make in his lowest paid year.

Nothing about him staying in NY suggests winning an NBA championship was the priority. He could've gone somewhere else or he could've taken $15 million a year. What he did is fine. It's his life. If he's happy with his decision, whether it be for family or money, that's the important thing. I just won't ever believe he did it with winning as the first priority. When winning is the priority you do this http://www.businessinsider.com/tim-duncan-cut-salary-half-to-keep-spurs-2013-5, and that's a guy that's already won multiple championships.

 

[Orangezoo]

I acknowledge you probably have more inside information than me considering your connections. I'm assuming then that your friends know half of these players personally that have no semblance of a family life (your statement not mine). Taking $124 million versus $129 million isn't much wiggle room if the goal is winning. It's $1 million per year. Who is NY drawing with that?

"Lebron James took a large sum of money." That's an obvious statement. Everyone in the NBA makes a large sum of money. In his two year contract, Lebron will make less in his highest paid year than Melo will make in his lowest paid year.

Nothing about him staying in NY suggests winning an NBA championship was the priority. He could've gone somewhere else or he could've taken $15 million a year. What he did is fine. It's his life. If he's happy with his decision, whether it be for family or money, that's the important thing. I just won't ever believe he did it with winning as the first priority. When winning is the priority you do this http://www.businessinsider.com/tim-duncan-cut-salary-half-to-keep-spurs-2013-5, and that's a guy that's already won multiple championships.

Ok so lets separate the years of frustration with an awful knicks organization from melo's logic in his decision here. On a personal level i think the knicks once again overshot their mark in their offer. How that went down is the part we will never know. With that said... melo staying in ny gives them something theyve not had for a long time which is a star that didnt breakdown or bail immediately.. its a start.

 

[sufandu]

Try and deflect all you want or whatever it is you are trying to do to validate your point but by your analysis its clearly the knicks to chastise here not melo. Obviously i dont know those guys personally but the information about said topic is direct and closer than the opinions formed sitting on my couch. So again you think melo is full of it saying its about family and a title being in ny vs the money.. just say that. Its clearly a lot less time consuming. My opinion is based upon what i know and what ive read. Not from the emotional capital i have toward the knicks organization that has dissapointed me as a fan for too long.

I'm not a Knicks fan. I could care less about them. I don't have a favorite NBA team. How am I deflecting anything? I think I've been pretty clear in stating I think his decision wasn't based on winning. I can't say how much of it was based on family or just liking NYC because I don't know. I do know it was within his power to take more of a pay cut to free up more money to draw other players, if winning was the priority. I posted a link showing that Tim Duncan did it. There are other examples of other players doing it too.

 

[sufandu]

One thing I'll say; Duncan was on a max deal like 3 years ago. It's not like he was taking huge discounts his entire career.

Absolutely true. What's also true is that he had championship rings on his fingers when he took his pay cut. He could've easily said, "I've had got enough of those, time to cash in my final payday," but he didn't.

 

[sufandu]

Ok so lets separate the years of frustration with an awful knicks organization from melo's logic in his decision here. On a personal level i think the knicks once again overshot their mark in their offer. How that went down is the part we will never know. With that said... melo staying in ny gives them something theyve not had for a long time which is a star that didnt breakdown or bail immediately.. its a start.

I don't care so much about the situation from the Knicks point of view. I'd just like to see the best player SU has had since Dave Bing lead a team to an NBA championship, and I don't think he's put himself in the best position to do it. That's where I'm coming from.

 

[SmilinBob]

I thought Phil told him that this year would be difficult but after that some salary cap would be cleared?

 

[Knicks411]

Absolutely true. What's also true is that he had championship rings on his fingers when he took his pay cut. He could've easily said, "I've had got enough of those, time to cash in my final payday," but he didn't.

For sure, I was just responding to the comment that Duncan had been taking paycuts most of his career. Not the case.

 

[MikeSU02]

One thing I'll say; Duncan was on a max deal like 3 years ago. It's not like he was taking huge discounts his entire career.

And he'll be on the Spurs payroll in one form or another until he dies. Legit.

 

[sufandu]

I thought Phil told him that this year would be difficult but after that some salary cap would be cleared?

I think that was what was reported. I guess what has to be considered then is whether Phil can put a better team together than what's already out there. Maybe he can, but there's no track record to go by, so who knows? If Melo was 25, it would make more sense to me to essentially throw away a year. At 30, he's still got time, but at the end of this contract he'll be older than Garnett was when he went to the Celtics (he's nearly the same age now as when Garnett went there). The end of his peak will fast approaching.

 

[orangejunkie]

Follow the $$$$$ for why Carmelo ended up in NY...

 

[Orangezoo]

I'm not a Knicks fan. I could care less about them. I don't have a favorite NBA team. How am I deflecting anything? I think I've been pretty clear in stating I think his decision wasn't based on winning. I can't say how much of it was based on family or just liking NYC because I don't know. I do know it was within his power to take more of a pay cut to free up more money to draw other players, if winning was the priority. I posted a link showing that Tim Duncan did it. There are other examples of other players doing it too.

And so in that you are saying what has been published and what melo has said about his decision is untrue. That is my point. Just because the money is good doesn't give credence to a theory that goes against what melo has said. I guess i prefer giving a guy credit to his word and beliefs before writing it off. I think NY was his 2nd best shot to a title outside of teaming up with Lebron. If the best leaders in the world can be respected to turn around companies, pat riley can work magic in miami, then why couldn't Phil do it in NY? Phil is the polar opposite of failure. I am taking melo for his word that he did this for family and a title. Outside teaming with lebron i dont see another organization where melo would have a better shot. Chicago aint it imho.

 

[Knicks411]

And so in that you are saying what has been published and what melo has said about his decision is untrue. That is my point. Just because the money is good doesn't give credence to a theory that goes against what melo has said. I guess i prefer giving a guy credit to his word and beliefs before writing it off. I think NY was his 2nd best shot to a title outside of teaming up with Lebron. If the best leaders in the world can be respected to turn around companies, pat riley can work magic in miami, then why couldn't Phil do it in NY? Phil is the polar opposite of failure. I am taking melo for his word that he did this for family and a title. Outside teaming with lebron i dont see another organization where melo would have a better shot. Chicago aint it imho.

You really don't think Melo would have a better shot at winning a title with Chicago than the Knicks? I have an incredibly hard time believing that one. I of course hope it's true, but Chicago is contenders without Melo, and the Knicks have Melo, and they, well, are not contenders right now, and likely won't be next year either.

 

[Madbiker]

Anybody disagree?

Nobody is leaving $50 million on the table. Chicago's offer was $50 mil less than Knicks.

 

[sufandu]

And so in that you are saying what has been published and what melo has said about his decision is untrue. That is my point. Just because the money is good doesn't give credence to a theory that goes against what melo has said. I guess i prefer giving a guy credit to his word and beliefs before writing it off. I think NY was his 2nd best shot to a title outside of teaming up with Lebron. If the best leaders in the world can be respected to turn around companies, pat riley can work magic in miami, then why couldn't Phil do it in NY? Phil is the polar opposite of failure. I am taking melo for his word that he did this for family and a title. Outside teaming with lebron i dont see another organization where melo would have a better shot. Chicago aint it imho.

I don't believe any athlete when they take as much money as possible (I know he only took 96% of it) to go to a currently inferior team and say it's not about the money. It's called public relations. When was the last time any athlete said, "I took the most money I could get. That was the most important thing in my mind?" No athlete has said it, because they and their public relations people are smarter than that. Do you believe everything celebrities state to the public through the media? I can believe he stayed because he believes in Phil Jackson. However, and I'm not sure how many times I have to state this, if winning is the number #1 priority, he could've taken less money. Even if the Knicks offered the $124 million, it was within his power to say, "Listen, I want a championship and I know we need to draw guys here. I've made well over $100 million so far in my career, so I'll take significantly less to get me my ring."

If you think NY was/is his second best shot, fine. I disagree. I think he's taking a chance on an organization with a reputation of flawed decisions. Phil Jackson is a HOF coach but we have no clue how he'll be in the front office and we don't know how much James Dolan will meddle with what he tries to do. We don't know how good Derek Fisher will be as a coach either. Maybe all of them will prove me wrong. Maybe Phil will pull a Danny Ainge and surround Melo with 2 pieces to make a big three. My opinion is that Chicago is only missing one thing, even without Rose, and that's a lights out scorer. I think if Melo went there, they would've been among the favorites in the east without Rose and THE favorite with Rose. For what it's worth, I thought he should've allowed himself to be a free agent when he left Denver and gone to Chicago then. He would've been on the 2012 team that was tied for the best record in the NBA and had the first seed in the east that year.