Carmelo stuff

[MyMeloMyMan]

This was the Bulls roster when MJ first got there. He went NINE(9) years before winning his first ring.
Thats the point- LeBron wanted instant gratification and ran to Miami to be D Wade's side-kick, instead of building & having other players come to him.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CHI/1985.html

I can't kill Lebron for leaving after 7 years. He gave it a fair shake in Cleveland in my mind. In this facebook/twitter era, all these guys are buddies and they want to go play with their friends when possible. There does not seem to be that old school contention between players like there was back in the day. The sport and players are changing. Lebron wasn't going to stay in Cleveland to try and prove a point. Sometimes you want to leave home. I don't blame any of these guys for signing wherever the heck they want.

 

[CorduroyG]

lebron will never get the same respect as mj, magic, bird, kobe, etc even if he wins a few rings now, cuz he had to hitch on to dwade to get his title. if he went to the knicks, 1 title in new york would have meant more than 5 titles in miami with wade. kobe never got the same respect as those guys until he won without shaq. lebron may never get it now.

 

[PauliePeppas]

lebron will never get the same respect as mj, magic, bird, kobe, etc even if he wins a few rings now, cuz he had to hitch on to dwade to get his title. if he went to the knicks, 1 title in new york would have meant more than 5 titles in miami with wade. kobe never got the same respect as those guys until he won without shaq. lebron may never get it now.

Yup, there is NOTHING like winning in new york, lebron always says msg is the best arena in the world but that obviously didnt matter to him when going to miami. He couldve created a superteam in ny but i guess the media, weather, was a big turnoff.

 

[Knicks411]

lebron will never get the same respect as mj, magic, bird, kobe, etc even if he wins a few rings now, cuz he had to hitch on to dwade to get his title. if he went to the knicks, 1 title in new york would have meant more than 5 titles in miami with wade. kobe never got the same respect as those guys until he won without shaq. lebron may never get it now.

Is it any different than Magic coming into the league with Kareem? Magic probably wasn't THE guy until what, maybe their 3rd title? (I guess the easy narrative would be when he made the running hook shot against Boston; I think that was 85?) Obviously Magic was drafted onto LA and didn't necessarily choose to play there (though I don't think he was complaining about it either).

I don't totally disagree with your point. But Lebron is only what, 27? He could win a title in 6 years and I doubt Wade is going to be a superstar player at that time. Honestly, with the style of play that Wade employs, I could see him dropping off relatively early. To use the Kobe comparison, I wouldn't be surprised if Wade in 2 or 3 years isn't much better than Pau Gasol was in 09 and 10.

I think, for the most part, the playing with Wade thing isn't going to end up changing much of Lebron's legacy. If he wins lots of titles (say 3 or more) he's going to be considered right with the best players of all time, and if he doesn't, he won't be.

 

[RandygoCuse]

Is it any different than Magic coming into the league with Kareem? Magic probably wasn't THE guy until what, maybe their 3rd title? (I guess the easy narrative would be when he made the running hook shot against Boston; I think that was 85?) Obviously Magic was drafted onto LA and didn't necessarily choose to play there (though I don't think he was complaining about it either).

The hook shot was in '87 - I'm a Celtics fan, so thanks for reminding me ...And you brought up an interesting point with Magic. Yes, he was drafted, but he was quoted as saying he wouldn't have come out that year except he got the chance to play with Kareem. http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/07/22/wait-magic-johnson-actually-did-team-up/ - For the record, I don't have a problem with either Magic or LBJ's move. Like many others out there, I think The Decision was an obnoxious way to go about it.

 

[MikeSU02]

The hook shot was in '87 - I'm a Celtics fan, so thanks for reminding me ...And you brought up an interesting point with Magic. Yes, he was drafted, but he was quoted as saying he wouldn't have come out that year except he got the chance to play with Kareem. http://www.scoresreport.com/2010/07/22/wait-magic-johnson-actually-did-team-up/ - For the record, I don't have a problem with either Magic or LBJ's move. Like many others out there, I think The Decision was an obnoxious way to go about it.

I don't either. It's your right to move. I just hated the decision and hated that he went to DWade's team.

Just one note to add, and the fault here lies with both parties, but I would wager that LBJ had a LOT to do with what players were brought in to Cleveland. So maybe he had a bad to ok supporting cast over the years, but I bet he helped bring in who was there. Now, management should not have necessarily let him (like MJ and the Jerrys), but I don't think that team was constructed outside the influence of LBJ.

 

[Knicks411]

Just one note to add, and the fault here lies with both parties, but I would wager that LBJ had a LOT to do with what players were brought in to Cleveland. So maybe he had a bad to ok supporting cast over the years, but I bet he helped bring in who was there. Now, management should not have necessarily let him (like MJ and the Jerrys), but I don't think that team was constructed outside the influence of LBJ.

Definitely think this is true. Most great players are probably more Michael Jordan than Jerry West when it comes to talent evaluation, so this usually isn't the best idea.

I have kinda bashed him, but I wonder how close Cleveland was to getting Amare in 2010 and what would've happened.

 

[MyMeloMyMan]

If all the players were in a pool and teams were going to re-draft the league right now... Lebron would likely go #1 (some might make a case for Durant or Howard).. but would Wade be in the top 10? Would Bosh be in the top 20? Melo would go somewhere around 15, I'd imagine. I think Wade is very good (if dwindling) and Bosh a good NBA player, but it's not like Lebron was going to team up with Bird and Magic here. Is Dwayne Wade going to be looked back upon as a legend of the NBA?

 

[xc84]

All of the points you make are valid. But you know what Cowherd or any of the similar sports talk gasbags say when they get a reaction like yours? "Mission accomplished."

Great point. Cowherd is stirring up a controversy. Right now, Carmelo has no team to support him and Cowherd is saying how selfish Melo is. The fact is, Carmelo has to take a lot of shots now...there is no one else to do it at the moment. It's all on his shoulders.

 

[MyMeloMyMan]

It is interesting that Miami has chosen not to double Melo. They are only sending a double less than 15% of his touches. So, I guess Miami just wants to put their best defender on Melo and stay at home on the shooters... let Melo get his and the only way the Knicks win is if Melo goes for 40+ and Lebron or Wade has a horrible shooting night.

Miami is getting all the easy shots and the Knicks are shooting all contested jump shots.

 

[Room 914]

The Knicks are poorly put apart so I don't even put too much into it. Amare and Melo aren't close to as good as your "stars" should be on defense and without that they're never going to contend. No chance of winning with those two guys together.

 

[CusefanATL]

package amare and lin for deron or dwight