2018 NBA Offseason Thread -- News, Free Agency, Trades, Etc

[Patrick Bateman 3903]

Just now, Dutchrudder said:

lol, it would cost them about 45 million in luxury tax if they use it!

Yea.... Almost certain it will expire unused.  A year before it expires.  OKC has had multiple TPE's in the past and I don't recall them ever using one.

[Aqua Buddha 14501]

OKC got rid of Melo's contract and got solid assets in return.  Not sure how that's anything other than a win for them.

[kopp0e 1135]

7 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said:

OKC got rid of Melo's contract and got solid assets in return.  Not sure how that's anything other than a win for them.

 

Without looking at his history, it looks like he went crazy at least for 1 game...

 

[kopp0e 1135]

9 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said:

OKC got rid of Melo's contract and got solid assets in return.  Not sure how that's anything other than a win for them.

Without looking at his history, it looks like he has crazy highlights from foreign games...

 

[goatsaag 279]

5 hours ago, Vic Mackey said:

I get the whole taking them to 7 games but when GSW felt like turning it on in both games 6 and 7 once they got down big both times, they ran Houston off the court. And it wasn't even close.

That's such a ridiculously bad take as to what happened in that series but also isn't really relevant in regards to regular season positioning.

I wouldn't be surprised at all to see the Rockets be the 1 seed again. They won 65 games last year. Right now it looks like Ennis/Melo are replacing Ariza/Luc and honestly, I don't think that really hurts the Rockets for the regular season. They actually probably have more depth with Gerald Green being on the team for the whole season and MCW and De'Anthony Melton replacing the assortment of G League talent that got minutes at times on the perimeter.

Then you factor in that the Warriors give zero shits about the regular season and are going to ease Cousins into the rotation slowly, they are the heavy favorites for the title for good reason and can coast to ~60 wins but a relatively healthy Rockets won't be far from that in the regular season.

[Aqua Buddha 14501]

Seems like he'll be good off the bench and he'll get a lot of shots with Roberson and Nerlens Noel on the court.  OKC has always been very short on role players that can score.

[kopp0e 1135]

Just now, kopp0e said:

 

Without looking at his history, it looks like he went crazy at least for 1 game...

 

 

Just now, kopp0e said:

Without looking at his history, it looks like he has crazy highlights from foreign games...

 

Yeah, especially factoring Luwawu from the Sixers, the Thunder pulled a decent haul out of the deal...

[Jhawk 1075]

2 hours ago, Machinator said:

There's also the minor detail that Schroder is facing battery charges.

I saw on reddit that if he goes to jail or gets deported then his contract is void. In that scenario the melo buyout is essentially 15mm less. Maybe presti knows the prosecutor. 

[d2o 1602]

4 minutes ago, Jhawk said:

I saw on reddit that if he goes to jail or gets deported then his contract is void. In that scenario the melo buyout is essentially 15mm less. Maybe presti knows the prosecutor. 

cant imagine it gets all the way to deportation for that but that would be a quite interesting angle and save OKC a whole lot more money.

[ChiTownDoc 21097]

24 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said:

OKC got rid of Melo's contract and got solid assets in return.  Not sure how that's anything other than a win for them.

100% win. Schroeder is one of the best backups in the league now behind WB.  Presti is legit.  

[ChiTownDoc 21097]

14 minutes ago, kopp0e said:

 

Yeah, especially factoring Luwawu from the Sixers, the Thunder pulled a decent haul out of the deal...

Luwawu has tons of potential.  Banged up last year.  Really impressive moves.  

With Houston regressing OKC at least has a shot at 2 seed.  GS needs about 4 major injuries before they come back to the rest of the league.  Wish KD had taken up LBJ on that offer to team up in LA.  

[ChickenSandwich 9798]

Keep dreaming Sooner. Houston ain’t regressing. 

[Michael Knight 12878]

36 minutes ago, ChickenSandwich said:

Keep dreaming Sooner. Houston ain’t regressing. 

Wait till they sign melo

[ChiTownDoc 21097]

1 hour ago, ChickenSandwich said:

Keep dreaming Sooner. Houston ain’t regressing. 

Lol.  See post above.  Enjoy Melo.  

[Chad 1728]

2 hours ago, ChickenSandwich said:

Keep dreaming Sooner. Houston ain’t regressing. 

Melo would like to have a word with you. Reuniting him with the coach he ran out of town in NY seems like a brilliant idea, what could possibly go wrong?

[ChickenSandwich 9798]

CP3 will have him in line and selling insurance before the new year. 

Why not take a one year shot?  Who else is there that the rockets could realistically add to challenge GS this year?  He will also be playing with two of the best distributors in the league, not Westbrook and George. 

Melo can write a new ending to his career if he can help knock off GS. Carve out some history he craves, a chance to play in important games and prove he’s not done. He may even jog

Edited July 20, 2018 by ChickenSandwich

[Patrick Bateman 3903]

12 minutes ago, ChickenSandwich said:

CP3 will have him in line and selling insurance before the new year. 

Why not take a one year shot?  Who else is there that the rockets could realistically add to challenge GS this year?  He will also be playing with two of the best distributors in the league, not Westbrook and George. 

Melo can write a new ending to his career if he can help knock off GS. Carve out some history he craves, a chance to play in important games and prove he’s not done. He may even jog

That's thing though..... he has to accept that he's not going to play a big role vs the Warriors.  He has no real role in crunch time vs their best lineup.  He needs to accept being the best guy against their #2's.  Dominate guys like Livingston and Looney and Jerbeko.  When the Warriors play their best lineup, with or without Cousins, Melo doesn't have the lateral quickness to play anyone anymore, even Draymond who can't shoot nor will he be able to score consistently against Green, KD, or Iggy.  He was awful vs GSW last year in 4 games.  But it was because he was matched up vs vastly superior players.  Put him in against the 2nd unit and he could really help.  He's a scorer so he'd probably have one big game (20+ points) in a 7 game series too.  All up to his ego..... 

Edited July 20, 2018 by Patrick Bateman

[Catdaddyhorn 3444]

7 hours ago, d2o said:

cant imagine it gets all the way to deportation for that but that would be a quite interesting angle and save OKC a whole lot more money.

LOL. If he goes down for battery he's getting deported plain and simple.

[Jhawk 1075]

10 hours ago, ChickenSandwich said:

CP3 will have him in line and selling insurance before the new year. 

Why not take a one year shot?  Who else is there that the rockets could realistically add to challenge GS this year?  He will also be playing with two of the best distributors in the league, not Westbrook and George. 

Melo can write a new ending to his career if he can help knock off GS. Carve out some history he craves, a chance to play in important games and prove he’s not done. He may even jog

What part of Melo’s career has you convinced he wants a piece of history? He is on record saying he wants no part of history if he can’t have it without being the all star on the team. This is the exact same reasoning OKC used and it blew up in their face. And the idea tha Chris Paul can control him is hilarious. Melo isn’t an emotional wreck on the court like cousins or draymond. He doesn’t need a therapist to keep his cool. He is a guy with an ego problem that thinks he has one of the smallest egos in the league. Kind of like those people that are so stupid they don’t understand that they are stupid. You can’t fix that. You can’t control that. If Chris Paul (or any of the banana boat) wanted to play with melo because they thought they could win there were no less than 5-7 times where that would have been possible. And in a major market of New York no less. 

Im not saying melo is going to go to Houston and be a disaster. It won’t look like that at all. He will look like he is playing his part and it will look like he is just aging poorly. The results on the court will be worst offense and worse defense. About 5-7 times a game you will see melo take shots that aren’t his bread and butter shots and you’ll realize that the reason he took those shots is because cp3 and harden took the last 3 shots so now it’s his turn whether it is in the flow of offense or not. 

Melo isn’t Jarvis crittenton who will bring a gang into the locker room and threaten players. He’s 1000 paper cuts that won’t manifest damage until about February or March. Then it is too late to trade him, and too late to “disturb the locker room by cutting him” because he will be friends with the guys off the court. 

Melo will make the rockets worse. They are already worse without Luc and Ariza. Adding him compounds the problem. Everyone else is getting better with the exception of the spurs. That’s not good. 

Edited July 20, 2018 by Jhawk

[Machinator 32097]

Big moves.

 

[Chad 1728]

9 hours ago, ChickenSandwich said:

CP3 will have him in line and selling insurance before the new year. 

Why not take a one year shot?  Who else is there that the rockets could realistically add to challenge GS this year?  He will also be playing with two of the best distributors in the league, not Westbrook and George. 

Melo can write a new ending to his career if he can help knock off GS. Carve out some history he craves, a chance to play in important games and prove he’s not done. He may even jog

CP3 isn't going to keep him in line. He was bitter and disgruntled being the #3 or even arguably the #4 guy last season and playing with this friend won't change that because he's an egomaniac. As mentioned above he's going to cut into Harden's and CP3's shots just because he feels he's due his turn whether it's a good look or not that's the kind of player he is. D'Antoni even admitted he left his HC position with the Knicks because of Melo. I'm sure there won't be any issues playing for that same coach in the same system this time around and he'll all of a sudden embrace that Harden and CP3 are the guys in  Houston and he'll become a good team mate and flourish as a #3 option. I'll believe it when I see it, last season he had no desire to buy into that supporting role.

[TonyTexas 10481]

Chris Paul playing with James Harden will never work.

[HtownHorn 14468]

14 hours ago, ChiTownDoc said:

100% win. Schroeder is one of the best backups in the league now behind WB.  Presti is legit.  

Yeah, Presti is amazing, he got Dennis Schroder and Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot for only Carmelo Anthony, Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott, Chicago’s 2018 second-round draft pick and a conditional 2022 first round pick.

[Goo Punch 4275]

5 minutes ago, TonyTexas said:

Chris Paul playing with James Harden will never work.

people thought that both of those superstar players would need each need too much of the ball to coexist; that's not the case here. now we have a volume shooting egomaniac who swears he's 5x the player that he actually is who refuses to accept any role that doesn't see him as the focal point of the team. not the same.

[Jhawk 1075]

I think presti is pretty interesting. At this point he has adopted an approach much like the spurs where he values production more than draft picks. I think some of that is strategy and most of it is being tied to Westbrook and trying to keep him. It also appears that presti doesn’t value contracts like other teams do. Oladipo was considered a bad contract when he gave that extension. But that extension is really what allowed money to work in the George trade. He clearly feels more comfortable being able to move contracts for different pieces than he does trying to rebuild. Also, it probably comes from management that he needs to keep the seats filled above all else.  Which even if he is renting an all star for a year every year he will accomplish that. An interesting way to play the game and it has worked for 2 years without Durant. Looks like it might work for 3 more. Then we’ll see how big his mortgage payment is when he has to convince Westbrook and George to stay again or refill the roster and keep the seats full without them. He’s been very impressive so far. If I were a team like the Knicks or the lakers (3-5 years ago) I would be throwing everything I had at presti to get him to come to my team. Imagine what he could do if he didn’t have to sell Oklahoma to players. 

[ChiTownDoc 21097]

11 minutes ago, HtownHorn said:

Yeah, Presti is amazing, he got Dennis Schroder and Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot for only Carmelo Anthony, Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott, Chicago’s 2018 second-round draft pick and a conditional 2022 first round pick.

 

4 minutes ago, Jhawk said:

I think presti is pretty interesting. At this point he has adopted an approach much like the spurs where he values production more than draft picks. I think some of that is strategy and most of it is being tied to Westbrook and trying to keep him. It also appears that presti doesn’t value contracts like other teams do. Oladipo was considered a bad contract when he gave that extension. But that extension is really what allowed money to work in the George trade. He clearly feels more comfortable being able to move contracts for different pieces than he does trying to rebuild. Also, it probably comes from management that he needs to keep the seats filled above all else.  Which even if he is renting an all star for a year every year he will accomplish that. An interesting way to play the game and it has worked for 2 years without Durant. Looks like it might work for 3 more. Then we’ll see how big his mortgage payment is when he has to convince Westbrook and George to stay again or refill the roster and keep the seats full without them. He’s been very impressive so far. If I were a team like the Knicks or the lakers (3-5 years ago) I would be throwing everything I had at presti to get him to come to my team. Imagine what he could do if he didn’t have to sell Oklahoma to players. 

Yep.  Love the haters.  He’s doing a lot considering it’s OKC he has to sell players on.  He’d absolutely kill it w the Knicks.  

[52-80 19076]

presti out here playing 5D chess

[ChiTownDoc 21097]

2 hours ago, Jhawk said:

What part of Melo’s career has you convinced he wants a piece of history? He is on record saying he wants no part of history if he can’t have it without being the all star on the team. This is the exact same reasoning OKC used and it blew up in their face. And the idea tha Chris Paul can control him is hilarious. Melo isn’t an emotional wreck on the court like cousins or draymond. He doesn’t need a therapist to keep his cool. He is a guy with an ego problem that thinks he has one of the smallest egos in the league. Kind of like those people that are so stupid they don’t understand that they are stupid. You can’t fix that. You can’t control that. If Chris Paul (or any of the banana boat) wanted to play with melo because they thought they could win there were no less than 5-7 times where that would have been possible. And in a major market of New York no less. 

Im not saying melo is going to go to Houston and be a disaster. It won’t look like that at all. He will look like he is playing his part and it will look like he is just aging poorly. The results on the court will be worst offense and worse defense. About 5-7 times a game you will see melo take shots that aren’t his bread and butter shots and you’ll realize that the reason he took those shots is because cp3 and harden took the last 3 shots so now it’s his turn whether it is in the flow of offense or not. 

Melo isn’t Jarvis crittenton who will bring a gang into the locker room and threaten players. He’s 1000 paper cuts that won’t manifest damage until about February or March. Then it is too late to trade him, and too late to “disturb the locker room by cutting him” because he will be friends with the guys off the court. 

Melo will make the rockets worse. They are already worse without Luc and Ariza. Adding him compounds the problem. Everyone else is getting better with the exception of the spurs. That’s not good. 

I know cancer when I see it. He will fuck up the Rockets.  Count on it.  

Edited July 20, 2018 by ChiTownDoc

[Chad 1728]

Rocket fans better be careful what they wish for with that shit stain Melo. He's been declining steadily, still thinks he's the guy and isn't going to embrace a lesser role as evident last season. It's ok CP3 is a baby sitter and will keep him in line because they're good friends. That loser hasn't won anything of significance in his NBA career and will retire that way too. Hopefully he finds his way out of the NBA sooner rather than later.

[Rockethorn1978 6061]

Rocket fans don’t have a choice. Can the season play out before all the self appointed know it alls tell us how the season will go? Last year everyone said cp3 wouldn’t work and we would be back half of the West. 

Melo on a okc team that runs nothing but watch Westbrook and of he can’t he kicks it out makes sense on why melo looked even worse. Houston runs a system and this time around he won’t be the focal point like he was in NY, if he takes the role of corner shooting 4 which is what they have already told him he will be fine. If not they can cut him mid season. He isn’t coming in thinking he’s the first option, anyone thinking the rockets met with him in Vegas telling him that are idiots. He probably was told that going to okc and it showed as okc runs nothing and that shows too.

[HtownHorn 14468]

18 minutes ago, Rockethorn1978 said:

Rocket fans don’t have a choice. Can the season play out before all the self appointed know it alls tell us how the season will go? Last year everyone said cp3 wouldn’t work and we would be back half of the West. 

Melo on a okc team that runs nothing but watch Westbrook and of he can’t he kicks it out makes sense on why melo looked even worse. Houston runs a system and this time around he won’t be the focal point like he was in NY, if he takes the role of corner shooting 4 which is what they have already told him he will be fine. If not they can cut him mid season. He isn’t coming in thinking he’s the first option, anyone thinking the rockets met with him in Vegas telling him that are idiots. He probably was told that going to okc and it showed as okc runs nothing and that shows too.

It's hilarious to see people fail to acknowledge that Westbrick is just awful at everything accept getting himself useless stats. You'd think with the clear evidence of people that improve across the board once they leave OKC that they would start catching on to this fact.

[Vic Mackey 46927]

It's hilarious to see people fail to acknowledge that Westbrick is just awful at everything accept getting himself useless stats. You'd think with the clear evidence of people that improve across the board once they leave OKC that they would start catching on to this fact.

Yeah because Melo was so great before going to OKC.

[HtownHorn 14468]

Just now, Vic Mackey said:

14 minutes ago, HtownHorn said:

It's hilarious to see people fail to acknowledge that Westbrick is just awful at everything accept getting himself useless stats. You'd think with the clear evidence of people that improve across the board once they leave OKC that they would start catching on to this fact.

Yeah because Melo was so great before going to OKC.

He's probably better than what he showed last year. not much, but then again, the Rockets don't need him to be at a star level.

[Rockethorn1978 6061]

3 minutes ago, Vic Mackey said:

17 minutes ago, HtownHorn said:

It's hilarious to see people fail to acknowledge that Westbrick is just awful at everything accept getting himself useless stats. You'd think with the clear evidence of people that improve across the board once they leave OKC that they would start catching on to this fact.

Yeah because Melo was so great before going to OKC.

We aren’t asking him to do what okc was asking him to do which was be a “three headed monster” with Westbrook and PG. I haven’t seen any rockets fan say or act like we are getting a superstar but a guy that “could” help if he takes the role of corner three point shooter. If he doesn’t then yea cut him. What better options does Houston have right now at the vet minimum? There’s nothing really out there.

[Jhawk 1075]

45 minutes ago, Rockethorn1978 said:

Rocket fans don’t have a choice. Can the season play out before all the self appointed know it alls tell us how the season will go? Last year everyone said cp3 wouldn’t work and we would be back half of the West. 

Melo on a okc team that runs nothing but watch Westbrook and of he can’t he kicks it out makes sense on why melo looked even worse. Houston runs a system and this time around he won’t be the focal point like he was in NY, if he takes the role of corner shooting 4 which is what they have already told him he will be fine. If not they can cut him mid season. He isn’t coming in thinking he’s the first option, anyone thinking the rockets met with him in Vegas telling him that are idiots. He probably was told that going to okc and it showed as okc runs nothing and that shows too.

I'm not going to say that playing with westbrook is helpful, but what role do you think he "agreed" to play in OKC?  Here's a hint, he was supposed to sit in the corner and wait for a kick out while PG13 and RW, and Adams to an extent, were the primary offense.  Just like the entire Rockets offense is centered around... Kick outs for 3.  Melo's shot deteriorating and his reluctance to stop taking them whenever he touches the ball won't discriminate on who is passing the ball to him.

He isn't going to make more shots, He had his 5th best shooting season ever last year on his second highest 3 point shooting attempts and he still killed the flow of the thunder offense.  To really show how he plays with other stars you should look at his 2 point shooting efficiencies too which were the lowest in his career by a significant margin (40% from the field overall, a 5 percentage point decline in shot making which is a greater than 10% decline overall).  What do you think you're going to get out of him?  A bad 3 point shooter and bad defender?  A bad 2 point shooter and bad defender?  A ball stopper?  You will get all that for sure.  Plus you'll get the headache of the dilemma and the hounding of the press every night starting in December when Houston is in 5th place trying to answer the question of "should the rockets waive chris paul's best friend?"

Rockets fans tlak about it being low risk, sure it is from a money standpoint.  But letting that drama into the locker room, trying to change everything that is melo from a personality standpoint, and then trying to pick up the pieces after he is waived will be a nightmare.  If he makes it to the trade deadline and is still on the roster then there is almost no chance in hell they waive him.  Especially if he is playing more than 25 minutes a game.  And if they do, they have to fill a hole (a shallow one but one to fill regardless) and by all accounts, melo isn't a "bad" teammate in that he pisses guys off.  He's a bad teammate in that every player loves him and sticks up for him regardless of what he does on the court.  That means that you have pissed off players if you cut his inefficient ass, regardless of how it may help the production of the team.

Edited July 20, 2018 by Jhawk

[ChickenSandwich 9798]

3 minutes ago, HtownHorn said:

He's probably better than what he showed last year. not much, but then again, the Rockets don't need him to be at a star level.

the starter thing is overblown with the way they handle the mins rotation.  Paul or Harden are literally on the floor at all times.  Gordon plays near starters mins from the sixth man spot.  This offense encourages mismatches and isolation, the improvement here for Melo will be obvious.  They also need shooters, and Melo is still a better shooter than Ariza and Luc.  The Rockets are trying to find the right balance of D and O, and the O let them down against GSW (0-9 Ariza, no mins for Luc).  Defense will go down, but the pressure on James and Chris during the end of game offensive sets should go down with another iso option on a different part of the court.  Won't be as easy to try and deny James with new options available. 

This is the Risk: Don't add Melo and try to run it back without Ariz (a year older and an injured Luc) or you add a possible 20pt bench scorer in Melo and see if more offense gets you closer.  It is a one year deal at bottom level money.  The Paul window is extremely small, they can't just wait until the "right" piece falls to them.  Take your shot and see how it goes.  Teams SHOULD be trying to do everything they can to beat the warriors instead of conceding.  There is no risk.

And we have yet to see any viable alternatives that would increase the Rockets chances THIS SEASON offered by the critics

Ariza and Luc for 21million or Melo for the min.  It is really a no brainier.  There is always the chance the Suns buy out or trade Ariza at the deadline and he could come back. 

Playing with Westbrook had zero chance of succeeding.  Zero.  Two ball dominant "stars" (w/George) who simply don't make the players around them better.  How on earth was a 20pt scorer going to find anything of value playing with those two?  (see Victor O)  They don't even have one point guard on that team.  He will be playing with Hall of Fame level point guards (one on the court at all times) now.  It's a "contract" year, he is choosing his destination, it's 1000% in his interest to make it work with the Rockets and excel.  

[ChickenSandwich 9798]

8 minutes ago, Jhawk said:

I'm not going to say that playing with westbrook is helpful, but what role do you think he "agreed" to play in OKC?  Here's a hint, he was supposed to sit in the corner and wait for a kick out while PG13 and RW, and Adams to an extent, were the primary offense.  Just like the entire Rockets offense is centered around... Kick outs for 3.  Melo's shot deteriorating and his reluctance to stop taking them whenever he touches the ball won't discriminate on who is passing the ball to him.

He isn't going to make more shots, He had his 5th best shooting season ever last year on his second highest 3 point shooting attempts and he still killed the flow of the thunder offense.  To really show how he plays with other stars you should look at his 2 point shooting efficiencies too which were the lowest in his career by a significant margin (40% from the field overall, a 5 percentage point decline in shot making which is a greater than 10% decline overall).  What do you think you're going to get out of him?  A bad 3 point shooter and bad defender?  A bad 2 point shooter and bad defender?  A ball stopper?  You will get all that for sure.  Plus you'll get the headache of the dilemma and the hounding of the press every night starting in December when Houston is in 5th place trying to answer the question of "should the rockets waive chris paul's best friend?"

Rockets fans tlak about it being low risk, sure it is from a money standpoint.  But letting that drama into the locker room, trying to change everything that is melo from a personality standpoint, and then trying to pick up the pieces after he is waived will be a nightmare.  If he makes it to the trade deadline and is still on the roster then there is almost no chance in hell they waive him.  Especially if he is playing more than 25 minutes a game.  And if they do, they have to fill a hole (a shallow one but one to fill regardless) and by all accounts, melo isn't a "bad" teammate in that he pisses guys off.  He's a bad teammate in that every player loves him and sticks up for him regardless of what he does on the court.  That means that you have pissed off players if you cut his inefficient ass, regardless of how it may help the production of the team.

If you can't see the difference between the Rockets offense and the Thunder's I don't know what you are watching.  Westbrook isn't capable of running the offense you describe, it will be scrapped for George and Westbrook isos and guys who can hit threes after not touching the ball for 3 mins.  Just because you say you need a guy capable of hitting the corner three doesn't make it the same thing.  Melo will excel playing the role Luc, PJ, Green playing in this offense.  The Rockets actually run an offense, the Thunder do not.

[Jhawk 1075]

2 minutes ago, ChickenSandwich said:

If you can't see the difference between the Rockets offense and the Thunder's I don't know what you are watching.  Westbrook isn't capable of running the offense you describe, it will be scrapped for George and Westbrook isos and guys who can hit threes after not touching the ball for 3 mins.  Just because you say you need a guy capable of hitting the corner three doesn't make it the same thing.  Melo will excel playing the role Luc, PJ, Green playing in this offense.  The Rockets actually run an offense, the Thunder do not.

So you expect him to be more efficient because he can be efficient in a D'antoni offense?  The same D'antoni offense that D'antoni himself left he organization behind with because melo wanted his 20 shots while shooting 33% from 3 in?  It is hilarious to see how many people carry the water for melo with no shame whatsoever.  Even fans do it.  The only reason the guy is still in the league making anything but $6mm a year is because fans and other players have repeated the mantra that he is a HoF type guy that can still play at an all star level.  All because he puts on a hoodie every offseason and is honest about not fitting in at various places.  When you don't fit in on any team you've played on then what are the chances you're going to fit in at the next team?  15 years of being an inefficient player and now all of the sudden he is going to change.  Yeah.. sure... That'll happen... If he is so susceptible to coaching from other players then why didn't lebron race to play with him in NYC?  Why didn't wade go there?  Why didn't chris paul go play with him in the multiple trade scenarios and contract negotiations?  Why hasn't anyone gotten through to him yet?

The answer is simple.  Melo is melo and money is all that matters to him.  I wouldn't be surprised if he tells the rockets he doesn't care that he was bought out and that he needs $20mm to play or he's being disrespected.  That is who he is.  It is astonishing how many times he has basically stated that he is all about the money and his shots and people still think he is willing to take a back seat to anyone the second he steps on the court.

[Rockethorn1978 6061]

When melo was with dantoni the first time he was the main option, he was the point forward. 

And yea Houston offense is exactly the same as okc hahahaha. You’re an idiot.

gerald green sucked and was on the couch and revived his career catching and shooting threes. So yea guys can join the right system and flourish. Okc has no system and a shitty head coach that will probably be fired by next summer. 

Again no one is saying melo is coming in dropping 30 a game and that narrative is being created on here with nothing to back it up with because no one is saying anything like that. We say meh worth the shot.

no one is beating the warriors so what risk is Houston taking?

[Brothahorn 10085]

The Rockets are going to regret signing Jello.

[ChickenSandwich 9798]

47 minutes ago, Jhawk said:

So you expect him to be more efficient because he can be efficient in a D'antoni offense?  The same D'antoni offense that D'antoni himself left he organization behind with because melo wanted his 20 shots while shooting 33% from 3 in?  It is hilarious to see how many people carry the water for melo with no shame whatsoever.  Even fans do it.  The only reason the guy is still in the league making anything but $6mm a year is because fans and other players have repeated the mantra that he is a HoF type guy that can still play at an all star level.  All because he puts on a hoodie every offseason and is honest about not fitting in at various places.  When you don't fit in on any team you've played on then what are the chances you're going to fit in at the next team?  15 years of being an inefficient player and now all of the sudden he is going to change.  Yeah.. sure... That'll happen... If he is so susceptible to coaching from other players then why didn't lebron race to play with him in NYC?  Why didn't wade go there?  Why didn't chris paul go play with him in the multiple trade scenarios and contract negotiations?  Why hasn't anyone gotten through to him yet?

The answer is simple.  Melo is melo and money is all that matters to him.  I wouldn't be surprised if he tells the rockets he doesn't care that he was bought out and that he needs $20mm to play or he's being disrespected.  That is who he is.  It is astonishing how many times he has basically stated that he is all about the money and his shots and people still think he is willing to take a back seat to anyone the second he steps on the court.

Jeremy Lin >>> Chris Paul and Harden??  Again, another situation with no point guard.  Players have a history of showing big improvements when playing with Paul and James.  These two have no problem feeding Jello when he is hot, Westbrook and George weren't having that, and in NY did he ever play with a real All Star teammate?  Again, what is the downside?  You don't make the finals?  You lose him next offseason?  Rockets fans are under no delusions he will be a HOF piece here.  His place and teammates are completely different between Houston and OKC.  OKC was Westbrook and the 10 sisters of the poor before last offseason where they decided to add two more Alpha players to their third, all with ZERO complementary skills.  The Thunder are a shit team, I don't put that on Melo as they were a shit team without him as well.

As for stars not running to the completely shit run and cap tapped NY Nicks?  Was this a serious take?

[Aqua Buddha 14501]

2 hours ago, HtownHorn said:

Yeah, Presti is amazing, he got Dennis Schroder and Timothé Luwawu-Cabarrot for only Carmelo Anthony, Enes Kanter, Doug McDermott, Chicago’s 2018 second-round draft pick and a conditional 2022 first round pick.

He also got Paul George for Serge Ibaka.

[Aqua Buddha 14501]

You guys are missing age and conditioning when it comes to Melo.  If Houston signs him, he'll have to play major minutes throughout the season because, if for no other reason, they don't have any other forwards.  He'll be 35 years old before the playoffs and he's never been in great shape to begin with.  He was shot down the stretch with OKC and it's only be worse a year later.

[Surlybastard 65]

19 minutes ago, Aqua Buddha said:

You guys are missing age and conditioning when it comes to Melo.  If Houston signs him, he'll have to play major minutes throughout the season because, if for no other reason, they don't have any other forwards.  He'll be 35 years old before the playoffs and he's never been in great shape to begin with.  He was shot down the stretch with OKC and it's only be worse a year later.

Signing Melo and being excited about having him as a role player is basically the equivalent of being excited about having Albert Pujols as your dh. Except that Pujols was actually an mvp level player in his prime while Melo was just a guy leading teams nowhere. Melo is a guy who wasn't being asked to do much last year and was still horrible.

[HtownHorn 14468]

3 minutes ago, Surlybastard said:

Melo is a guy who wasn't being asked to do much last year and was still horrible.

Most are when paired with Westbrick.

[Surlybastard 65]

4 minutes ago, HtownHorn said:

Most are when paired with Westbrick.

Maybe Melo will be decent. I just don't see him as one of those old vets who will thrive on 20-25mpg like Ray Allen or some other guys. He has such an overblown view of his abilities even after he is clearly half washed up.

Edited July 20, 2018 by Surlybastard

[Rockethorn1978 6061]

Lol no one knows what role he will play and are still creating the narrative that Houston fans are saying he will play 30-35 mpg and score a ton. No one has said that anywhere. So keep making shit up to keep up your story.

 

[Rockethorn1978 6061]

Melo played big minutes last season because okc let him. Start blaming the head coach and front office for the role he played. Melo didn’t decide whether he played big minutes or not all on his own.

[ChickenSandwich 9798]

3 hours ago, HtownHorn said:

It's hilarious to see people fail to acknowledge that Westbrick is just awful at everything accept getting himself useless stats. You'd think with the clear evidence of people that improve across the board once they leave OKC that they would start catching on to this fact.

Melo can start and sub out at the 8 min mark with Paul in the first quarter and return with Paul when James sits in the second quarter. 

Having the scoring threats of Harden/Gorden, Paul/Melo At all times could work. Houston played a ton of different lineup, even having PJ Tucker play the 5. He didn’t start trying to have a back to the basket game all of a sudden. With houston switching everything and Capella as an anchor some of the responsibility of Melo will be minimized. 

Again, it’s worth the gamble just like signing Paul was last season. The status quo won’t do. Keep tinkering. 

[Dutchrudder 11113]

I'm also of the opinion that right now, the rockets aren't beating golden State in a 7 game series, so why the hell not? Might as well give Melo a shot, and if he doesn't work out, they can cut him. That's how bad the league is right now in comparison to the warriors, nobody can touch them. This season will probably be my least watched in a long time because I have no confidence in picking the field against them. It's really fucking stupid, and it is absolutely Durant's fault for being a giant pussy and continuing to take less money so that team doesn't have to make difficult decisions like letting a player like Ariza go.