Isiah Thomas Hands All Over Melo Trade

[hilltopchamps]

This is a trade that Isiah Thomas is all over. He gave away the entire store, which is what he did when he had the job with Knicks. Chauncey Billups, who didn't want to come to the Knicks, is part of the trade. The Knicks even got Ronaldo Balkman back. Guess who drafted Balkman into the NBA? You got it Isiah Thomas. The Knicks will not be able to pick their #1 draft pick. They gave up their 2 rights for their #2 draft picks. Thats what Isiah Thomas did when he was with the team. I guess Donnie Walsh will take a walk at the end of the season.This trade that the Knicks made may get them into playoffs, but they will make an early exit.

[EmilioBonilla]

James Dolan was all over this trade. D'Antoni and D.Walsh did not want to do the trade because of how many players they gave away.

[indeedproceed]

The current Knicks team will get them to the playoffs.

To me, this puts the East at:

Tier 1: Boston/Miami
Tier 2: Chicago
Tier 3: Orlando/Atlanta/New York
=======
Tier 4: Milwaukee/Philadelphia/Charlotte/Indiana (the teams that will be without question beat in the first round)

NY can take Atlanta and any of the 4 'tier 4' teams after this trade..and possibly Orlando or even Chicago if Joakim Noah for some reason isn't there.

[Eddie20]

The current Knicks team will get them to the playoffs.

To me, this puts the East at:

Tier 1: Boston/Miami
Tier 2: Chicago
Tier 3: Orlando/Atlanta/New York
=======
Tier 4: Milwaukee/Philadelphia/Charlotte/Indiana (the teams that will be without question beat in the first round)

NY can take Atlanta and any of the 4 'tier 4' teams after this trade..and possibly Orlando or even Chicago if Joakim Noah for some reason isn't there.

You have NY alongside Orlando? Really? With Turiaf and Sheldon playing Center? Do they even have one 7 footer on their entire roster now?

Tier 1: Boston

Tier 1A: Miami, Chicago, Orlando (any of these teams can beat each other)

Tier 2: Atlanta, NY

Tier 3: Who cares?

[indeedproceed]

The current Knicks team will get them to the playoffs.

To me, this puts the East at:

Tier 1: Boston/Miami
Tier 2: Chicago
Tier 3: Orlando/Atlanta/New York
=======
Tier 4: Milwaukee/Philadelphia/Charlotte/Indiana (the teams that will be without question beat in the first round)

NY can take Atlanta and any of the 4 'tier 4' teams after this trade..and possibly Orlando or even Chicago if Joakim Noah for some reason isn't there.

You have NY alongside Orlando? Really? With Turiaf and Sheldon playing Center? Do they even have one 7 footer on their entire roster now?

Tier 1: Boston

Tier 1A: Miami, Chicago, Orlando (any of these teams can beat each other)

Tier 2: Atlanta, NY

Tier 3: Who cares?

New York is right there with Orlando in the same way Chicago is...against Orlando, Chicago will lose. They're a better team, but they have either Joakim Noah, or Omer Asik to defend Dwight Howard..and the both of them are just hands down terrible at that.

But, against all the other teams in the Eastern Conference, I think they'll probably be about as good.

And people are really underselling Carmelo Anthony. Like drastically underselling. We've all seen him play, and I think we just don't realize how good he is as a scorer. Dwight Howard won't stop him.

The problem for NY, same as for Chicago, is they they can't really slow down Dwight Howard..Joakim Noah is just completely ineffective against him.

[Eddie20]

The current Knicks team will get them to the playoffs.

To me, this puts the East at:

Tier 1: Boston/Miami
Tier 2: Chicago
Tier 3: Orlando/Atlanta/New York
=======
Tier 4: Milwaukee/Philadelphia/Charlotte/Indiana (the teams that will be without question beat in the first round)

NY can take Atlanta and any of the 4 'tier 4' teams after this trade..and possibly Orlando or even Chicago if Joakim Noah for some reason isn't there.

You have NY alongside Orlando? Really? With Turiaf and Sheldon playing Center? Do they even have one 7 footer on their entire roster now?

Tier 1: Boston

Tier 1A: Miami, Chicago, Orlando (any of these teams can beat each other)

Tier 2: Atlanta, NY

Tier 3: Who cares?

New York is right there with Orlando in the same way Chicago is...against Orlando, Chicago will lose. They're a better team, but they have either Joakim Noah, or Omer Asik to defend Dwight Howard..and the both of them are just hands down terrible at that.

But, against all the other teams in the Eastern Conference, I think they'll probably be about as good.

And people are really underselling Carmelo Anthony. Like drastically underselling. We've all seen him play, and I think we just don't realize how good he is as a scorer. Dwight Howard won't stop him.

The problem for NY, same as for Chicago, is they they can't really slow down Dwight Howard..Joakim Noah is just completely ineffective against him.

I think the a Bulls/Magic series could go either way. You also forgot Thomas. While he may not be a star, he has done an admirable job filling in for Noah. This gives them another 6 fouls and solid physical play to throw at him

Carmelo is a scorer, plain and simple. However, he does dribble the air out of the ball and plays a lot of isolation/1 on1 basketball. This trade limits Amare offensively, as he'll have to adjust his game.

NY has no size or bench. They will lose in the 1st round with Anthony. Just like they would've lost in the 1st rd without him.

[manl_lui]

i still wouldn't put NY in with Orlando, 3 (Melo, Amar'e Billups) players and no bench or any other good players (no gallinari, no felton, no chandler), theyre like a crappier version of the Heat

[Tai]

The current Knicks team will get them to the playoffs.

To me, this puts the East at:

Tier 1: Boston/Miami
Tier 2: Chicago
Tier 3: Orlando/Atlanta/New York
=======
Tier 4: Milwaukee/Philadelphia/Charlotte/Indiana (the teams that will be without question beat in the first round)

NY can take Atlanta and any of the 4 'tier 4' teams after this trade..and possibly Orlando or even Chicago if Joakim Noah for some reason isn't there.

You have NY alongside Orlando? Really? With Turiaf and Sheldon playing Center? Do they even have one 7 footer on their entire roster now?

Tier 1: Boston

Tier 1A: Miami, Chicago, Orlando (any of these teams can beat each other)

Tier 2: Atlanta, NY

Tier 3: Who cares?

New York is right there with Orlando in the same way Chicago is...against Orlando, Chicago will lose. They're a better team, but they have either Joakim Noah, or Omer Asik to defend Dwight Howard..and the both of them are just hands down terrible at that.

But, against all the other teams in the Eastern Conference, I think they'll probably be about as good.

And people are really underselling Carmelo Anthony. Like drastically underselling. We've all seen him play, and I think we just don't realize how good he is as a scorer. Dwight Howard won't stop him.

The problem for NY, same as for Chicago, is they they can't really slow down Dwight Howard..Joakim Noah is just completely ineffective against him.

I'm shaking in my boots.  

[xmuscularghandix]

EASTERN CONFERENCE

1st Tier- Boston Celtics (team to beat)

2nd Tier- Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls

3rd Tier- Orlando Magic, New York Knicks, Atlanta Hawks (Orlando just has D12, Knicks have no bench, and Hawks have nobody to cover Dwight. ATL/NYK would be a very nice 4/5 matchup)

4th Tier- Indiana Pacers, Charlotte Bobcats, Philadelphia 76ers (all teams that were bad until coaching changes, Milwaukee could get into the picture if they get healthy.

[indeedproceed]

The current Knicks team will get them to the playoffs.

To me, this puts the East at:

Tier 1: Boston/Miami
Tier 2: Chicago
Tier 3: Orlando/Atlanta/New York
=======
Tier 4: Milwaukee/Philadelphia/Charlotte/Indiana (the teams that will be without question beat in the first round)

NY can take Atlanta and any of the 4 'tier 4' teams after this trade..and possibly Orlando or even Chicago if Joakim Noah for some reason isn't there.

You have NY alongside Orlando? Really? With Turiaf and Sheldon playing Center? Do they even have one 7 footer on their entire roster now?

Tier 1: Boston

Tier 1A: Miami, Chicago, Orlando (any of these teams can beat each other)

Tier 2: Atlanta, NY

Tier 3: Who cares?

New York is right there with Orlando in the same way Chicago is...against Orlando, Chicago will lose. They're a better team, but they have either Joakim Noah, or Omer Asik to defend Dwight Howard..and the both of them are just hands down terrible at that.

But, against all the other teams in the Eastern Conference, I think they'll probably be about as good.

And people are really underselling Carmelo Anthony. Like drastically underselling. We've all seen him play, and I think we just don't realize how good he is as a scorer. Dwight Howard won't stop him.

The problem for NY, same as for Chicago, is they they can't really slow down Dwight Howard..Joakim Noah is just completely ineffective against him.

I'm shaking in my boots. 

Haha..yeah I mean I don't think Boston loses to NY in a playoff series.

But, if people think that they're going to be a 4 or 5 game series, they're wrong.

I tell you, in any game where NY is not playing Boston, I'm rooting knicks. I find Carmelo Billups and Amar'e much more likeable than James/Bosh/Wade..I like the way Carmelo went about it more, and I get all NY games in HD so...go Knicks! (if you're not playing Boston)

[The Walker Wiggle]

I tell you, in any game where NY is not playing Boston, I'm rooting knicks. I find Carmelo Billups and Amar'e much more likeable than James/Bosh/Wade..I like the way Carmelo went about it more, and I get all NY games in HD so...go Knicks! (if you're not playing Boston)

Also, Landry Fields is STILL a Knick.

[guava_wrench]

The current Knicks team will get them to the playoffs.

To me, this puts the East at:

Tier 1: Boston/Miami
Tier 2: Chicago
Tier 3: Orlando/Atlanta/New York
=======
Tier 4: Milwaukee/Philadelphia/Charlotte/Indiana (the teams that will be without question beat in the first round)

NY can take Atlanta and any of the 4 'tier 4' teams after this trade..and possibly Orlando or even Chicago if Joakim Noah for some reason isn't there.

You have NY alongside Orlando? Really? With Turiaf and Sheldon playing Center? Do they even have one 7 footer on their entire roster now?

Tier 1: Boston

Tier 1A: Miami, Chicago, Orlando (any of these teams can beat each other)

Tier 2: Atlanta, NY

Tier 3: Who cares?

New York is right there with Orlando in the same way Chicago is...against Orlando, Chicago will lose. They're a better team, but they have either Joakim Noah, or Omer Asik to defend Dwight Howard..and the both of them are just hands down terrible at that.

But, against all the other teams in the Eastern Conference, I think they'll probably be about as good.

And people are really underselling Carmelo Anthony. Like drastically underselling. We've all seen him play, and I think we just don't realize how good he is as a scorer. Dwight Howard won't stop him.

The problem for NY, same as for Chicago, is they they can't really slow down Dwight Howard..Joakim Noah is just completely ineffective against him.

Why should we care that Melo is an excellent scorer? The problem is he scores a particular way and it isn't clear that NY will be all that strong as a team. Lots of guys have been top scorers on losing teams. So what?

It also doesn't make sense to call a series based on a single matchup. Look at how many times players have dominate games and their team still lost. Basketball isn't that simplistic.

[guava_wrench]

The current Knicks team will get them to the playoffs.

To me, this puts the East at:

Tier 1: Boston/Miami
Tier 2: Chicago
Tier 3: Orlando/Atlanta/New York
=======
Tier 4: Milwaukee/Philadelphia/Charlotte/Indiana (the teams that will be without question beat in the first round)

NY can take Atlanta and any of the 4 'tier 4' teams after this trade..and possibly Orlando or even Chicago if Joakim Noah for some reason isn't there.

You have NY alongside Orlando? Really? With Turiaf and Sheldon playing Center? Do they even have one 7 footer on their entire roster now?

Tier 1: Boston

Tier 1A: Miami, Chicago, Orlando (any of these teams can beat each other)

Tier 2: Atlanta, NY

Tier 3: Who cares?

New York is right there with Orlando in the same way Chicago is...against Orlando, Chicago will lose. They're a better team, but they have either Joakim Noah, or Omer Asik to defend Dwight Howard..and the both of them are just hands down terrible at that.

But, against all the other teams in the Eastern Conference, I think they'll probably be about as good.

And people are really underselling Carmelo Anthony. Like drastically underselling. We've all seen him play, and I think we just don't realize how good he is as a scorer. Dwight Howard won't stop him.

The problem for NY, same as for Chicago, is they they can't really slow down Dwight Howard..Joakim Noah is just completely ineffective against him.

The Knick depth chart is disturbingly shallow. What do they have apart from Melo, Amare and Billups? Basically just Fields.

I don't see how D'Antoni can run his current system with the current roster, even if he still had training camp to work with them.

Mediocre teams like the Knicks can upset better teams. But they are a mess at the moment.

[indeedproceed]

I tell you, in any game where NY is not playing Boston, I'm rooting knicks. I find Carmelo Billups and Amar'e much more likeable than James/Bosh/Wade..I like the way Carmelo went about it more, and I get all NY games in HD so...go Knicks! (if you're not playing Boston)

Also, Landry Fields is STILL a Knick.

You're a NYer..you know you love that Landry Fields is still a Knick. Between the two of him and Gallinari, NY got lucky Fields didn't go anywhere..he's gonna fit in perfect next to Carmelo.

Why should we care that Melo is an excellent scorer? The problem is he scores a particular way and it isn't clear that NY will be all that strong as a team. Lots of guys have been top scorers on losing teams. So what?

How many times has Carmelo Anthony missed the playoffs? We're not talking about Nick Young here..we're talking about one of the best pure scorers in the basketball.

It also doesn't make sense to call a series based on a single matchup. Look at how many times players have dominate games and their team still lost. Basketball isn't that simplistic.

In games where Joakim Noah has played, Dwight Howard is 8-2, averaging 18 pts, 12 boards, and 2 blocks. Noah projects to roughly 5 fouls in 30 mins. It is not the whole matchup, and the last time Chicago played Orlando (sans Noah), Chicago won. However, Howard still went for 40 and 15, and the rest of his teammates combined shot around 30%. That's not going to happen 4 games outta 7.

Chicago will not and cannot as presently constituted beat Orlando in a playoff matchup, and it is because of Dwight Howard.

[Who]

Tier 1: Boston/Miami
Tier 2: Chicago
Tier 3: Orlando/Atlanta/New York

Yeah, I like that.

I think the Knicks are comparable to Orlando and Atlanta. Second tier playoff sides. Not a contender but a side capable of winning a series.