Melo has made clear he is exploring free agency this summer. He has reportedly tried to convince Rondo to join him in NY. If true, this at least would indicate that he and Rondo, friends from the same HS, would like to play together, no small hurdle.
Danny needs to get a second all star player to build around Rondo. Anthony is an elite scorer and shooter, kind of a combination of Pierce and Ray Allen, with a little power forward mixed in. To me, he is far more desirable asset than Kevin Love, who you would have to wait for another year, and is just not at the same skill level as Melo.
How much cap room would we have to sign him after this season? I know that Hump comes off the books. Can we amnesty Wallace? If so, how much cap room would that give us? Anthony has said he would take a discount to stay in NY, but that assumed they would build a winner around him. That is not happening there, but could be here, with Rondo as his partner. Unlike a lot of NBA stars, Melo is not averse to cold weather cities, or higher taxes.
To me, this should be Ainge's Plan A. The beauty is that, if it worked, you would still hold onto a very high draft pick that could be used to get a player capable of starting pretty quickly.
What do you guys/gals think?