This team is built for Demarcus

[Hemingway]

Imagine how much better our fourth quarter lineup where we saw Thomas, Bradley, Turner, Sully and KO would be if we could replace Turner and Sully with two legit stars through trade and free agency.

Pipe dream number one being Cousins and Leonard.

Thomas/Smart
Bradley
Leonard/Crowder
KO
Cousins/Zeller

Is an incredibly balanced young team that fits Stevens system perfectly. If only.

I know....how do we get stars? If not through the draft?!? Karl Anthony really fits our system as well, but that is also a pipe dream....I'm afraid we're destined for mediocridy.

We have some assets and some cash. The lottery is really risky too, I mean in the past 2 years weve had Anthony Bennet, Otto Porter, Alex len,  Cody Zeller, Dante Exum, and Aaron gordon all selected in the top 5. Sure Exum could still be a star and they could all be nice players but its entirely possible that a team could have had the second worse record in the league both years and come out with Anthony Bennet and Aaron Gordon. Its also possible they could have Oladipo and Jabari Parker but its not like the draft is some garunteed ticket to stardom.

I did a post way back looking at each top 5 back about a decade on there tends to be 1 superstar 1 bust, 1 dissapointmen and 2 above average- star players.

Each year fluctuates, but its not exactly a slam dunk.

Dont get me wrong I think its a strategy that can be very effective but people tend to make it sound like sucking for a year or two garuntees you 2 superstars. It is a much riskier proposition.

I mean look at the Bobcats, worst record in the league 1 year, really bad the next and they got out of it MKG, Cody Zeller,  Kemba and Noah Vonleh. All top 10 picks but they look more locked into mediocrity than us.

I actually think tanking is the easiest way to get a star but people (not necessarily you your post was actually completely reasonable and didnt even mention tanking) just in general people on this forum act like if you close your eyes and suck for 2 years you are garunteed to be title contenders within the next 3 years

Agreed.

We need to cash in while we have something good going. Our recent success plus a trade that brought us DMC (or any other star) would make FAs look at us like one of the best situations. The same for MLE and vet min guys.

[Mass_1081]

  We really need to stop with this. Even if Sac was going to trade him we have no centerpiece in the deal. We either have to wait and hope a player developed, get lucky in the later round of the draft, or hope Ainge can work the asset ladder. There are a lot of teams that have ugh lottery picks or grade A prospects that could beat us in any deal.

[Mass_1081]

Imagine how much better our fourth quarter lineup where we saw Thomas, Bradley, Turner, Sully and KO would be if we could replace Turner and Sully with two legit stars through trade and free agency.

Pipe dream number one being Cousins and Leonard.

Thomas/Smart
Bradley
Leonard/Crowder
KO
Cousins/Zeller

Is an incredibly balanced young team that fits Stevens system perfectly. If only.

I know....how do we get stars? If not through the draft?!? Karl Anthony really fits our system as well, but that is also a pipe dream....I'm afraid we're destined for mediocridy.

We have some assets and some cash. The lottery is really risky too, I mean in the past 2 years weve had Anthony Bennet, Otto Porter, Alex len,  Cody Zeller, Dante Exum, and Aaron gordon all selected in the top 5. Sure Exum could still be a star and they could all be nice players but its entirely possible that a team could have had the second worse record in the league both years and come out with Anthony Bennet and Aaron Gordon. Its also possible they could have Oladipo and Jabari Parker but its not like the draft is some garunteed ticket to stardom.

I did a post way back looking at each top 5 back about a decade on there tends to be 1 superstar 1 bust, 1 dissapointmen and 2 above average- star players.

Each year fluctuates, but its not exactly a slam dunk.

Dont get me wrong I think its a strategy that can be very effective but people tend to make it sound like sucking for a year or two garuntees you 2 superstars. It is a much riskier proposition.

I mean look at the Bobcats, worst record in the league 1 year, really bad the next and they got out of it MKG, Cody Zeller,  Kemba and Noah Vonleh. All top 10 picks but they look more locked into mediocrity than us.

I actually think tanking is the easiest way to get a star but people (not necessarily you your post was actually completely reasonable and didnt even mention tanking) just in general people on this forum act like if you close your eyes and suck for 2 years you are garunteed to be title contenders within the next 3 years

Agreed.

We need to cash in while we have something good going. Our recent success plus a trade that brought us DMC (or any other star) would make FAs look at us like one of the best situations. The same for MLE and vet min guys.

  I love that we made the playoffs, but a lot of gm's aren't fooled. We still had a losing record, and getting swept by the Cavs will just show the lack of talent on this team. They really need to make this series competitive, it's a sad state, but you need stars to attract stars, not just one good half of basketball.

[Monkhouse]

George Karl isn't trading DMC for our picks and assets.

If we got DMC, I would absolutely hope Ainge gives Middleton a near to max contract, and hope the Bucks don't match. Kevin Martin would also be a great addition. Hes averaging 20 PPG, and is averaging 39.3% on 2-3 3PA.

I don't think we'll need a true dominant scoring PG. I hope Smart can develop enough passing instincts, and working on abusing smaller point guards by posting up in the paint.

A team of
Smart
K-Mart or Middleton
FA/Crowder
Sullinger/KO
DMC

Is a pretty deep team that's very young. I would also love Pierce to come back next year. Pierce could do wonders for our young team, look at the Wizards right now, and how much vet experience has helped them.

[greece66]

This again??

Kings are not trading him

Thank you

[manl_lui]

Cousins or not (though I would really want him), GET STEVENS A STAR! I think with a legit star, he will do wonders for this team. Normally you say, get the *insert star player name here* some help. But in our case, please get the coach some more talent

[Monkhouse]

Cousins or not (though I would really want him), GET STEVENS A STAR! I think with a legit star, he will do wonders for this team. Normally you say, get the *insert star player name here* some help. But in our case, please get the coach some more talent

You think Melo would demand a trade if the Knicks head towards a rebuilding phase, instead of trading their first round pick for a superstar, and decide to draft, and go young?

Would you want him on the Celtics?

[Ilikesports17]

Cousins or not (though I would really want him), GET STEVENS A STAR! I think with a legit star, he will do wonders for this team. Normally you say, get the *insert star player name here* some help. But in our case, please get the coach some more talent

You think Melo would demand a trade if the Knicks head towards a rebuilding phase, instead of trading their first round pick for a superstar, and decide to draft, and go young?

Would you want him on the Celtics?

No I mean last year he had a chance to go to Chicago and play under a very good coach in Thibs on a team whose starting 5 could have been:

Rose
Butler
Melo
Gasol
Noah
Gibson off bench

Throw in the fact that Chicago is a really cool city as well and I think he just wants to be in New York. Also, I would expect the Lakers would be down to move their #1 pick for him which would be most enticing for NYK.

Would I want him tho? I dont like Melo but yes absolutely he is a bit old but an elite elite scorer and he would probably attract that last star piece.

unfortunately I dont see this happening either.

[manl_lui]

Cousins or not (though I would really want him), GET STEVENS A STAR! I think with a legit star, he will do wonders for this team. Normally you say, get the *insert star player name here* some help. But in our case, please get the coach some more talent

You think Melo would demand a trade if the Knicks head towards a rebuilding phase, instead of trading their first round pick for a superstar, and decide to draft, and go young?

Would you want him on the Celtics?

to be honest, I am torn on that. He is talented as an offensive scorer, also not a bad rebounder, but I am not sure if his attitude fits in with our system

[Monkhouse]

Cousins or not (though I would really want him), GET STEVENS A STAR! I think with a legit star, he will do wonders for this team. Normally you say, get the *insert star player name here* some help. But in our case, please get the coach some more talent

You think Melo would demand a trade if the Knicks head towards a rebuilding phase, instead of trading their first round pick for a superstar, and decide to draft, and go young?

Would you want him on the Celtics?

to be honest, I am torn on that. He is talented as an offensive scorer, also not a bad rebounder, but I am not sure if his attitude fits in with our system

Cousins or not (though I would really want him), GET STEVENS A STAR! I think with a legit star, he will do wonders for this team. Normally you say, get the *insert star player name here* some help. But in our case, please get the coach some more talent

You think Melo would demand a trade if the Knicks head towards a rebuilding phase, instead of trading their first round pick for a superstar, and decide to draft, and go young?

Would you want him on the Celtics?

No I mean last year he had a chance to go to Chicago and play under a very good coach in Thibs on a team whose starting 5 could have been:

Rose
Butler
Melo
Gasol
Noah
Gibson off bench

Throw in the fact that Chicago is a really cool city as well and I think he just wants to be in New York. Also, I would expect the Lakers would be down to move their #1 pick for him which would be most enticing for NYK.

Would I want him tho? I dont like Melo but yes absolutely he is a bit old but an elite elite scorer and he would probably attract that last star piece.

unfortunately I dont see this happening either.

I think everyone has always dissed Melo.

People say Melo is a black hole on offense, but I disagree. Kyrie, Harden, and other players take similar shots as Melo, and even though some of them are considered 'black holes,' they are respectively destroying the competition right now.

Melo has averaged over 3 APG in his career. I think the difference with Brad Steven's system is that he really does want players like IT, or Melo, to just play to their strengths, but focus on passing the ball if you're double teammed.

Also, Melo did pass the ball a lot based on my eye test watching the Knicks a year ago, but other players just couldn't finish their shots.

I would love Melo on this team. He could be the player we needed to make the tough shots. We could've used his shot creating ability in the 4th quarter last night.

[manl_lui]

Cousins or not (though I would really want him), GET STEVENS A STAR! I think with a legit star, he will do wonders for this team. Normally you say, get the *insert star player name here* some help. But in our case, please get the coach some more talent

You think Melo would demand a trade if the Knicks head towards a rebuilding phase, instead of trading their first round pick for a superstar, and decide to draft, and go young?

Would you want him on the Celtics?

to be honest, I am torn on that. He is talented as an offensive scorer, also not a bad rebounder, but I am not sure if his attitude fits in with our system

Cousins or not (though I would really want him), GET STEVENS A STAR! I think with a legit star, he will do wonders for this team. Normally you say, get the *insert star player name here* some help. But in our case, please get the coach some more talent

You think Melo would demand a trade if the Knicks head towards a rebuilding phase, instead of trading their first round pick for a superstar, and decide to draft, and go young?

Would you want him on the Celtics?

No I mean last year he had a chance to go to Chicago and play under a very good coach in Thibs on a team whose starting 5 could have been:

Rose
Butler
Melo
Gasol
Noah
Gibson off bench

Throw in the fact that Chicago is a really cool city as well and I think he just wants to be in New York. Also, I would expect the Lakers would be down to move their #1 pick for him which would be most enticing for NYK.

Would I want him tho? I dont like Melo but yes absolutely he is a bit old but an elite elite scorer and he would probably attract that last star piece.

unfortunately I dont see this happening either.

I think everyone has always dissed Melo.

People say Melo is a black hole on offense, but I disagree. Kyrie, Harden, and other players take similar shots as Melo, and even though some of them are considered 'black holes,' they are respectively destroying the competition right now.

Melo has averaged over 3 APG in his career. I think the difference with Brad Steven's system is that he really does want players like IT, or Melo, to just play to their strengths, but focus on passing the ball if you're double teammed.

Also, Melo did pass the ball a lot based on my eye test watching the Knicks a year ago, but other players just couldn't finish their shots.

I would love Melo on this team. He could be the player we needed to make the tough shots. We could've used his shot creating ability in the 4th quarter last night.

so my biggest question is

Melo is 30, how long is our window to win a championship until he starts going down?

[sofutomygaha]

Can you imagine a team built around Isaiah Thomas and Demarcus Cousins? Those dudes would win so many games together.

[Ilikesports17]

Cousins or not (though I would really want him), GET STEVENS A STAR! I think with a legit star, he will do wonders for this team. Normally you say, get the *insert star player name here* some help. But in our case, please get the coach some more talent

You think Melo would demand a trade if the Knicks head towards a rebuilding phase, instead of trading their first round pick for a superstar, and decide to draft, and go young?

Would you want him on the Celtics?

to be honest, I am torn on that. He is talented as an offensive scorer, also not a bad rebounder, but I am not sure if his attitude fits in with our system

Cousins or not (though I would really want him), GET STEVENS A STAR! I think with a legit star, he will do wonders for this team. Normally you say, get the *insert star player name here* some help. But in our case, please get the coach some more talent

You think Melo would demand a trade if the Knicks head towards a rebuilding phase, instead of trading their first round pick for a superstar, and decide to draft, and go young?

Would you want him on the Celtics?

No I mean last year he had a chance to go to Chicago and play under a very good coach in Thibs on a team whose starting 5 could have been:

Rose
Butler
Melo
Gasol
Noah
Gibson off bench

Throw in the fact that Chicago is a really cool city as well and I think he just wants to be in New York. Also, I would expect the Lakers would be down to move their #1 pick for him which would be most enticing for NYK.

Would I want him tho? I dont like Melo but yes absolutely he is a bit old but an elite elite scorer and he would probably attract that last star piece.

unfortunately I dont see this happening either.

I think everyone has always dissed Melo.

People say Melo is a black hole on offense, but I disagree. Kyrie, Harden, and other players take similar shots as Melo, and even though some of them are considered 'black holes,' they are respectively destroying the competition right now.

Melo has averaged over 3 APG in his career. I think the difference with Brad Steven's system is that he really does want players like IT, or Melo, to just play to their strengths, but focus on passing the ball if you're double teammed.

Also, Melo did pass the ball a lot based on my eye test watching the Knicks a year ago, but other players just couldn't finish their shots.

I would love Melo on this team. He could be the player we needed to make the tough shots. We could've used his shot creating ability in the 4th quarter last night.

100% agree

[Ilikesports17]

Can you imagine a team built around Isaiah Thomas and Demarcus Cousins? Those dudes would win so many games together.

very different scenarios both guys have grown up and that Kings team was garbage from fron office down

[Monkhouse]

Can you imagine a team built around Isaiah Thomas and Demarcus Cousins? Those dudes would win so many games together.

very different scenarios both guys have grown up and that Kings team was garbage from fron office down

I think if we're getting DMC, IT will definitely be used as trade bait at some point.

Cousins or not (though I would really want him), GET STEVENS A STAR! I think with a legit star, he will do wonders for this team. Normally you say, get the *insert star player name here* some help. But in our case, please get the coach some more talent

You think Melo would demand a trade if the Knicks head towards a rebuilding phase, instead of trading their first round pick for a superstar, and decide to draft, and go young?

Would you want him on the Celtics?

to be honest, I am torn on that. He is talented as an offensive scorer, also not a bad rebounder, but I am not sure if his attitude fits in with our system

Cousins or not (though I would really want him), GET STEVENS A STAR! I think with a legit star, he will do wonders for this team. Normally you say, get the *insert star player name here* some help. But in our case, please get the coach some more talent

You think Melo would demand a trade if the Knicks head towards a rebuilding phase, instead of trading their first round pick for a superstar, and decide to draft, and go young?

Would you want him on the Celtics?

No I mean last year he had a chance to go to Chicago and play under a very good coach in Thibs on a team whose starting 5 could have been:

Rose
Butler
Melo
Gasol
Noah
Gibson off bench

Throw in the fact that Chicago is a really cool city as well and I think he just wants to be in New York. Also, I would expect the Lakers would be down to move their #1 pick for him which would be most enticing for NYK.

Would I want him tho? I dont like Melo but yes absolutely he is a bit old but an elite elite scorer and he would probably attract that last star piece.

unfortunately I dont see this happening either.

I think everyone has always dissed Melo.

People say Melo is a black hole on offense, but I disagree. Kyrie, Harden, and other players take similar shots as Melo, and even though some of them are considered 'black holes,' they are respectively destroying the competition right now.

Melo has averaged over 3 APG in his career. I think the difference with Brad Steven's system is that he really does want players like IT, or Melo, to just play to their strengths, but focus on passing the ball if you're double teammed.

Also, Melo did pass the ball a lot based on my eye test watching the Knicks a year ago, but other players just couldn't finish their shots.

I would love Melo on this team. He could be the player we needed to make the tough shots. We could've used his shot creating ability in the 4th quarter last night.

so my biggest question is

Melo is 30, how long is our window to win a championship until he starts going down?

Probably 3-4 years. Pierce/Melo don't really depend on their sheer athleticism, but rather the ability to separate and create space to take shots.