I don't believe for a second that Boston is a firm no on Melo, because of Melo. He's an all-star level player who is averaging 22.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 3 assists with 43%/37%/83% shooting.... shooting percentages up to 46% from the field and 42% from three this month.
It's not the age.
This is the same GM who gave up a top 5 pick, a starter-level 29 year old (Wally) and a quality 23 year old prospect averaging 12 points, 4 assists and 3 rebounds (Delonte) for a 32 year old Ray Allen when Ray was coming off an injury-riddled season putting up Melo-esque 44% shooting with 37% from three. It's not like Ray was known for his defense either.
I've said it before, but the modern equivalent of that Ray trade would be trading Jaylen Brown (top 5 pick - though most think he'd be picked no higher than 7th in this upcoming draft), Amir Johnson (the 29 year old starter) and Kelly Olynyk (the quality youngish prospect) for 32 year old Melo. We'd presumably get Melo for significantly less than that.
I've also long disagreed with the idea Melo is inefficient or a career loser. Neither has any basis in reality. This is a couple years old now, but here's what I said on this subject back in 2015:
This idea that he's inefficient is nonsense. He's a fairly efficient go-to scorer that you can absolutely build an offense around. He's also known as one of the most clutch end-of-game performers in the entire league (frequently ranked towards the top in 82games sortable clutch stats). The idea that he's a perennial loser is also equally nonsensical. While Melo was a Freshman at Syracuse leading them to the NCAA Championship, the Nuggets were on their way to a 17 win season. After drafting Melo, the Nuggets proceeded to make the playoffs 7 years in a row with between 43-54 wins each season (culminating with the Nuggets making the Western Conference finals in 2009). Melo's arrival in New York saw them go from a 29 win team to three straight playoff appearances. Think about this when you look at our own "star" player Rajon Rondo and his failure to thus-far lead a team even to a .500 record as the team's best player (we were a whopping 6-24 last season with Rondo at the helm). Yes, Melo ultimately felt like the supporting cast in Denver wasn't enough for him to compete... which should be a story all too familiar to Celtic fans *cough* KG *cough*. Yes, Melo finally missed the playoffs for the first time in his entire career last season for the woefully mis-managed Knicks and the media is abuzz with speculation he'll want out. Personally, I never understood how my fellow Celtic fans could bash Carmelo Anthony without realizing the vast similarities to our hero Paul Pierce. Want to talk about inefficient? In 2004, Pierce shot 40%/29%/82%. That's inefficient. Want to talk about a "perennial loser"? In the 9 pre-KG years Pierce played for Boston, they made the playoffs a total of 4 times... not once cracking 50 wins. And say what you want about 'Toine, but let's note that Pierce's failure happened WITH another all-star caliber player alongside him. In the two seasons prior to the arrival of KG the savior, we won 33 and 24 games. Pierce was frequently labelled a malcontent. Several fans wanted to see him traded. The worst moment of his career likely took place in his final playoff appearance as the "best player" in Boston... where he had a flagrant offensive foul in the final seconds of a playoff game we were WINNING, had himself ejected, and responded by ripping off his jersey and swinging around his head like a classless loser: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qbwm2tolAHo ... Now look, I freakin love Paul Pierce. I adore him. He's my favorite player of the modern era. I named my cat after him. But let's be real here... how is Melo worse than pre-KG Paul Pierce?
Melo's career numbers: 30 years old, 25.2 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.1 steals, 46%/35%/81%, 10 playoff appearances, 7x All-star, 1 WCF Appearance.
Pierce (pre-KG) numbers: 30 years old 23.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 1.6 steals 44%/36%/79%, 4 playoff appearances, 5x All-star, 1 ECF Appearance.
Melo has slipped a little in the two years since I wrote that, but I stand by all of it. I have no doubt that in a quality system with a quality coach, Melo (even at the same age Ray was when we acquired him) would see his efficiency take a leap in the same way Avery, Thomas and Jae have seen their efficiency take a leap with the addition of Al Horford.
I also don't buy the idea that we'd say no to Melo, because we have more pressing needs ... rebounding and interior defense. Yes, it's true that we have more pressing needs... but that's not the reason you tell the Knicks you're completely uninterested.
We can assume that a trade for Melo would be a lowball acquisition where we give up something like Amir's expiring, Zeller's expiring, Jerebko's expiring and one or two of the non-Brooklyn picks. Obviously it's a firm no if it's costing you significant assets. In that scenario, maybe you move either Melo or Jae to the PF slot. You'd still have an issue with interior defense and rebounding, but that's not why you'd say no to the lowball hypothetical.
If you're Ainge, you don't tell New york you're flat out uninterested for ANY of the above reasons...
Here's the real reason they'd say no. It has nothing to do with Melo, his fit or our needs. The real reason you say no is simple... The belief that something better will present itself. In terms of having assets, we're loaded. Especially in regards to draft assets. Our pre-lottery draft assets are historically valuable. We own picks for the next two years belonging to a team that is likely going to end up with the worst record in the league. You can acquire those picks without sabotaging the pick since the players you send out will not be improving the team the pick belongs to. That's a unique situation. We also have an perfectly curated collection of expiring contracts. That means if a major player becomes available... Blake, Westbrook, Boogie, Paul George, Butler, ANthony Davis, etc... Boston is the frontrunner to grab them. You don't want to blow your chance by using up your expirings to acquire Melo. Yes, it's unlikely that a guy like Davis will become available, but Boston is a Top 3 team in the East with quality play from Melo's position. They are in no rush. In the off chance a major (far younger) player becomes available, you want to make sure you have everything possible to grab that guy. Jumping at Melo would hurt our trade flexibility for the mythical trades that might present themselves.
The other reason you say no is because it would likely kill your chance to have max cap space this Summer. We're in a very good position to add someone. Blake? Hayward? It's very possible. You'd add one of those guys without losing anything. If you have 20+ mil locked up for Melo, you essentially eliminate that possibility.
If Ainge pulls the trigger it means he has to get creative including Avery/Jae in any deals that might present themselves (for salary matching)... or it means that Ainge is confident acquiring Melo is the best option we have/he's just too good to pass up for that cheap.
In short: It has nothing to do with Melo as a person or a player. Has everything to do with maintaining flexibility for a better trade or free agency.
In light of recent comments, I just want to clarify that while Jaylen + Amir + Kelly for 32 year old Melo is basically the modern equivalent of what we gave up for 32 year old Ray, I wouldn't be pleased if we did that. And I don't think that's what it would cost.
From New York's perspective, if this draft is as incredible as people say, there's a lot of value in them tanking hard for a top 6 pick. They are in the 11th slot right now, but are only 3 games out of 4th to last. Melo nearly won them a game last night by dropping 45 points in a Quad overtime game. If I'm Phil Jackson, my priority is dumping Melo's salary, buying out Rose, maybe getting a couple picks/prospects and going hard at the top of this draft. Be mindful that it's pretty unanimous from draft experts that Jaylen Brown would go no higher than 7th in this 2017 draft and might be more like 10th. So the real value for New York would be putting themselves in position to snag a prospect that's better than Jaylen via the 2017 draft to pair with Porzingis (who I continue to see as a tad overrated, but that's another story). They could then reasonably have two building-blocks for their future next season in Porzingis and the 2017 Knicks pick. What they got for Melo is less important than where they land in this draft. It's similar to when the Pelicans owners smartly refused to trade Chris Paul for a pu-pu-platter of Rockets vets in favor of dumping Paul for a weak draft pick/young prospect so that they could put themselves in position to successfully tank for Anthony Davis (the real prize).
New York's in a bit of a bind, because Melo dictates where he will go and it's a bit tricky to find a workable trade with the one team that seems to have mutual interest (Clips).
I explained in my last post why Boston would say no. It's not because they are anti-Melo or anything. You say no, because of how it impacts our flexibility. We want to be in the best position possible to land a young superstar if one hits the market. We are a frontrunner to land anyone who becomes available. Adding Melo would limit that flexibility, because it would take our major expiring contracts. It also would basically eliminate our ability to use max cap space this Summer. There's some intriguing players hitting free agency this Summer and we'll be a frontrunner to sign one. You say no without making an offer, basically because you don't want to accidentally take yourself out of the running when a better option presents itself later this month or this Summer.
I really wouldn't see it taking more than just our major expirings (Amir + Zeller + Jerebko) + expendable prospects and non-Brooklyn 1sts. I'm not sure New York can do better than that given the circumstances. But even there I think Boston says no, because of the reasons outlined above.
I will say... if Boston actually did acquire Melo and keep Jaylen in the process, I'd be very excited about that. I think Jaylen could have a really bright future, but it's contingent on maximizing his development. I think you stick him on New York and he's unlikely to ever amount to anything substantial. But if you keep him on Boston and let him continue to learn on this Top 8 team with quality vets, he could exceed expectations. I'd love to have him learning from Melo over the next couple years while Melo continues to score at an all-star level. Jaylen would have hands-on experience with learning how to defend against star players (Melo is one of the most versatile scorers of this generation). Jaylen would also presumably pick up a lot of insight on how to score at a star level.
Just like tanking for a top pick would be a hidden benefit of New York ridding themselves of Melo... Jaylen learning from Melo would be a hidden benefit of Boston adding him.
I only see it happening if Ainge decides #1 - There's no way we are ever trading the Brooklyn 1sts. #2 - There just isn't a better option out there via trade (for example if the Bulls continue to have unreasonable demands for Premium Brand Ricky Davis). #3 - He doesn't like our chances in Free agency this Summer even though guys like Blake Griffin and Gordon Hayward could very likely hit free agency and we'd be a frontrunner to add them without losing a single asset. #4 - He decides he just can't possibly say no to adding Melo for scraps. That last one is an important one to consider. Boston was mid-tank when we suddenly stumbled into an opportunity to add Isaiah Thomas for nothing. Even though it didn't run in line with the goal of that season (bottoming out for a top pick), Ainge couldn't turn down the opportunity to add Thomas for scraps. We could be finding ourselves in a similar situation with Melo. He's not Plan A or Plan B... but if you're able to add him for almost nothing, maybe you have to do it.
Edit: One last thing since I don't want to make a separate post. One of the main reasons I'd be on the fence about trading for Nerlens Noel is because how it impacts free agency this Summer. If we go for Melo and basically kill our 2017 Free agency, there's really nothing else that would make me hesitate to add Noel. Even if we went with the ol standby of Marcus Smart for Nerlens Noel... That leaves us with an interesting vet starting lineup of PG Thomas, SG - Bradley, SF - Crowder - PF - Melo - C Horford and the next-generation being groomed behind them of PG - 2017 1st (Fultz/Ball?), SG - James Young, SF - Jaylen Brown, PF - 2018 1st (big heavy), C - Noel.
Topic: Report: Melo would waive no-trade for C's; Stevens would like him, Ainge doesn't (Read 44507 times)