There's a lot to love about Carmelo. The rich, almost unique milk chocolate flavor, the better-than-expected caramel filling, the relative value for money in traditionally sized bars (at least before Hershey got the license and made them smaller). All in all not as good as Scorched Almonds, but an excellent part of the Cadbury range. A real contender for Best Candy You Can Find at Walgreens, not on the level of Toblerone, but still, a contender. Wait. Sorry.
Carmelo Anthony? That whingeing malcontent? Him again? Is he ever happy? Let's take a look.
Was he happy when they brought in "The Carmelo Anthony Mini Me Action Father Figure" (aka Allan Iverson). No, because Iverson's act was the original, Anthony's a mere homage.
Was he happy when they brought in a better passing PG who was never afraid to shoot it with the game on the line, to make sure that the Carmelo bar didn't melt in the all that heat? No.
Will he ever realize that he's simply not in LeBron or DWade's class? No.
What's he on about this time? Is it more trade rumors? (Sigh.) I suppose I may as well write something about it, and share my feelings with you, lucky Dreamshaker after we
Jump!
The idea that we'd give up Martin, plus something else, plus the Knicks picks, plus a useful expiring contract (Jeffries) for Carmelo and his 28ppg and nothing, literally, nothing else, makes me slightly ill. If it happens it will make me slightly insane. The only thing that will mollify me in regards to Anthony being here under those terms will be a title. Anything else won't do. I've said it elsewhere, Anthony, to me, is just an unconvincing player, a guy who will only be remembered by basketball geeks in 20 years. Kevin Martin may be the same, but he's not being paid to be a legend in the making, and Anthony will be.
Here's the difference between Martin and Anthony as I see it: different position (whatever that means these days), 60lbs and (by my estimation) 3.4ppg. Oh yeah, and you get a prima donna act with Anthony and very likely an extra $60 million dollars to pay him versus Martin over the next five years. Martin is one year older.
I honestly think Martin is good for 25ppg with Adelman. I think Melo is good for 28, because I don't see his usage going up. Brooks, Scola, Yao, Lowry and everyone else is going to need their shots as well. In Denver Anthony was option 1A and 1B. So, you're looking at taking on:
1. A Max Contract
2. A Guy Who Whined His Way Out of A Team BUILT AROUND HIM
3. A Ball Stopper
4. A Guy Who Really Would Rather Be in NYC or LA, because of his new wife (and don't think that doesn't matter).
5. A guy who only attempts defense when he's on national TV.
6. A guy who only brings you his 28ppg. He doesn't pass much. He doesn't defend. He doesn't rebound terribly well.
For 3ppg more.
For 3ppg more.
For 3ppg more.
I'm pretty sure a little more court time for Chase Budinger can get you that extra 3ppg on one shot.
And what about Chase Budinger? He's for real, for one thing. For another his defense is certainly no worse than Melo's and at this point he's young enough to make it better. Budinger is a better passer and ball handler as well. Adding Anthony essentially roadblocks his development, rather than a natural maturation into a starting role as he takes more minutes from Shane Battier, (to develop Budinger, and keep Shane fresh and rested).
I'm not saying that Chase is a better player than Melo, that would be silly. I am saying that he's practically free in NBA terms, and using him in a platoon with Battier, who certainly IS a better defender than Melo and an actual leader, if you believe in that sort of thing, (which I do, but sparingly) is not a bad plan. Add in Martin at SG and you probably get more production than a Lee/Melo tandem, plus it costs far, far less, not only in salary, but in team assets.
Here's the thing. I like this Rockets team. A lot. Even adding Dampier would only make it stronger. The Rockets second unit is so good it provides us with a huge competitive advantage. If you give 20+ minutes a game to: Lowry, Lee, Budinger, Patterson, Hill, you're simply going to run a lot of teams out of the building. I can only think of a couple of benches that can even compete with that.
I don't want to make Melo and his ego the focus of this team. I don't want usage issues like those that cropped up with Yao and McGrady, and I absolutely think we'll get a rehash of that. I also think Melo will lessen the effectiveness of Luis Scola, and the team paid a pretty penny to keep him. I believe the concept behind the Rockets can work. I'd rather give it a run with the last year on Yao's deal than sign on the dotted line to hope for the best with Anthony and a max deal in a S&T over the next 6. We've been down that road before with a big scorer (and at least McGrady could pass like a dream when it occurred to him) and it didn't work. Because unless Anthony simply lights the world on fire, you're stuck with him and his empty batting average.
I'm willing to be convinced, but right now, I don't see it. I do not believe Carmelo Anthony is a Rocket if Kevin Martin isn't.
NOTE - Now I hear that Martin would stay. Would I give up the Knicks picks, and an expiring deal, and maybe something else (Battier? Hill?) for Carmelo? Yes. But he'll still have to win my heart, which, I am sure, is a high priority.
Note 2 - I've never seen Cadbury Scorched Almonds in the USA, which, like Jaffas and Maltesers is one of the great world candy tragedies. They're basically a whole roasted almond surrounded by a lot of Cadbury milk chocolate in a large box. Among the best things to get on a late night C-Store run after you've had a big night.
Note 3 - Doesn't Tom Brady on those Comcast ads (with his dickhead haircut) look EXACTLY like Kenneth The Page on 30 Rock?
Note to self - Don't include self-mockery on next post, ego too fragile.