I think it was Lowe who mentioned the current MVP almost not making last year's ASG. Could it happen this year? I think Donovan gets fired first if that situation is legit...
I forgot about the hip contusion, but yeah, he has to be dealing with something that has been bothering him all season...this level of drop-off is pretty staggering his game won’t age well at all, and I doubt any star will ever be eager to go and play with him...plus Oklahoma City is 1 of the worst NBA cities so it’s already hard enough for them to get free agents...damn, there’s really not a lot to look forward to as an OKC fan once Paul George leaves this failed experiment
His main points: Defense is definitely not the problem. PG, Roberson and Adams are all stellar. "It's all about offense". Melo: Is in "inevitable" decline. He's lost spring in his legs which (1) affects finishing at the rim, (2) has seriously slowed his first step and (3) hurt his jumper. He isolates like he's still on the Knicks. He's a black hole who takes too many long 2s and causes his demoralized teammates to give up on possessions and watch him shoot. He plays like 28 year-old Melo but he's 33. "Olympic Melo" simply hasn't existed this year. PG: Didn't say much negative except Melo has blown PG's PPP stats off PnRs because he misses jumpers off PG's passes. WB: He completely disappears from plays too often after bringing the ball up the court, to the point of "picking his butt". His lack of movement without the ball is most frustrating. OKC is last in the league is passes per game by a wide margin.
I'm no gematria expert, but Russell Westbrook's jersey number is 0. The Thunder's chance of winning the finals is also 0.
Perfect scenario: Thunder realize they can't do it with this team, trade George to LA midway through the season. Buyout Melo. Westbrook demands a trade at the end of the season. Team gets ripped out of OKC and moves back to Seattle. I drink the delicious tears of obnoxious, insufferable OKC fans.
Honestly, if OKC isn't in the top 8 by the midway point, I could see them just buying Melo out, or if their season sucks, they'll buy him out after. Rockets could sign him on the cheap, sign LeBron, sign Melo, sign CP3, sign Wade. I really don't want the banana boat scenario tbh, but I guess it could round out as all of these guys could be FA this upcoming offseason.
This needs to be emphasized. We dodged a bullet with Melo. I'm not sure he would even be better than Ryno on this team right now. He's lost his first step, so he's a different player now. He's not that match up nightmare he once was but still plays like he thinks he is. Ryno knows his role and is playing it extremely well under CP3. Melo does not know his role and refuses any role other than ISO-Melo. Not sure why that would be any different here. I was wrong on wanting Melo. Thankfully, he chose the Thunder instead of the Rockets.
i agree with all of y'all's points and so far, i'm happy we missed out. but i feel like it's a disservice to CP3/harden to say melo wouldn't be different. they, along with bron, are probably the 3 players who can make ANYONE look good. even with melo's decline, i'd still be fairly confident in harden/cp3's ability to make players around them better. look what cp3 did to home ryno lol. also, melo's biggest impact would be in the playoffs. but honestly, as "fun" as these hypotheticals are to discuss, it really doesn't matter anymore. kinda just beating a dead horse without knowing what truly would've happened, since it never came to fruition.
Don't know if any of you guys ever watch a Japanese cartoon called Dragon Ball, when trained by Master Roshi, Goku and Krillin wear super heavy Turtle Shell. Once they take that heavy turtle shell off, they are much stronger. That's exactly what happened to Oladipo, Sabonis etc last year in OKC, they were trained with the weight of Mr. Ninja Turtle's shell on their back.
Regardless of OKC struggles, they blew out the Warriors at full strength. This means they have the talent to beat anybody and contend for the championship once they make the playoffs. They will be the team no one wants to face regardless of record or seeding.
That win looks more and more like an anomaly, like when the Grizz blew out the Warriors at full strength around that time as well.
Well actually, Morey made that choice for him. Let's be honest, Morey knew Melo's value: like non. Didn't give up Ariza, nor Capela, nor Gordon. Probably (but I have no idea tbh and I'm an idiot) was like "Hey, here's Anderson, and we would like a 1st rounder please". No sources behind this, but point is, I'm sure Morey had awareness on how much more valuable Anderson would be for this year's team before any of us had even finished jerking off about the CP3 trade.
Yep. Morey is great because he places a value on a player and it's basically take it or leave it. Any other GM maybe folds, throws in Capela or Gordon and we'd probably be where Minny is right now, middle of the road team battling for that 4-5 spot. I agree with you, I think Melo would be better here, but I'm not so sure he'd be better than Ryno is for this team. It's sort of like Draymond Green. If you put him on say the Nets he'd look meh, put him on the Wolves? Probably meh. The Warriors make PERFECT sense for him. He's the perfect small ball big with his vision, defense, toughness, and ability to be a threat beyond 3 point line. As much as we crapped on Ryno, he's a major threat from 3. Not just an okay one or a so-so one, leaving him open is a mistake by the defense every time, not that Melo isn't though, but he's a scorer. Sometimes these guys don't like just being a spot up shooter. See Chris Bosh in Miami his first year and Love in Cleveland. It takes them time to adjust. Could Melo even adjust watch CP3 and Harden dominate the ball? The offense we have works because CP3 and Harden are Alpha and Omega. I think Melo's dying years in the NBA will be basically Jamal Crawford. Sometimes the offense is appreciated but sometimes it's just...yuck.
I actually I prefer WB stays and they get stuck with him. They're a match made in heaven. If Morey offers Melo to the Rockets, should Morey listen?
Morey REALLY wanted him the first time around. Remember "The Key to a Championship Formula"? This time, I think Morey was offering Anderson straight up (maybe with some fillers) and the Knicks refused. They probably would refuse too if we offered Gordon or Capela alone. They wanted two of those three players or with Ariza. Morey obviously didn't think Melo was worth that much. I am on the side that believes Ryno is better than Melo with the Rockets. The only reason I would trade Anderson for Melo would be because of Ryno's bad contract.