I respect you as a poster and yes we gave up a lot of our ROLE players but you are just dead wrong on this stance. Melo scores 24pts and grabs close to 8 boards a game in his sleep. Pairing him next Amre in this system is lethal! Put Wiliams and Billiups on the perimeter and it will be impossible to guard us. Pick your poison, who do you leave single coverage on? Amare or Melo? Do you collapse on them to leave the league leader in 3 pointers open or Billups a clutch 31%+ shooter open?
Yes, we will struggle on defense but we were already getting dominated in the paint and on the boards so losing a bunch of players that did not really change that is moot. If anything we are a better rebounding team as Melo is a big upgrade at the SF position. I also think Walker with more minutes will thrive.
We were not winning anything with the core we had period! Add to it that Chandler was gone after this year anyway, AR did not play and Felton was always a short term solution and one can conclude that the trade was not bad at all. Sure, keeping Moz would have been nice but he certainly isnt worth holding up this deal or allowing a division rival to get Melo. Billiups will bring clutch playmaking and shooting with a championship pedigree for the next two years as the Knicks make an attempt to secure their big 3. 2/3rds of the big 3 have been acquired! We could never have gotten a big three without first getting a big two. This is just another step towards building a contender. Again, role players are replaceable and thats all we lost in this trade! Stop the whining please and be happy.
If we win, I'm happy.
I respect you as a poster, Trill. You are definitely not in the "reactionary, fickle fan needing instant gratification" club.
But you have to at least understand some of my concerns. It was so simple. We could have been contenders as early as next year. We are not winning anything with the current roster either. If the CBA is favorable and we can build around Melo and Amare, then great. If it is more restricitve and we're stuck, then I know who to blame.
I was right about the cap last year, when everyone didn't believe me. I just hope I'm wrong this time. As it stands right now, and all the reports I've heard about the new CBA, it is looking very difficult to build a contender. This deal is a wait and see, for me. If we're contenders next year, I'm with you. If not, then I know who to blame.
