Arena The NBA Thread

Depending on the money he wants / slot he'll take up. Houston makes some sense. The Lakers make sense. Golden State would break Twitter and would be HILLARIOUS. A return to Denver makes some sense - they are desperate to make the playoffs. Toronto? Philly? Depending on the role he's willing to accept, there's plenty of places that make sense.

Let's see if history repeats itself and we have the exact situation Wade had last year. Signs with LeBron's team, isn't in the role he wants/fits/impacts the team properly, gets traded back to the team that drafted him.

 

I was in my car running errands for work when this broke and I didn't hear the news until I got back in my office and checked my phone. DC is all focused on the win their sad baseball team got last night. Melo is not on their radar.

Seriously I want him to go to whoever offers the Thuder a good player in return.

 

they're apparently going to buy him out no matter if they get any offers or not, so i doubt anyone will offer anything great. i think he'll go to the lakers if they'll have him.

 

The only trade partner that might make sense would be someone in a situation like Philly was in a few years ago, where they needed to take on Salary just to hit the salary floor, and then would waive / buy out the player they acquired. I can't think of anyone in a similar situation. Even the teams you expect to tank this year (Atlanta, Orlando, Chicago, Sacramento) have enough salary that they don't need to acquire a vet. And all indications are that anyone trading for Melo would be doing it to waive him - the best OKC would get would be something like a conditional 2nd Round Pick that might convey in six years.

 

Toronto could use him for the playoffs, because at least Melo isn't scared. Still he'd probably piss and moan about being the third option behind Lowry and DeRozan during the regular season, but he could take control in the playoffs if they get shy again, which they will.

Charlotte might be able to use another iso option, but I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't interested. They might be though if they're really tired of missing the playoffs. Don't know if he'd be happy with their level of talent, either.

Portland? He'd give them an extra offensive punch, no? Would he accept being third option? He'd mess up the starting lineup's defense, though. He'd be a better fit coming off the bench, where he'd become the #1 option the moment he checks in, but he refuses to come off the bench.

I think Millsap's a better fit in Denver's starting lineup, because he actually plays defense, is a good and willing passer, and is willing to actually run through the offense. Melo would be better coming off the bench where he'd have more freedom, but nope, he doesn't want to.

Like AI, he's blind to how a bench role might be good for him. Sad! AI could have ran the second unit in Detroit and it would have been a great fit. He would have been given a complete free rein. He would have been allowed to shoot as much as he wanted because the Pistons didn't have any scoring off the bench, and no one would have cared if he played defense or not, the rest of the second unit would have hustled to make up for him. Melo could do the same. Come off the bench, give him the ball and let him go to work. Don't worry about defense, don't worry about keeping teammates involved. Just do you.

He might have to retire because he probably won't find a situation where he's a major scoring option on a contender.

 

Not that Melo couldn't be effect enough with the Lakers, but my initial reaction today's news looked like this:



.




Would I like to be proven wrong, should he sign? Duh.

 

I like to imagine this conversation happening

*Lakers make an offer to Spurs for Kawhi*
"Oh, you literally couldn't have made us a worse offer"
"Watch us try"
*Lakers sign McGee, Lance, Rondo, and Melo*
"Wait until these guys can be traded, Pop!"

 

i literally did a double take.

 

That's going to look wrong

 

WOW!

 

Kings make Zach Lavine a four year, $80 million offer.

@epic ?

 

bulls matching.

 

Former NBA player Clifford Rozier dies of a heart attack at age 45.

 

@anakinfansince1983

Malik Monk broke his right thumb. Out six to eight weeks. Should be back long before start of regular season.

Also there's a trade in the works that has been agreed upon.

Charlotte sends Mozgov to Magic, Julyan Stone to Bulls. Charlotte receives Bismack Biyombo, who is def better than Mozgov. Orlando also gets Jerian Grant from Bulls.

 

I don’t like it

Haven’t ultimatley seen enough of him in a bulls jersey post injury but from his overall career to date I just don’t see him as a title winning piece at that price. I’d have let him walk. We got Lauri and ultimately Carter from the Butler trade, that makes it worth it in my books.

 

I would have let Lavine walk, too. It's a tricky situation because you're sooooo far below the cap you need to spend a ton to hit the minimum team salary...but I probably would have played salary dumpster for other teams in return for draft picks. I remember thinking $20 mil was the absolute maximum I would consider for Lavine, but would much prefer him around $10-15 mil. I'd rather let him go and take a shot at Klay, Kawhi, Kyrie, Butler and any other legit difference maker next summer. Maybe even DeAndre Jordan to pair with Lauri. I'd rather throw max salary offers at those guys (not DeAndre) than sign Lavine at $20 mil, even if I ultimately swing and miss. You'd have so much cap space next summer you could easily sign two of them. You'll still have room for one, easily. Idk, I'd just rather let a guy (and Lavine is just another guy) go than overpay him, especially in your situation, because those salaries can really come back to bite you later. On the other hand, you're probably years from contending, so Lavine's contract might be up by the time you're ready to chase after legit NBA stars. In the meantime, Lavine probably leaves you in that middle ground between making the playoffs and getting an elite player in the draft. That's a crappy place to be. It's a tough call.

You got Kris Dunn in the Butler trade btw, not Carter.

 

I mean getting rid of Butler meant we went into tank mode, which ended up with us getting Carter. If we’d have kept Butler we wouldn’t have ended up with a lottery pick. And yeah, we got Dunn although I’m not so sure about him either tbh

And yeah we are now risking being in nba purgatory without enough long term pieces. Then again maybe Lavine will just suck which will help the chances of another pick next year. Hopefully less teams openly tank again.

 

Suns sign Devin Booker.

 

Memphis makes 4 year, 37 mil offer to Kyle Anderson, Spurs apparently not matching. Anderson was third in DBPM and sixth in defensive rating.

Pistons sign Zaza to veteran minimum. Why. I guess he's a bench upgrade and you can't argue with that price...but for some reason I'm scared of an Andre Drummond trade. Would hate to see the dirty duo of Blake and Zaza.

Make the Pistons Dirty Again. Bad Boys Are Back.

I'd pass on that. I like physical play, but I don't like dirty play and needless cheap shots. Looking back, I'm glad that era is gone. It shouldn't be part of basketball.

 

the thing i worry about most with zaza after watching him for two years is him stepping or falling on a teammate. he's honestly more clumsy than he is dirty.

 

idk if it's clumsy to lock a dude up after you've fallen, or trip a dude after you've fallen, or slam backward into a dude after you've fallen, or walk over and stare a guy down after "clumsily" leaping your big dumbass body into him.

I cheer for Vontaze Burfict tom, it's possible to admit a dude on your team is dirty! And even still defend him against BS!

 

lol that's fair. but i was just talking about watching him every game for the last two years on the warriors. his reputation as a bruiser is probably well deserved, but i think he cleaned up his act a lot for his time in golden state.