Carmelo traded to OKC

ifmanis5

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Melo on the move and soon: http://www.nba.com/article/2017/09/23/new-york-knicks-look-trade-carmelo-anthony-weekend
The Knicks are expected to engage both Cleveland and Oklahoma City on Saturday in hopes of completing a Carmelo Anthony trade by the beginning of training camp on Monday, according to league sources.
EDIT:
Adrian Wojnarowski‏Verified account @wojespn 3m3 minutes ago
Carmelo Anthony is continuing to express to New York an urgency to be traded before the start of camp next week, league sources tell ESPN.
 
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Ed Hillel

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Melo to OKC:

Maybe he can join George and Westbrook in LA with LBJ next year.
 

ilol@u

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Three guys who are used to having the ball in their hands in OKC. I wish them the best but I don't see that team going anywhere.
 

Sam Ray Not

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Per 36 last year:

Kanter (age 25) 24.3 pts on .599 ts
McDermott (age 25) 12.1 pts on .551 ts
Anthony (age 33) 23.5 pts on .535 ts

Kanter and Dougie McD can't defend; neither can Melo.

I actually kind of liked the Thunder's roster a bit better before. Melo takes touches away from Russ and PG (both more efficient scorers), adds another guy who likes to pound the ball, and takes minutes away from Roberson and Jerami Grant, young, super-athletic wings who can defend.

Still, I appreciate Sam Presti's cojones; and if nothing else it should be fascinating to watch.
 
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Sam Ray Not

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GS, Spurs, Rockets, and Thunder all will have 55-65 wins. The WC playoffs is going to be a complete bloodbath.
OKC v. HOU v. SA v. MIN looks like a bloodbath for sure. Barring injury, I think the Warriors are several lengths ahead of that pack, not just in terms of aggregate talent but also in terms of fit, continuity and likely chemistry.
 

PedroKsBambino

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Not at all sold on OKC. I like that Presti is aggressively playing his hand, but the Carmelo fit requires a lot going right doesn't it? Three ball-dominant guys (though George's game at least fits off-ball), uncertain depth and defense. Plus, really only until trade deadline to show it works.

Will be interesting, but as likely to be broken up in Feb as to win 55 games see to me
 

RedOctober3829

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Not at all sold on OKC. I like that Presti is aggressively playing his hand, but the Carmelo fit requires a lot going right doesn't it? Three ball-dominant guys (though George's game at least fits off-ball), uncertain depth and defense. Plus, really only until trade deadline to show it works.

Will be interesting, but as likely to be broken up in Feb as to win 55 games see to me
I can see this working. A lineup of Westbrook-Roberson-George-Melo-Adams can fit together quite nicely. Melo at the 4 will have a lot of mismatches.
 

Sam Ray Not

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I can see this working. A lineup of Westbrook-Roberson-George-Melo-Adams can fit together quite nicely. Melo at the 4 will have a lot of mismatches.
Hm, now that you lay it out, that is an impessive lineup. Forcing Melo and George to play more 4 is one of the nice things about the deal for them.
 

PedroKsBambino

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It's not just about names, though.

Roberson is a very odd fit now--really not skillset you want offensively around those three. Adams also weaker for than you'd like offensively. Those guys both help at other end at least.

This looks like an offense from the late 90s doing a lot of ISO and two-man stuff. Guys doing it are very talented and maybe they pull it off, but a lot of gaps on this team.
 

RedOctober3829

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It's not just about names, though.

Roberson is a very odd fit now--really not skillset you want offensively around those three. Adams also weaker for than you'd like offensively. Those guys both help at other end at least.

This looks like an offense from the late 90s doing a lot of ISO and two-man stuff. Guys doing it are very talented and maybe they pull it off, but a lot of gaps on this team.
Roberson is a very good defensive player so he's needed. You could also take Roberson out and play Patterson at the 4. Now it's Russ-George-Melo-Patterson-Adams. That's not bad either.
 

Kliq

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Presti has basically taken some bad contracts and middling draft picks and turned them into Paul George and Carmelo Anthony, he should take a bow. If Melo is ready to adjust and be more of a spot-up shooter and secondary option, I think OKC can really compete in the West. A starting five of Russ-Roberson-George-Anthony-Adams is a matchup problem and while Anthony and Westbrook are minus defenders, Roberson and George are elite and Adams is good so that shouldn't be too much of an issue. I also think Westbrook will likely be a better defensive player this year with less of an offensive burden. Losing Kanter hurts their rebounding which was a huge strength for OKC last season, but the positives outweigh the negatives here.
 

AMS25

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Roberson is a very good defensive player so he's needed. You could also take Roberson out and play Patterson at the 4. Now it's Russ-George-Melo-Patterson-Adams. That's not bad either.
I had penciled-in Russ-George-PatPat-Roberson-Adams before the Melo trade. I was actually hoping that Melo might take Kanter's job and lead the second unit. That unit sucked last year and was starved for offense. But, I wouldn't want to be the one to tell Melo that he wasn't starting......
 

Tony C

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Isn't it the latter....they took their time -- I haven't heard rumors of any better deals out there, so I think what they got is what they could get. Frankly, they aren't much worse on a game to game basis and they definitely win in terms of not having to deal with the headache of Carmelo. Still not sure where the rebuild goes, though -- KP and.....Nkitilina?

...

I'm also a mild believer in the Clippers. Losing Paul was a big blow, but I liked how they rebuilt on the fly with Beverly, Williams, Teodosic, Dekker, Harrell and Gallinari. They are deeper and more versatile than they have been recently and I think Griffin will be motivated as their main playmaker. I could see them finishing in the top four or five in the West.
I half buy this. This will be a test of both Griffin and of Doc. Griffin in re can he stay healthy and, if he can stay healthy, he's intimated he was constrained by CP3 and is willing/able to be more of a ballhandler. Maybe, maybe not...but he'll have his shot. Doc in re he, too, has implied that the Clippers couldn't change style to more contemporary fluid mode because CP3 was a more traditional PG. We'll see -- I agree the Clippers played their hand as well as they could and the pick-ups are smart, and if Griffin and Doc lead they could be a 2nd tier West team.
 

Buster Olney the Lonely

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The Knicks starting five is Jarret Jack, Courtney Lee, Hardaway Jr, Willy Hernangomez and Porzingis. Just a guess. That’ll land a top five pick for sure. Is it bad enough to get them into the top three?
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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The Knicks starting five is Jarret Jack, Courtney Lee, Hardaway Jr, Willy Hernangomez and Porzingis. Just a guess. That’ll land a top five pick for sure. Is it bad enough to get them into the top three?
If healthy (and with Jack that is a huge question granted) that starting five has the chance to steal a few games here and there. They aren't going to win 40 games but I could see them win even more games than last season. I wonder if Melo departing allows Porzingis to really step up his game - if so, they definitely have a chance to win more than last season.
 

Buster Olney the Lonely

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If healthy (and with Jack that is a huge question granted) that starting five has the chance to steal a few games here and there. They aren't going to win 40 games but I could see them win even more games than last season. I wonder if Melo departing allows Porzingis to really step up his game - if so, they definitely have a chance to win more than last season.
You’re probably right. It’s going to be a somewhat interesting team from the standpoint that they won’t be playing the triangle anymore. And you won’t have Phil complaining that Porzingis is shooting too many threes. Could be a big year for him. And I am curious to see Frank Ntilikina play if only to see him on D. Those arms are freakishly long.

I don’t see any way they will finish lower than the Bulls or the Hawks.
 

The Big Red Kahuna

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Did you honestly think "hey, no one has discussed this today? I'll start a thread 10 hours after it broke."
 

HomeRunBaker

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Not at all sold on OKC. I like that Presti is aggressively playing his hand, but the Carmelo fit requires a lot going right doesn't it? Three ball-dominant guys (though George's game at least fits off-ball), uncertain depth and defense. Plus, really only until trade deadline to show it works.

Will be interesting, but as likely to be broken up in Feb as to win 55 games see to me
It's doubtful that Carmelo will accept this but the ideal rotation for OKC would be with Carmelo coming off the bench and playing those middle minutes of the first and second half while closing in some situations. It gets him more touches in 24-26 minutes against second unit defenses than he will get in 30-34 first unit minutes versus starters.

Too bad for McDermott. This would have been a nice role for him as a weakside spotup shooter to help establish himself in a role in this league......now he gets lost in the mix in NY
 

LeoCarrillo

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The Knicks starting five is Jarret Jack, Courtney Lee, Hardaway Jr, Willy Hernangomez and Porzingis. Just a guess. That’ll land a top five pick for sure. Is it bad enough to get them into the top three?
And their slight sink downward puts one more team into the suck, possibly elevating the Lakers and their pick out to the 6-pick slot. Maybe, possibly, could be. But you hate to see any shitty team get shittier, especially in the East, where wins come easier.
 

benhogan

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Maybe Kyle O'Quinn is now available? While O'Quinn's contract, 2yrs - $4.2MM/yr, is cheap it would still be a tough match, Nader+? Knicks now have Kanter, Hernangomez (would rather have him but so would the Knicks), Noah and no minutes for O'Quinn. They are in full re-build mode and should be looking to sell an experienced big for a young/cheap wing. Kyle offers 15 solid minutes of boards, blocks, some points, decent FT%, picks and size/strength down low.

Is anyone else a little worried about the roster construction at the moment? If Morris, Horford or Baynes goes down with an injury, Danny will be left scrambling. I'm excited to see what Semi, Yabu and Theis offer us at the 4 but we need some insurance with an experienced big.
 
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HomeRunBaker

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Maybe Kyle O'Quinn is now available? While O'Quinn's contract, 2yrs - $4.2MM/yr, is cheap it would still be a tough match, Nader+? Knicks now have Kanter, Hernangomez (would rather have him but so would the Knicks), Noah and no minutes for O'Quinn. They are in full re-build mode and should be looking to sell an experienced big for a young/cheap wing. Kyle offers 15 solid minutes of boards, blocks, some points, decent FT%, picks and size/strength down low.

Is anyone else a little worried about the roster construction at the moment? If Morris, Horford or Baynes goes down with an injury, Danny will be left scrambling. I'm excited to see what Semi, Yabu and Theis offer us at the 4 but we need some insurance with an experienced big.
Wasn't that the purpose of the Baynes signing? O'Quinn duplicates his "skill" of being a crappy big body to fill some second unit minutes in the paint. I don't see O'Quinn being a fit in our system of defensive perimeter switching and offensive ball movement with the big involved in the high post. If we did get hit with injuries these types of guys will always be available on the cheap if Theis isn't able to give you those minutes if you decide to go that route.
 

jimv

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Came here to get some reactions and links, didn't see a thread so I started one.
 

Jeff Van GULLY

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Came here to get some reactions and links, didn't see a thread so I started one.
New threads are good, thanks for starting one. Maybe the mods will be able to merge the rest of the discussion into this.

As a few have noted, touch distribution will be interesting with Westbrook and Melo being so ball dominant.

Westbrook has shown in the past he can share with KD but last year was such an aberration in terms of output/usage it will be fun to see how long it takes him and the rest of the new guys to gel.

It didn't take too long with GS last year so it could be an overblown concern.

Having Melo play the 4 will be fun, especially if they get him on the low post a bit. I'll remember his time with the Knicks as standing beyond the 3 point arc with the ball in his hands and I'm looking forward to seeing some 'new' looks.

OKC's depth takes a hit so keeping Melo healthy will be key; his minutes should go down a bit this season.
 

benhogan

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Wasn't that the purpose of the Baynes signing? O'Quinn duplicates his "skill" of being a crappy big body to fill some second unit minutes in the paint. I don't see O'Quinn being a fit in our system of defensive perimeter switching and offensive ball movement with the big involved in the high post. If we did get hit with injuries these types of guys will always be available on the cheap if Theis isn't able to give you those minutes if you decide to go that route.
Fair enough. Maybe I'm unnecessarily trying to fill that "Tyler Zeller 2016-17" role*, as you have suggested. Those 10-15 minutes can go to the best of: Theis, Yabu and Semi. OR if that doesn't work go to the scrap heap during the season.
Theis looked decent defensively down low against bigs in Euro2017.

*This is the role I expected Zizic to fill.
 
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