Personally I think the Knicks just paid an arm and a leg for player that puts them nowhere closer to the playoffs.
Nowhere closer to the playoffs? LOL. Sorry but you're showing your lack of knowledge when it comes to basketball. They were two games above .500 and 2.5 games
in front of Philly for the 6th seed before the trade. Acquiring Melo and Billups will help solidify that playoff position. Having Amar'e this year has helped energize the
team and MSG. But when he went out of a game, there was no go to guy on the floor. Melo changes that in a big way. Knicks are a work in progress but getting Melo
is a nice addition.
Or at least not the big game.
Finals? Nope, not yet. But he's a piece of the puzzle. Their defense sucked before they got Carmelo and it still sucks. They must add a few top notch defenders if they ever want to go deep into the playoffs. Although, Melo and Billups DID made it to the Western Conference Finals a few years ago before losing to the Lakers. And that Nugget team wasn't spectacular. Melo can carry a team when he's hot. And he has a lot of playoff experience. His team made the playoffs every year he was there. They just didn't win many series. Is that a knock on Melo or the team he was surrounded with? I don't know.
He'll need to mature and develop even further to help take the Knicks to the next level. I think he'll do it. But, of course, I'm, biased. Bias aside, most folks who know the NBA realize that this improves the Knicks.
He is a good player but he is not a Kobe,
He's one of the top ten players in the NBA and he's a great offensive player and pretty good rebounder. Is he a Kobe? Of course not. Nobody has suggested that.
not a LeBron
Thank God. Great player but not a winner, yet.
and not a Howard.
Howard is not in the same league as Kobe and neither is Lebron. Obviously, Carmelo isn't either.
In fact, as a Magic fan, Howard should be the prime example that unless you are a 150% superstar that can carry the whole team on his back, all the time, aka Kobe (and I hate that guy), shy away from SUPERSTARS who make it all about them and not the team. At least Howard seems to put the team first.
Melo and Stoudemire are TWO stars and not one. Bring in Chris Paul or Deron Williams (I don't think he signs an extension with the Nets) and the Knicks will have a big three that will be formidable. Melo has a reputation of being selfish. I want a little selfishness in my best scorer but he'll need to adjust to having another top scorer on the
floor with him at the same time.
In the meantime, I love what I see from Billups. The guy still has it and his playoff experience is going to help big time. I just wish he wasn't such a big cap hit with that huge salary. I like him to play 2-3 more years if we can't add Paul or Williams in 2012.
I didn't want to give up the arm, leg, Italian and Russian but when you have a chance to get a top ten player like Anthony, you do it. Will he bring a championship? We'll see. Lots of pieces still missing from that puzzle.
It was fun watching the Knicks tonight. It was fun watching them before Anthony. But let's face it, they were 28-26 before the trade. It's not as if we dismantled a dominant team that was going to wreak havoc in the playoffs.
With Melo and Billups on board, I'll be very happy with them winning one playoff series and being competitive in the 2nd one. Then again, they may not be good enough to win a series against Chicago, who they might meet in the first round.
Knicks were relevant before the trade. Now they're an exciting. relevant team that is on their way to getting better. And I'm excited about it.
