He’ll be waived by the Bulls.
He’s a locker room problem but I think he’ll get along with Lebron and the Brow knowing that he’s going to be a starter and on trial for a contract next year.
Lakers have nothing to lose really.
He’s finished but too damn greedy to admit it…plays no defence at all which isn’t going to help any team get to the conference finals
1st trade agreed today, its going to be a big week
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Starter? Really? Hasn’t played defence for 4 years. And it doesn’t seem that he’s accepted that he’s not the superstar he once was.
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I think this season he had seemingly accepted he was no longer a starter in the NBA on a contending team. He could be on a side in the lottery. His decline has been very swift, but his playing style is nearly obsolete in the NBA. Ball stopping, iso plays, shooting a lot of mid-range 2s. He used to be able to get his own shot but now his physical attributes have waned he can’t anymore. Pick and roll has never been his game and he’s not really a perimeter shooter. If he signs for LAL it’s purely down to LeBron doing a solid for a friend. Even if it’s the signing of a guy who’s been waived and likely on the vets minimum it would be stupider for the fact of what he’s shown at OKC and Houston. He’s done. LBJ/AD/Rondo/Melo + role players is not good enough to get to the Western Conference Finals IMO. They’d better get a move on in a hurry because if they don’t they could miss altogether or scrape the 8 seed which would mean playing Golden State and that would be curtains…
Yep. Steph broke Melo. He made the long two pointer and ISO redundant and showed the league that the game which the data said you should play (which went right back to don nelson - Nellie ball) could win championships.
This changed the way that teams setup (smaller and more mobile units rather than the traditional big power forward and athletically challenged centre) and the way they move the ball (much more movement and screening off the ball, the ball spends far less time in any one player’s hands).
Melo’s offensive strengths are of no use anymore because teams would move the ball and get a 3FA than hold the ball and get a contested 2FA. His defensive limitations are really stark.
He’s probably at his best in Olympic ball where zone defense is a lot more prevalent, but in the current NBA he’s an absolute liability.
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I think the current reality is you can’t run a team’s offence like that, but that doesn’t mean you can’t run any of those plays. Which goes back to melo needing to accept he’s just a guy in the mix, not the guy.
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We only get Melo if an AD trade can be achieved. if that happens, he’ll be a starter if he gets to LA.
To get AD, we’d need to trade Ingram and Kuzma. That leaves Michael Beasley as the only remaining forward, and I’d play Melo ahead of him.
Unless we get other forwards, there’s no better replacements available.
Assuming we’d need to give up Lonzo, Hart, Ingram, Kuzma and more, a starting five of McGee, the Brow, Lebron, Melo and Rondo is pretty formidable. I think a healthy Lebron + another star will get LA past any team excluding the Warriors.
I’m not a Melo fan, but I think he’ll fit in better at LA with Lebron and the Brow, than he would with ball dominant Harden or ball dominant Westbrook.
34yo Melo chasing shooting guards around the perimeter?
Yikes.
And Lebron is hugely ball dominant too. 6th or 7th in the league.
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He can’t keep up on D against fast paced, pass first, high off ball movement, high screening offense, which means that the opposition gets open 3FGs, which renders his contested 2FG based offense inefficient in comparison, which makes him useless
Surely if you’re doing trades that leave you with Melo as a starter, then you should think twice about those trades?
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Inefficient, with how teams have used him - I’m just not convinced he is actually completely useless and finished.
Plenty of guys still play useful roles well past their best.
I don’t know man… a lot of coaches have tried to hide him, even playing alongside some pretty good talent. He was ■■■■ in his last couple of seasons at NY, he was ■■■■ at OKC, he was ■■■■ at Houston. Maybe you’re right but I can’t see it. He seems to be either unwilling or unable to change his game - and given how long this has been going on I figure it must be the latter.
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Melo also hasn’t looked after his body either. He was never the most athletic player even in his prime, but now he looks like he has a permanent spare type around the midriff. I’ve not seen anything on social media to suggest he’s been working really hard, lost 15-20 pounds, etc. He’s damaged goods.
If Houston weren’t giving Melo minutes with the state of their roster and their defence there is no chance he makes a meaningful impact anywhere. Only way he gets on a roster is if LeBron gives him a contract and we know how James has handicapped his teams in the past with bad GM decisions.
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Latest offer for AD:
Ball
Kuzma
Ingram
Rondo
Stephenson
Beasley
2 x 1st round picks
Surely not.
They also take Solomon Hill’s contract which is notable.
Yeah I think that is trading way too many pieces for one player who is injury prone.
They are obviously throwing in the towel this year and hoping to sign some free agents next year.
Lebron may have a decent team in the next two seasons, but he will be getting older and the lakers will be decimated once again when he leaves.
That would definitely be a trade for next season and beyond. They couldn’t get enough of a supporting cast around LBJ/AD to do anything this year. But with those 2 and a 3rd star in Free Agency, guys would be lining up to sign for them. I’d be interested to see if another team comes in and tries to do a deal before the deadline. NO have a to weigh up and see if there will be offers better than what the Lakers are putting up during the off-season. It’s like selling a home, you want as much competition as possible to force the price up and have a bidding war.