Three different Melo plans...

And Favors has looked good so far. He can contribute right away and he has a ton of room to grow. Considering they also are wlling to part with 2 1st round picks ……. do you really want to wait and do a sign and trade with the Knicks ? They don’t have a big man like Favors , the picks , or a replacement for Melo on the wing. Gallo and Chandler are nice players , but they won’t be anywhere near Melo in his prime.

The longer it goes , the more attached to Favors the Nets are going to get. You might have to accept Outlaw + Favors + only one pick because Favors is going to be very hard for them to part with and Denver will want him in the worst way.

The comparison is simply the idea that Melo may be posturing for a better team and a championship commitment from the FO. As soon as LA acquired Gasol, Kobe shut up and they began winning championships. Change the city but keep the transaction the same and nothing changes. There is no reason for Carmelo to think that he can’t improve his championship chances in a similar way here in Denver.

All of the “he’s no Bird” rhetoric is yet another example of Andrew announcing for the THOUSANDTH time that he doesn’t care much for Melo or his game. We get it.

Favors is pulling down double digit rebounds now. The longer we wait, the less likely the Nets will want to deal him. MELO WANTS TO BE IN THE BIG CITY OR CLOSE TO IT!! HE AND LALA WANT THE SPOTLIGHT!! THAT’S WHY HE JUDGED A BEAUTY PAGEANT, APPEARED ON THE GEORGE LOPEZ LATE NIGHT SHOW!! WHY CAN’T PEOPLE SEE THAT!! It’s not about the FO doing something, getting a big man, etc. Melo has said that this team is better than any other he’s been on. He said its not about the FO. So…………….I guess if I had to pick one of the 3 scenarios laid out, I would go with Andrew’s but even his is risky, risky business cause we would be relying on trades being available then when they may not be or relying on false hope that we’re going to topple the Lakers.

Get Favors and picks.
This team got younger and better with Williams and Forbes is a diamond in the rough, so go for it. Way better than dealing with nothing in return.
IF Melo signs the extension, and that is a BIG IF, then all will be well. But I doubt that LaLa Land will allow that.
As has been mentioned, the longer this goes on, the more the Nets will like Favors. Also, what is Melo gets hurt and misses significant time?
I say trade him now.

I agree with jpage. Who is going to look like the village idiot when we make the western conference finals with Melo, maybe even making it to the Finals, then he leaves after the season? It won’t be us. Bright lights are attractive, and I do not doubt he will likely be in a much larger market next year, but the team we currently have, without K-Mart or Bird, is capable of going deep into the playoffs, even deeper when we get our 2 Pf’s back. Ride it out and let Melo look like the douche at the end of the season.

See where we are after 30ish games at this point.

However, my biggest fear which I’ve posted about before is coming true, and that’s Favors looking pretty decent already. Yea, it’s only 3 games but he’s already averaging 9.5/8 in 20 minutes. For a guy everyone took to be a massive project, I’d say he’s well above the predicted learning curve. If he keeps putting up numbers like this I doubt the Nets would include him. The package would then become Murphy, Williams, James, and 2 1sts, something that doesn’t appeal to me in the least bit.

If we go deep in the playoffs and he leaves for NYC, we will all know he is not committed to winning and is a big market guy. It might hurt his image, but I would rather take the win now mentality vs. the let’s see how we fare in the future with Favors and an unknown CBA.
I might stop following the NBA after a lockout anyway, so while we are good let’s ride it and not worry about the future. It might take at least another 4-5 years before we become playoff contenders and I would take a post-Melo era with tons of cap space over a what of Melo stayed the entire ‘10-’11 season dilemma especiall if we are doing well in the standings before we traded him.

I believe Melo has ruled out any possibility of returning to Denver. That’s what the last weeks comments were about and the truth that its “way beyond this year” for him. Where there was once hope that Melo was only having his agents look into what trade possibilities were out there, we have now heard straight from the man himself that he’d like to leave. It’s a tough situation, now we are confirmed that a pre-deadline extension with Denver is impossible, and then only a ridiculously small hope remains that he would sign the re-sign with us next summer in the offseason. I’m talking about probably having to win a championship for that to happen which wouldn’t even guarantee it.

So should Denver go all in for one last shot? The odds would say no. Judging by the length to which Denver has gone to prepare for a trade I would say that they will be prepared for the worst. Right now, like all 3 Stiffs pointed out, there’s no reason not to wait and get a little of what we paid for in this years team. Whatever happens I think it’s going to be a dramatic and last minute decision should it come down to a trade. I’m not in a hurry to suck. I’m not 100% in favor of a “win now and nothing else matters” attitude – but I believe that Josh and Masai will do whatever gives us the best shot and a championship, and that’s all I can ask for

i think you have to ride this season out with Melo. The Nuggets with a healthy Bird and Kmart, along with the addition of Williams and Harrington, and the improvement of AAA and Ty, would be beasts in the West. With a full, healthy line-up, I would take one last run with Melo and risk losing him for nothing over the summer. The Nuggs will have lots of cap flexibility this summer, and can go after a replacement for Melo through free agency in more thoughtful way, than taking what they can at the deadline. They might also be able to trade Kmart mid-season for a scoring big – - maybe a Zach Randolph or Gortat – - so that they would be an even tougher match-up for the Lakers. I think whether the Nuggs trade Melo will depend on the health of Kmart and BIrd.

you def wait 30 games like Andrew said, however if I was Massai I would be working my ass ogg to get a deal done with the Rockets for Scola. That dude is awesome now and would be a steal. Hell Scola could make more of an impact on this Denver team than Melo could. If Massai could work out something like Melo and JR for Scola and Martin straight up you have to do it immediately. Now would Houston trade Scola? Probably not, but if Melo liked the possibility of runnin with Yao, Brooks and company for a while I could see Houston potentially bringing in Melo for Scola and Martin. As far as any other deal is concerned regarding Iggy, Favor, Kaman or the shit from NY then you gotta wait and see how the seasons going before you made a move.

Andrew: The Melo to Kobe comparison is flawed, but not for the reasons you state. In terms of talent yes, kobe is slightly better but I think that comes more from his maturity and experience rather than from physical ability and talent. Kobe, like Melo, has never been able to win a title unless he has an all-star (and in the case of Shaq one of the greatest of all time) big man to play next to him. Without Gasol or Shaq ,Kobe was no different, getting bounced in the first round every year. The difference between their two situations was Kobe came out a few hours after saying he wanted to be traded and said that he loved the lakers, wanted to be a laker for life but just couldn’t take not being competitive. Melo has made no such statements, thus giving no guarantees that he would stay even if the Nuggets acquired a big man of similar caliber to Gasol (which would be a fools errand anyways because there simply aren’t that many big men who are that good and will be available, in fact i can’t think of a single one, maybe baby Gasol if you want to give him that much credit). Otherwise I agree with your thought process. Wait it out for thirty games (though I question how significant a 3 game spread is at that point ie 20-10 vs. 17-13, if you said 15-15 or below i would be more inclined to think its a lost season) see where we stand and what we can get.
Nate: I fully disagree that the Nuggets have to be perfect to beat the Lakers. The Lakers are not perfect, they are just damn good. The Nuggets have advantages on them though. The addition of Blake does not solve the issue of defending speedy point guards. The Nuggets are a deeper team, which is not to say the Lakers aren’t deep, they are, but Denver may have the best bench in the league once K-mart and Bird are back. This team is better than the team that went to the WCF two years ago, much better. Kobe’s knee isn’t right, who knows if Bynum can stay healthy etc etc.
Jeff: I wish you would look at the big picture a little bit more. Suppose we keep Melo and get bounced in the WCF, he leaves and we get pennies on the dollar. Meanwhile Favors becomes a stud, or Randolph or Gallo or whoever or they even just become decent players. I would take having young solid players for the forseeable future over being bounced in the playoffs anyday. A championship, and only a championship is the goal. Keeping Melo may be the best way to do that on a one year timescale, but over a 5 year timescale dealing Melo gives us the best chance to win a title, by far.

a true tough guy. most people define a tough guy by how well they can dish it out. the toughest of the tough can take it too. i will never forget when luscas and darryl dawkins face off at center court, at the philly spectrum bare knuckles in the nba finals. he never took a step back from anybody or anything.

A lot of balance. It’s kind of cool how you guys each view this differently. I wish you’d do more stuff like this; after all, you are a “team of rivals,” right?

I think a lot of this boils down to the question: Can we beat the Lakers as currently assembled? The easy answer is “yes,” but there’s a reason that’s the easy answer. Your not digging deep enough if your satisfied with that. There are many more questions you have to ask like: “Can George Karl really beat Phil Jackson in a playoff series?”; “Will Kobe and his crew (2-time defending champs) really let Melo and his crew beat them?”; “Is it even a sure thing the Nuggets make it all the way to the WCFs with such great teams like the Blazers, Mavs and Thunder also hungry?” and “Even if we do beat L.A. can we then defeat the Heat or Celtics after that?”

Then you have the more akward questions like “How’s the team chemsitry going to be come playoffs?”; “Are we sure Melo is going to give us 100% knowing if he did in fact beat the Lakers he would pretty much have to stay?”; etc. Look, I like our chances too, but I’m not ready to risk another 5 years of the lottery because we decided we needed to take “a chance”. That’s the reality that you have to face, and if you want to keep Melo through the year I don’t think you’re aknowleging that.

To me, it’s black and white. The writing’s on the wall, Melo’s trying to warn us. To ingnore that would be stupidity of the highest degree. He’s leaving after the season ends if he hasnt’ been traded. I posted a similar theory to what Andrew did in a different thread about a Pau Gasol-esque trade being the only thing that would keep Melo, and someone replied they still didn’t think that would do it. Sadly, I might actually agree.

Contrarty to popular belief I actually think Melo hates Denver. We’ve seen nothing to prove that statement wrong yet. If he really loved Denver why would he sell his house here to live in L.A. in the offseason? If he really loved Denver why would he be forcing a trade to either a team that hasn’t made the playoffs in 10 years or a team that nearly set the record for most losses in a season last year? If he really loved Denver why would he want out of the situation he’s in? Lets not foget, Denver has improved every season since Melo has been here except for last year which we all know was a fluke, and finally when we get to be true championship contenders he wants out? I’m sorry guys, but it just doens’t add up. If Melo REALLY loved Denver and was as committed to winning as he says he is, there’s no way he’d want out of the situation he’s in!!!

Anyways, back to my point. I don’t care if we’re 29-1 after 30 games, there’s still no guarantees come playoff time and with guys like Favors (who’s looking great right now) and Iggy available, I think it would be absolutely stupid, unprofessional, and ignorant after everything we’ve seen this past summer to play the season out and believe Melo would still sign the extension.

In closing, I’d just like to say Melo is a great basketball player. He’s “saved” basketball in Denver and led us to a glorious era of Stiffness along the way. But when it’s time to end, lets not be blind and “clingy”. Basketball is STILL a team game, and our team is the Denver Nuggets. We must do what’s best for the Denver Nuggets at this point in time.

we also have the trade assets to make a good deal by the deadline… I think we have a legit chance of getting Kaman… I was watching the Clippers game and he doesn’t fit that team, Jordan should be playing more… but he seems like a horrible fit with their young talent and especially Griffin… I think Denver should be able to get him if they’re willing to wait by January/ February… I know LA really likes JR, so maybe something like JR, Birdman and a first for Kaman

I was in the trade him now camp, thinking I couldn’t root for the team knowing Melo is on his way out. Now I’m in the wait 30 or so games and see where we stand camp. If the team looks like a legitimate contender, and the right player comes available, keep Melo and make a run. Yes, it risks losing him for nothing or for a couple of low first rounders, but how often does this team have a legit shot at a title?

It’s great to speculate and try to persuade each other what’s best for the organization but at the end of the day one fact remains: none of us are GMs in the NBA (unless someone here secretly is). No one here has the power to pull a deal with anyone. The Nuggets brass do not care what any of us think (with the possible exception of Andrew and Nate). They are going to do what they think is best for the team. If that means succeed now and suffer later or suffer now with the possibility of future success. I think we should trust them to make the right deal and support them through whatever transitions await us.

http://www.denverpost.com/dempsey/ci_16487802

I love the diversity of opinion and it creates a great discussion. There’s a reason Denver Stiffs is the best NBA blog.

Nice write up as always Andrew & Nate…but who the hell is Jeff? No offense, I just wanna know. I haven’t checked the boards here since August so I’m kinda out of the loop. It seems like everyone got new avatars for the new season too.

Anyways, I’d like to continue to live in complete ignorance about Melo and just enjoy what I’ve been seeing out of this Nuggets team. I’d like to keep him throught the season to see how far we go…but then again you never know if Melo will pull back towards the end of the season so that he doesn’t get hurt and ruin his market value.

In any event I hope that we as fans don’t get totally screwed in this debacle. If the FO is reading this, that means that if you MUST trade Melo try to get more than a handful of guys that Karl won’t play and or a bag of Doritos. Melo is a top tier scorer so get someone that can competently score, or someone that can lock dwn an opposing team’s biggest scoring threat.

absurdly pompus man persona

What do you think of this deal.

Melo/K-Mart to Orlando

for

Vince(expiring)/Gortat/Bass
Fran Vasquez/ 2 unprotected 1sts (2011, 2012)

The Nuggz save 6 mill this year, dump a grumpy K-Mart, get bigger up front and get 3 young pieces in Fran + 2 1sts.

just for one single time andrew should say something nice about melo. maybe this whole melo leaving town business would just all go away if andrew would find one positive thing to say about melo. try it one time and you may discover how great it is to blindly blow sunshine up #15’s behind. melo’s heart must break everytime he logs on to denver stiffs and reads how andrew has written a bunch of mean stuff about him like he does not play defense, does not box out and rebound, cannot make the players around him better and does not rate with the hall of fame type players.