I don't buy it. George Karl HATED the Lakers. I know Kupchak & he were Carolina Mafia members, but I cannot see him helping the Lakers.
Then again, Karl HATED 'Melo (called him a coach killer), so maybe he thought 'Melo might torpedo us.
IMO, Melo & Kobe were the two greatest midrange scorers in the game and Melo would have dominated in the Triangle. _________________ On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns".
I don't buy it. George Karl HATED the Lakers. I know Kupchak & he were Carolina Mafia members, but I cannot see him helping the Lakers.
Then again, Karl HATED 'Melo (called him a coach killer), so maybe he thought 'Melo might torpedo us.
IMO, Melo & Kobe were the two greatest midrange scorers in the game and Melo would have dominated in the Triangle.
Even if Karl hated the Lakers, I know many and the Nuggets especially coveted Andrew Bynum. Bynum would be the centerpiece of any deal for Melo. The Odom and Nene aspect is new though. If anything that part is a wash for the Lakers or slight downgrade. But a starting lineup of Nene at Center, Gasol at Power Forward, Melo at Small Forward, Kobe at Shooting Guard and Fisher at Point Guard. Sign me up for that one in 2010/2011. This lineup fits better to combat Miami and I actually would choose us to beat Miami with that lineup in 2011 whereas with the original lineup, I don't think we matchup well at all. The problem is however, we are still not winning the 2011 chip. We would have still lost to Dallas. Things just broke perfectly for them and they just made the right shots at the right time. Also one thing to note, Bynum was overwhelming Chandler the same way he did to Garnett, Duncan and Amar'e Stoudemire - we would lose that aspect as well. Then you run into 2012 and 2013 where Miami is at its peak and its hard to say even with Melo that we would have knocked those dudes off. But with Melo and Nene, I think we definitely could have taken out OKC in 2012 or at least gone to a Game 7 instead of the 5 game embarrassment. I really cant see a championship with Melo and Kobe though the same way I cant see it with Paul and Kobe and its for exactly the same reason: Miami Heat. Then of course you got the Kobe achilles and the Lakers are essentially finished.
Hmm if we'd had Melo in 2011...Like for the Mavericks series and our last season with Phil?
Next season would have been Bynum's all-star year. But I'd have felt bad for Odom and who knows how that would have effected him even sooner.
That said however, getting 26 year old Melo in 2011? Now that would have been something to see.
Would have helped us vs Dallas for sure, and given us some fresh legs that weren't worn by 2 straight Finals appearances.
That Mavs series game 1 where we lost by 2, and Game 3 where we lost by 6.. could have turned out completely different, especially with Melo in the Triangle. It would have preserved Kobe's energy more and would have lead us towards the Finals vs Miami where I think the Lakers would have won.
And then that off-season if the Chris Paul trade still happens there's that too and maybe they'd have moved Nene in that deal, who knows. Let's assume the NBA still vetoes that.
But yeah, prime Melo with Kobe and Pau I could see winning in 2011 for that second three-peat, maybe Phil leaves, maybe he doesn't. But with Mike Brown then next season, again we had a hurt Kobe, and against OKC we had games 2 and 4 in the PALMS of our HAND!! And would have taken a 3-1 lead vs OKC but we lost them late. I don't think that happens with Melo. Melo saves the wear and tear on Kobe's body and his knees at that point (before the plasma treatments of 2012). So I think we'd have had a good shot at going to the Finals vs Miami a second time, I don't know how Kobe's body would have held up though going for a 4th so it would have been on Melo to have to carry us past the finish line and Miami was playing at such a level we'd have NEEDED a 100% Kobe to get past them and I don't think we'd have had one.
But then again that's the story the NBA would have wanted, Kobe beating LeBron in the first Finals, LeBron and the Heat coming back and beating the Lakers in the second finals and they'd call it a 'passing of the torch' moment.
And then Kobe would have come into 2012 with the plasma and something to prove. If Mitch had wound up somehow pulling off the Lakers getting Nash and Dwight around that time then it's a different story completely. Remember we got Nash for Picks and we traded Bynum to get Dwight.
That COULD have been Nene traded for Dwight and still traded picks for Nash. Now granted I have my doubts but if it would have happened it would have been insane. I think Artest would have been moved in one of those deals however. So he wouldn't be there for the 2012 team.
But if that 2012 team's starting lineup is
Steve Nash
Kobe Bryant
Carmelo Anthony
Pau Gasol
Dwight Howard
If Nash doesn't get hurt the Lakers are going to the Finals that year. But if Nash DOES get hurt, I think that Kobe still doesn't have to carry the load he did due to having Melo by his side so maybe Kobe never tears his Achillies and we make it to the Finals. I'd pick us against Miami that season.
That would make Kobe 2-1 vs LeBron in the Finals and it'd give Melo 2 rings to LeBron's 1.
And NBA history in terms of perspective is changed forever essentially. Because Kobe finishes his career with 7 and likely retires and Melo has 2 and Dwight likely stays and never goes to Houston.
That said, the Lakers likely never draft the youngsters Randle/DLO/Ingram in that scenario. Not unless the Melo/Gasol/Dwight are just horrible without Kobe, but I don't see them being so bad as to get the 7th pick in the draft. And maybe those kids who have very fond memories of learning from Kobe, never get that. So history is changed in many aspects. Because after 7, the only way Kobe sticks around is if he feels he can get more, and I don't know if he'd want to by that point unless it was to chase the scoring title. and without the Achillies injury he'd have been closing in on or have surpassed Malone and would have Kareem in his sights. So who knows. _________________ How NBA 2K18 failed the All-Time Lakers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxMBYm3wwxk
I mean Kobe-Melo-Pau vs Wade-Bron-Bosh woulda been so 🔥 _________________ “The main goal for the Lakers is to win a championship. All I care about, all we care about, is to raise another banner in the rafters.“
I can't think of another player more overrated than Carmelo Anthony. I never liked his game and never thought he was more than a chucker.
Would KD without the GS years kinda same league as Melo? _________________ “The main goal for the Lakers is to win a championship. All I care about, all we care about, is to raise another banner in the rafters.“
I wonder what kind of voodoo Phil would have used on Melo to get him playing championship level ball. He's probably the only coach that could have pulled it off. _________________ Yi Jianlian Fanboy. Respect The Chair.
Starting anew. I'm retiring my main.
I wonder what kind of voodoo Phil would have used on Melo to get him playing championship level ball. He's probably the only coach that could have pulled it off.
I really like that 2011 team with Nene and Melo. If we could somehow get by Dallas, that title is ours to lose. But if the rumors regarding Pau and Shannon Brown were true, then its all a moot point and a loss is inevitable.
I wonder what kind of voodoo Phil would have used on Melo to get him playing championship level ball. He's probably the only coach that could have pulled it off.
Triangle offense does not fit Melo style of play. Melo was not a playmaker nor a defensive plug. He would prefer Gasol initiate the offense and let Kobe figure out the weakside angle. The only way to make Melo effective would be doing what Kobe does while Kobe focus more as a shutdown defender. And that would be counterproductive at best because Kobe was a reliable playmaker while Melo is more of a shotmaker.
I wonder what kind of voodoo Phil would have used on Melo to get him playing championship level ball. He's probably the only coach that could have pulled it off.
Joined: 16 Apr 2001 Posts: 12240 Location: Pasadena, CA
Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2024 4:39 pm Post subject:
governator wrote:
anth2000 wrote:
I can't think of another player more overrated than Carmelo Anthony. I never liked his game and never thought he was more than a chucker.
Would KD without the GS years kinda same league as Melo?
I like KD more. I see the similarities. Anthony was notoriously lazy on defense too. KD at least tries at the defensive end. Durant is a better overall player, in my opinion, than Anthony
Joined: 24 Dec 2007 Posts: 35971 Location: Santa Clarita, CA (Hell) ->>>>>Ithaca, NY -≥≥≥≥≥Berkeley, CA
Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2024 4:47 pm Post subject:
anth2000 wrote:
governator wrote:
anth2000 wrote:
I can't think of another player more overrated than Carmelo Anthony. I never liked his game and never thought he was more than a chucker.
Would KD without the GS years kinda same league as Melo?
I like KD more. I see the similarities. Anthony was notoriously lazy on defense too. KD at least tries at the defensive end. Durant is a better overall player, in my opinion, than Anthony
No comparison. OKC was a perennial powerhouse with Durant. Denver made exactly one conference finals, and that was only once Billups arrived. The Knicks never made a conference finals with Carmelo and Amare Stoudemire. I have Carmelo below Paul Pierce.
Carmelo would have been largely redundant with Kobe. Bynum was our second best player in that Dallas series, so we would have been worse off probably.
The other thing to remember is Kobe’s knees were shot in 2011 to the point where he almost retired. He had some blood platelet procedure in Germany that offseason and recovered for two seasons before tearing his Achilles. But he was nowhere near 100% for those 2011 playoffs. With 2009 Kobe and Pau, we would have won that series. _________________ Damian Lillard shatters Dwight Coward's championship dreams:
I can't think of another player more overrated than Carmelo Anthony. I never liked his game and never thought he was more than a chucker.
Would KD without the GS years kinda same league as Melo?
I like KD more. I see the similarities. Anthony was notoriously lazy on defense too. KD at least tries at the defensive end. Durant is a better overall player, in my opinion, than Anthony
No comparison. OKC was a perennial powerhouse with Durant. Denver made exactly one conference finals, and that was only once Billups arrived. The Knicks never made a conference finals with Carmelo and Amare Stoudemire. I have Carmelo below Paul Pierce.
Carmelo would have been largely redundant with Kobe. Bynum was our second best player in that Dallas series, so we would have been worse off probably.
The other thing to remember is Kobe’s knees were shot in 2011 to the point where he almost retired. He had some blood platelet procedure in Germany that offseason and recovered for two seasons before tearing his Achilles. But he was nowhere near 100% for those 2011 playoffs. With 2009 Kobe and Pau, we would have won that series.
The best teammate Melo ever had in his prime was an old Billups. KD had Westbrook. Harden, Ibaka, Curry, Klay. Green, and now Booker. All those guys are better than whatever 2nd option Melo ever had. _________________ How NBA 2K18 failed the All-Time Lakers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxMBYm3wwxk
Joined: 24 Dec 2007 Posts: 35971 Location: Santa Clarita, CA (Hell) ->>>>>Ithaca, NY -≥≥≥≥≥Berkeley, CA
Posted: Mon Feb 19, 2024 7:59 pm Post subject:
MJST wrote:
CandyCanes wrote:
anth2000 wrote:
governator wrote:
anth2000 wrote:
I can't think of another player more overrated than Carmelo Anthony. I never liked his game and never thought he was more than a chucker.
Would KD without the GS years kinda same league as Melo?
I like KD more. I see the similarities. Anthony was notoriously lazy on defense too. KD at least tries at the defensive end. Durant is a better overall player, in my opinion, than Anthony
No comparison. OKC was a perennial powerhouse with Durant. Denver made exactly one conference finals, and that was only once Billups arrived. The Knicks never made a conference finals with Carmelo and Amare Stoudemire. I have Carmelo below Paul Pierce.
Carmelo would have been largely redundant with Kobe. Bynum was our second best player in that Dallas series, so we would have been worse off probably.
The other thing to remember is Kobe’s knees were shot in 2011 to the point where he almost retired. He had some blood platelet procedure in Germany that offseason and recovered for two seasons before tearing his Achilles. But he was nowhere near 100% for those 2011 playoffs. With 2009 Kobe and Pau, we would have won that series.
The best teammate Melo ever had in his prime was an old Billups. KD had Westbrook. Harden, Ibaka, Curry, Klay. Green, and now Booker. All those guys are better than whatever 2nd option Melo ever had.
What about Amare Stoudemire and Allen Iverson? _________________ Damian Lillard shatters Dwight Coward's championship dreams:
I remember those rumors about Lakers going for Melo. Looking back its good they didn't. He was essentially the same mold as Kobe, but not as good a defender. Artest was a better fit for this team. If you trade Odom you lose all the versatility he brings, and damn Bynum is a great what if story.
I remember those rumors about Lakers going for Melo. Looking back its good they didn't. He was essentially the same mold as Kobe, but not as good a defender. Artest was a better fit for this team. If you trade Odom you lose all the versatility he brings, and damn Bynum is a great what if story.
This was after defeating Boston. They went 10 years without winning anything. Melo would've had them right there. _________________ On Lakersground, a concern troll is someone who is a fan of another team, but pretends to be a Lakers fan with "concerns".
Joined: 16 Apr 2001 Posts: 12240 Location: Pasadena, CA
Posted: Tue Feb 20, 2024 2:53 pm Post subject:
Dr. Laker wrote:
LakesGnrLake wrote:
I remember those rumors about Lakers going for Melo. Looking back its good they didn't. He was essentially the same mold as Kobe, but not as good a defender. Artest was a better fit for this team. If you trade Odom you lose all the versatility he brings, and damn Bynum is a great what if story.
This was after defeating Boston. They went 10 years without winning anything. Melo would've had them right there.
I don't think he would have made much of a difference. Melo is very overrated. He never played a lick of defense and never met a shot he didn't like. I can't imagine him playing with Kobe. Those two would have battled for who gets more shots up. Happy that trade never happened. Never liked Melo's game.
I remember those rumors about Lakers going for Melo. Looking back its good they didn't. He was essentially the same mold as Kobe, but not as good a defender. Artest was a better fit for this team. If you trade Odom you lose all the versatility he brings, and damn Bynum is a great what if story.
This was after defeating Boston. They went 10 years without winning anything. Melo would've had them right there.
I don't think he would have made much of a difference. Melo is very overrated. He never played a lick of defense and never met a shot he didn't like. I can't imagine him playing with Kobe. Those two would have battled for who gets more shots up. Happy that trade never happened. Never liked Melo's game.
Consistent defense... no. But, Melo competed hard on defense when he was in the WCF.
It's a subjective matter but after watching Kobe/Pau/LO win two, I would have loved to see Kobe/Melo/Pau. Not had to have found defensive role-players around them. Kobe's window & health greatly extends by allowing Melo to carry the offense at times.
I remember those rumors about Lakers going for Melo. Looking back its good they didn't. He was essentially the same mold as Kobe, but not as good a defender. Artest was a better fit for this team. If you trade Odom you lose all the versatility he brings, and damn Bynum is a great what if story.
This was after defeating Boston. They went 10 years without winning anything. Melo would've had them right there.
I don't think he would have made much of a difference. Melo is very overrated. He never played a lick of defense and never met a shot he didn't like. I can't imagine him playing with Kobe. Those two would have battled for who gets more shots up. Happy that trade never happened. Never liked Melo's game.
Consistent defense... no. But, Melo competed hard on defense when he was in the WCF.
It's a subjective matter but after watching Kobe/Pau/LO win two, I would have loved to see Kobe/Melo/Pau. Not had to have found defensive role-players around them. Kobe's window & health greatly extends by allowing Melo to carry the offense at times.
Melo a 25-27 point scorer next to Kobe would have made a difference.
Any team a prime Carmelo could have gone to where he was the 2nd best player on would have been a Championship favorite and anyone that says otherwise just doesn't like Melo. _________________ How NBA 2K18 failed the All-Time Lakers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxMBYm3wwxk
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