It appears Melo still wants the knicks and only the knicks according to Sam Smith: http://blogs.bulls.com/2011/01/bulls-melo-here-we-go-again/
I probably wouldn't even trade Noah straight up for Melo. Granted, I'm openly anti-Melo. Hes a fantastic scorer but leaves a lot to be desired as far as defense and making your teammates better. Chauncey is the guy that runs the show over there, Melo is just a very, very good weapon on offense. Noah is a center coming into his own. Hes got good size and athleticism, hes a rebounding machine, hes tenacious. Not sure on his defense but he seems good there too. Do you really want to go up against KG/Perkins, Dwight, Horford/Josh Smith, perhaps Gasol/Bynum with Taj Gibson and Carlos Boozer? You could use an upgrade as far as perimeter scorers to feed off of Rose but I'd think twice about swapping a top 10 (top 5?) center for an offensive oriented SF. Especially one who could be gone in four months.
We're 12-6 with Kurt Thomas going up against KG/Perkins, Dwight, Horford/Smith, etc. We sure seem to be suffering more for the concentration of the vast bulk of our scoring in just 3 players.
In that 12-6 stretch you literally have not gone up against any of those players. And I would maintain that you don't trade a 25 year old top 10 C for a wing player. Melo is very good but wing scorers are a dime a dozen. Good centers are not. I think Noah's defense is more valuable in a 7 game series, especially with Thibodeau as coach, than Melo's scoring is. If you need more scoring at SG/SF you don't have to trade a quality big to get it.
I was thinking the same thing. They flashed a statistic last night for how the Bulls played with only Boozer, only Noah, and neither Noah and Boozer. The only Noah and only Boozer numbers were relatively comparable, except the only Noah numbers came from the circus trip when we were playing the West's best teams on the road. That being said, isn't this all besides the point? The real value to Noah for our team is how he compliments and covers up for Carlos Boozer, and vice versa. They're a great combo that has showed strong chemistry in the limited minutes they've both been healthy. In terms of playing styles, they could be one of the better matched tandems in the league, with the whole representing more than the two individual parts.
I'm pretty sure Noah said his dream is to play for the Knicks too. Didn't stop him from signing his extension. And on the subject of Noah: 1. The Bulls have continued to win but are not playing as well without him. Games are closer, and the competition has generally been inferior. 2. The Bulls have hardly had the chance to play at all fully healthy. Even at full strength, there will be some getting adjusted period. 3. It's generally pretty crazy to describe Noah is just some kind of "energy" player. Noah is very, very skilled at basketball, and if you think he's easily replaceable, you're kidding yourselves.
I totally agree. If you lose Taj and Noah, it's a downgrade in the frontcourt. It's that simple. Noah/Booz/Deng/Taj is better than Booz/Deng/Melo/Thomas. If Noah is the cost, Bulls should keep their assets and look to upgrade the SG department.
Heh, speaking of hustle and energy, I loved this, said in response to the idea that Noah is a hustle (or energy) guy. Awesome.
He's a street clothes on the bench player a lot of the time. I don't believe anyone is irreplaceable. It's a matter of degree. Melo is less irreplaceable than Noah is all. Seriously. Melo's like a top 10 player in the entire league. Noah's not.
Another way to look at it is that the drop off from Melo to Deng is a lot less than the drop off from Noah to whoever is behind him. That is, if Noah isn't on the bench in street clothes. Although he did show some talent as an announcer...
You overrate both Deng and Noah. I assume in a deal for Melo we'd keep Deng anyhow, and play one guard and three or four forwards.
I assume that Deng's gone faster than your can say Tyson Chandler. This is not a team that likes to keep high-priced redundant pieces. However, I believe that the inclusion of Noah is a deal-breaker for the Bulls, so it's a moot point.
Too bad Although it is widely accepted that defense wins championships, you have to have a top ten or even top 5 offense as well. We are #17. Not good enough this season. Trading either Noah or Deng will improve the offense and make it approach the top ten. Melo is more consistent that Deng. However, our defense will drop, especially if we move Deng and not Noah, but I dont think it will go below top 5. If we dont trade for Melo, then the Bulls need to address the need for more scoring especially from the SG position this off season
None of us knows for sure, but my guess is that the Bulls are not balls-out interested in Anthony which translates to the inclusion of Noah being a non-starter. Deng, filler and picks would work for the Bulls, but not for the Nugs in a direct deal. Unless a third team is brought in that wants Deng (and his contract) and has what the Nuggets want (presumably picks/expirings) all the talk about Anthony to Chicago is just noise.
http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/CHI/2011.html The bulls are #1 in defense, #3 in fewest points allowed. That's playing Boozer without Noah, and playing without Noah. I don't see that defense or having more of it is the issue. Though I agree the Bulls haven't demonstrated the will to go for it when it comes to pulling the trigger to trade for a top talent. Remember, they had a shot at Gasol and didn't take it. Deng has been guarding the opponents' best wing player all along. That Detroit game where Gordon went off for 15 points in Q2, Deng guarded him the rest of the game. If he can guard Gordon (a smaller and quick player), I don't see how he wouldn't be fine for us guarding SGs. He can shoot the 3, too. So is he really redundant?
Yes, he's redundant if they get Anthony. The fact that Deng can sometimes play SG or PF notwithstanding. If they somehow get Anthony, Deng's a goner. Book it. But remember that it's just an opinion so you need to consider the source...me. This said, I find your POV that Deng and Anthony can peacefully coexist, from a business and basketball perspective to be unrealistic. I just can't take it seriously. Again, I don't think Anthony to Chicago is happening. You can want it all you want to and believe that it should happen, but you're whistling in the wind. Not happening.
Gasol was pre-Rose. Wouldn't have helped us like he helped the Lakers. I mean, I would have been cool if we had drafted the guy...Sigh. Agree with Transplant. Anthony means no Deng. We don't do it except under those circumstances. And Denver's not sending us Nene to replace Jo.
Gasol would have helped, for sure. He's helped the Lakers to a couple of championships, and we'd have added him to our team with Ben Wallace and Hinrich and Gordon and Duhon and Nocioni.
