Would you do it ? I would, but I would ask for NeNe as well. I'm thinking L.A. would have to trade Bynum, Artest, and Vujacic and get Melo, Smith and NeNe in return. Nuggets aren't going anywhere with Smith, NeNe is definitely not a franchise player so they might as well deal them. They get a expiring which is vital for teams in rebuilding mode. they get a potential franchise player in Bynum, and a nice replacement in Artest who should have more freedom in Denver's system. Our depth chart would like like this : Fisher/Blake Kobe/Smith Melo/Barnes Gasol/Odom NeNe/Ratliff Bynum is one of the top bigman when healthy, but Melo is argurably a top 5 player. Lakers would have a better big three than Miami imo. You would have the best player in the game in Bryant, a top 10 or even top 5 player in Melo, and the best bigman in the game in Pau Gaso imo. You would still have a lot of depth though off the bench with Smith, Blake, Odom, and Barnes.
I wouldn't want Nene back if the Lakers had to include Artest in this deal. This leaves Bynum + Sasha for Melo which works salary cap wise. The caveat to the deal would be the extension Carmelo is willing to sign with the Lakers because you don't want him leaving after just one season. We lose out on our front court depth and defense, but the Lakers pick up the air apparent to Kobe Bryant's role in the Triangle offense and Melo is capable of playing defense when he wants. Bynum's health issues don't look like they are going to go away because of his body frame. He's bow legged which doesn't allow him to distribute his upper body weight evenly. The Lakers have been to the Finals three straight times without much service from Bynum.
in terms of stopping wade/lebron/rondo/dwight/peirce, id rather stick with ron ron and bynum. offense means nothing if we cant contain these guys out east.
Melo is a decent defender, Kobe is a great one, Barnes is a good one, NeNe can postup and plays solid post defense. Melo is a bonafide superstar. You can't pass up putting three stars together like Bryant, Anthony, and Gasol.
Yes you can. The team we have now has chemistry. Just because the Heat put together an all-star team doesn't mean shit. And anyways, the Nuggets aren't going to trade him to a contender. Offering Bynum + fillers for Melo is asbolute stupidity because there is not enough ball for Kobe and Melo in the 1st place. Then you factor in Gasol and Artest? Fuck that, we probably won't even have Artest if this deal happens. Get NBA Elite or 2k11 and make this trade happen because its a fantasy trade.
I'll pass. Defense wins championships, and that team takes a HUGE defensive step back. Where did you hear that 'Melo could play defense? I wasn't really aware of this. Kobe isn't an excellent defender, at least anymore. Is he still a good defender? Absolutely. Excellent, no. And Nene isn't good on defense either and doesn't rebound as well as Bynum. As much as I'd like a 3rd superstar, I'm not willing to do it in this manner. 'Melo doesn't make us any better than we are now. The only good thing about getting him is it takes A LOT of pressure of Kobe to score and gives us someone to build around once Kobe is gone. Too bad bringing him in is going to send chemistry to shit and turns us from one of the best defensive teams in the NBA to a team that is mediocre at best on the defensive end. No thanks on this one, I'll pass.
We have the best team in the league as we stand, so why change it? Currently, the team we have is capable of putting up a lot of points, and our defense is just plain scary. We may have the best offense, best defense, best bench, best coach, best player, and best big man in the league. Why would we change that? True, I think we DO need an heir to the throne when Kobe retires, but in 5 years, a certain Kevin Durant is an FA. I'm not entirely worried about the whole "who is going to take Kobe's spot," because everybody wants to be a Laker. Believe you me, when Kobe retires, a LOT of marquee players are going to call the Buss family up for a job. We good where we at.
Bynum + Sasha for Melo? Hell yeah, I'd do it. Yeah, we lose some size up front, but as shape mentioned, Bynum has not been a part of much of these 3 championship runs as far as the playoffs are concerned. I would not pass up on a SUPERSTAR like MELO. You just cant do it. Although, my preference would be KEVIN DURANT.
Allen Iverson, Jerry Stackhouse, Joe Smith, Flip Murray, Earl Watson, Michael Finley, Larry Hughes, Bobby Simmons, Trenton Hassell, Jarvis Hayes, Ime Udoka and Devean George are all available FA's. considering kobe is still the leader of this team, and still a top threat in this league, i ont see the need for a player of melo's offensive capacity. we have ron, odom, pau, fisher, blake, barnes, sasha, shannon and bynu to fill in the blanks. thats pretty bloody decent if you ask me. if we perhaps needed a bit more depth at our swingman position id rather the team take a look at Jerry Stackhouse, Flip Murray or Ime Udoka. that way we dont upset the hierarchy of the team by bringing in a player who is in constant demand of the ball as well as large minutes, but we still add a good jumpshooter and penetrator. plus these three guys are relatively inexpensive, and are atleast on-par, if not better on the defensive end than melo.
I'm just worried about our C position. Bynum was a monster in the playoffs, but messed up his knee badly. Wonder if he will stay healthy next season.
