Category Archives: Nuggets

Buss Builds For The Future: Melo To The Lakers

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Trade talks between the Lakers and Nuggets have escalated this morning. There isn’t one specific ‘go-to’ link for the story, but if you visit any of the major sporting news outlets, you will find a version or three of some mystical trade scenario. In similar news, the world is ending on December 21st, 2012.

No, the world isn’t really ending (Sorry, Mayans) and the Lakers shouldn’t be in panic mode. But they are in panic mode. Sirens are blaring, lights are flickers, and everyone is waiting for Mitch Kupchak to pick up that red phone and dial. As if the national guard can come in and help salvage the Lakers ‘lost’ season. But is this season really lost?

To most fans, this season is in turmoil. Speaking to any Laker fan will tell you that much. But you will also receive a clear cut message that the season isn’t over until you lose in the playoffs, and for that, they are very much spot on. But this isn’t about the fans or even the Lakers season. This might be a move that Jerry Buss wants to make for the future of the franchise.

The Trade & Nuggets Log Jam: Not sure what will be included in this trade, but a Carmelo-for-Andrew straight up deal does work according to ESPN’s trade machine. Chances are this isn’t a trade the Nuggets agree to. They will have way too many pieces for their front court and not enough perimeter scorers.  The Nuggets are also in a rebuilding mode so contracts like Billups and Harrington will also need to go. Their best chance of dumping Harrington is to attach him to their most valuable trade chip, Melo. This further complicates the deal for LA and they would have to include Lamar or Luke or picks & cash or a third team. The trade scenarios can get as complex and diverse as one would like so for now lets just stick to the idea that the Lakers and Nuggets would agree on a 1-for-1 swap.

Footrace Home: The Lakers are on pace to win 58 games this year. For those of you keeping count, that would be a one game improvement on last years 57-25 record. That would also be the same season in which they didn’t have home court going into the playoffs yet managed to bring home their second straight NBA championship. It’s not that the Lakers’ season has spiraled out of control,  but these Lakers are showing some fatigue. And that’s alright. This is a team that’s trying to get back into the NBA Finals for an impressive 4th consecutive season. Wedge in all the guest appearances the Lakers’ stars made for their national teams and you have yourself some extremely tired legs. And tired legs is exactly what you should expect from a team trying to repeat. Look at the 1993 Bulls, the 1998 Bulls and the 2002 Lakers. All of them went into the playoffs lacking home court and all of them came out of the playoffs with another title.

Sure the Lakers have a lot of issues right now; They can’t beat any of the elite squads. They aren’t playing defense like last season. They aren’t sharing the ball like last season. And their rotations look slow and even confused at times. But they are playing better offense, in fact they have the #1 offense in the NBA right now. Let’s also not discount the fact that Matt Barnes has been out with an injury. Matt might not make a giant impact in the box score, but his good outside shooting helps the Lakers stretch the floor and his pestering defense helps relieve pressure off of Kobe and even Ron Artest.

If a trade did go down, chances are the Lakers aren’t catching San Antonio. Currently, the Spurs are 42-8 (7 games ahead of the Lakers) and on pace to win 69 games. The Lakers have just 31 games remaining and have a record of 36-15. If the Spurs continue on their current pace, the Lakers, mathematically, wouldn’t have a chance to catch them. LA would have to finish the season 31-0 just to finish 2 games behind the Spurs ( a position they are likely to end up in without the trade). As for catching Boston, who is 38-13 and on pace to win 61? The Lakers could close a 2-game gap easily. The play each other on Thursday, and if LA can go into Boston and steal one, that would shave off a whole game from Boston’s lead. Barring any catastrophic events hampering San Antonio’s season, lets just write-off the Lakers chances at obtaining the coveted home court. Judging by Phil’s threepeat history, they might not even need it.

Lakers Height: With home court advantage basically, the Lakers still have another advantage over the NBA, their towering height. If they were to match-up with the Spurs in a series without home court (something they are probably not going to obtain) they should at least maintain their frustrating size advantage. Although the Spurs have already beaten the Lakers twice this season in head-to-head games, Pau’s advantage was clear. In the last match up with Tim Duncan and the Spurs, Pau Gasol went off for 19 points and 7 rebounds on 8 of 10 shooting while holding Tim Duncan to a 8 point 8 rebound performance on a putrid 3 of 12 shooting. The only question one should have here is why did Gasol only get 10 shots in this game?

High Volume, Low Efficency: The one thing that does prevent Pau from getting more looks (which he converts at a very efficient rate) is the fact that he plays with Kobe Bryant. For all the brilliance Kobe brings to the game, he still marinades it with a ball-hole hot sauce. That’s just the nature of Kobe and it’s something that Laker fans have learned to live through while watching their raise 5 NBA banners during Kobe’s career. It’s been a decent trade-off, to say the least. But how would a Lakers team taste with two players with that same flavor?

The Lakers have been able to win titles during the Kobe-era not because Kobe has been a prolific scorer. It’s been because players like Pau, Bynum and Lamar convert at a very high rate and help balance out the less than stellar shooting performances by Mamba. Like I said, it’s been something that Laker fans have been able to tolerate because when he is on, he is a serial killer, and when he is off, the clean-up crew is still there to take care of business.

So dumping one of those players that help balance this team for another that will send them into a tailspin of inefficient basketball isn’t exactly the ideal band-aid for this season. Just for comparison, here are Bynum and Anthony’s stat lines for the season:


(click to enlarge)

Bynum is averaging 11 points and 7.4 rebounds in 25 minutes a night on 7.7 shots per game and scoring at 57.7% of those shots. Carmelo, in comparison, is getting 35 minutes per game and averaging 24.6 points, 7.8 rebounds on 19 attempts per night, converting just 44.2% of his field goals. Instantly, I’ll tell you that the Lakers are giving up a lot of rebounds if this trade happens. Phil and his coaching staff would also need to create additional shots for Melo. The Lakers offense is already an established system so Melo would have to weasel away shots from other players. He’s going to get less looks than usual and he’s going to have to agree on a passive role in crunch time. After all, this is still Kobe’s team. Even if Melo were to settle for 15 shots, that’s still 8 additional shots that an existing Laker would have to give up. If I were a betting man, I’d say those come out of Pau’s pockets.

To top it off, Melo is not built for what the Lakers need out of their Small Forward. The two years the Lakers repeated and all the years before that, the Small Forward position has always been filled by a defensive minded player who will chase down loose rebounds and can stretch the court on offense by knocking down the open three. From Rick Fox to Trevor Ariza down to Ron Artest last season. The 3 has always been someone to do the work Kobe wouldn’t or couldn’t. If this description sounds familiar to you, it’s not because an image of Carmelo is now flashing in your head. in fact this is the exact opposite of ‘Melo’s blueprint. Filling that gap with someone who mirrors Kobe’s game would be a redundant move for a Lakers team that’s already struggling on the defensive end.

The main result of this trade would be limiting Pau’s highly efficient looks for the short term in hopes that the younger Carmelo Anthony would be a comparable replacement for Kobe Bryant in the future. In essence, this trade would do the exact opposite of what it was intended to do. No real short term fixes and a questionable long term outcome.

Kobe’s Successor: If Buss and Kupchak intend to acquire Carmelo as the successor to Kobe and help bridge the gap from this threepeat to the next, why not just trade Kobe? Bethlehem Shoals half-jokingly mentioned this on twitter but he isn’t that far off. If the Lakers are looking at Melo as both a short term fix and a long term post-Kobe plan why not trade Kobe now? Sounds crazy, I know, and it’s not something I’m lobbying for, but I’m also not lobbying the idea of trading your 23-year old seven footer, either.
In the end, I can’t imagine the Lakers trading not only their biggest advantage, but their only advantage of this season; their size. But i can’t say this hasn’t happened before. Need I remind you of how the Shaq-era ended in LA? Jerry Buss has shown that he will make all the moves necessary to win but he has also shown he will always give up winning in the short term for long term success. his foresight and willingness to act has been better than any owner in sports history and the 16 banners hanging over his head are proof of that.

Perhaps for Jerry, this season is already lost and to him, there are plenty of other seasons to win.

(Photo via Yahoo! Sports & AP, All stats via Basketball-reference.com)

Shane is a full-time contributor for Stacheketball & NBAOffseason.com and a part-time lover of fresh socks. Find him tweeting nonsense at @Suga_Shane

The NBA Trade Machine: I Love This Game

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The NBA trade deadline is roughly three weeks away and there are a lot players who could be changing teams in the next coming weeks. Contenders like Chicago and Oklahoma City could be looking to make that move to put them over the top, the Lakers are possibly looking to shake things up, while the Nuggets are still shopping Carmelo. Yesterday we covered a few of the rumors that are flying around out there, but I wanted to take it a little further and propose some real fake trades that could happen and some that probably have no chance of happening, but should be fun to talk about. Click each image to enlarge

The Bulls are in desperate need of a SG. Keith Bogans is the worst starting SG in terms of PER in the NBA while Ronnie Brewer is at best a serviceable player. I made two trades, one that should happen and the other that should happen if the first trade falls through.

This one is a no brainer for the Bulls. Mayo is having his worst season as a pro so far and the change of scenery and pairing him up with a great PG in Rose could do two things: 1) Takes the scoring burden off of Rose and 2) Makes teams have to stop from helping in on Rose when he drives to the basket. The only downside to this trade is Mayo would need the ball in his hands more which could cut into Rose’s production though ultimately this trade could push Chicago to another level.

This trade makes sense in terms of fit. Aaron Afflalo is having a great season for Denver. He is shooting 45% from the three point line and is one of the best on ball defenders in the NBA today. He would be dangerous in this Bulls lineup for when teams have to help on Rose drives and anytime someone doubles down on Carlos Boozer. If Chicago could pull this trade out, they might actually be in a better situation than if they could get Mayo from Memphis.

Oklahoma City is currently sitting at fourth in the Western Conference but the standings are so close that every game counts. The Thunder are missing on key piece and really is the only true hole in their lineup, a dominant inside player. This trade with Denver could solve this for the Thunder and give them what they need to make a run for a top 3 seed in the West.

Now there are no signs that Denver is going to give away Nene and if the Nuggets do end up moving Carmelo and are looking to get younger, then this could be a possible deal they could look to in doing so. The Thunder getting Nene would really shore up the middle for them while the Nuggets could get a very solid young player in Jeff Green. Obviously the Nuggets are trying to get rid of Al Harrington and to get Nene the Thunder would have to take him and my only concern is, would Al mess up the chemistry of this Thunder team?

Carmelo Anthony desperately trying to get to New York, so I thought I would oblige him and get him there. I made two trade to get Carmelo to the Knicks with one of them being very farfetched but would be an NBA fans dream.

This is a trade that has been kicked around for a while now and there is really no reason to rehash things that have been said over and over. The Knicks are probably not giving up enough players in this trade and would probably need to include a few draft picks, however, all three players have expiring deals. Of all of the Carmelo to New York trades, this seems the most logical.

For the second trade, I went three teamer. Now this trade has about zero chance of happening but as an NBA fan, this is a dream trade. Sure the Knicks have to gut their roster but picking up Steve Nash and Carmelo Anthony would make up for a lot of the players they had to give up. Phoenix gets Landry Fields as another piece to build around and the Nuggets get those expiring contracts. Draft picks would be included in this trade going to Denver and probably Phoenix, but ignoring all of that, imagine how sweet it would be to watch Nash running the break with Carmelo and Amare filling the lanes with him. Ok, back to reality.

The Lakers are currently struggling and seem out of sync, and with Mitch Kupchak saying that trades are possible, I decided to try out five trades that the Lakers could make to not only shake up the roster but to also get them back to the Finals for a shot at a three-peat. The first four here are the ones that have the best shot, albeit not the greatest, of actually happening.

All four of these trades here really upgrade the SF position for the Lakers and would give them another big time players to help take some of the burden off of the aging Kobe Bryant. Now Artest has said he doesn’t want to be traded but moving Artest and Bynum, seems like the best move the Lakers could make. Danny Granger is having a rough season in Indiana and the change of scenery to LA could be the shot in the arm his game might need. Granger has shown in the past that he could be a prolific scorer and going to the Lakers would make him the best third or fourth option in the NBA. Another destination for Carmelo could be LA. Denver might consider making this trade if they are convinced that Carmelo will be gone no matter not (which he will) and LA will basically rent a fired up Carmelo for the stretch run. A crunch time lineup of Kobe-Carmelo-Gasol-Odom-Fisher or Blake would be a scary good lineup.

The Lakers and Sixers trade is one that I thought was interesting but highly unlikely. Andre Iguodala is “The Guy” in Philadelphia and that never seemed like a role that he could fit but for the Lakers he could play off the ball really well and be the guy who could save Kobe’s legs on the defensive end. Thaddeus Young is another interesting piece to this trade as it would give some more athleticism to the Lakers inside group.

The LA-Cleveland trade is more so to get Antawn Jamison onto a winner finally, plus I think he would be a great fit in LA as he could easily be the fourth option on this Laker team. Jamison is a great player and would easily accept his role on the Lakers. Adding Hickson to this trade give the Lakers another solid, high energy big man off the bench. Though I highly doubt either Cleveland or LA are looking at each other as trade partners.

This last trade is similar to the Nash/Carmelo to the Knicks trade as in this one will never happen but it is fun to imagine. Phoenix gets to reload with young pieces while the Lakers get two great players that will come in and contribute right away and more than make up for the lost talent. The only people who say no to this are coaches for every other team in the NBA lead by Greg Popovich demanding that David Stern veto this trade like he is the commissioner of a fantasy league.

Obviously some of these trades there would be cash considerations and future draft picks but the trade machine doesn’t allow you to add those in.

My hope is that the NBA trade deadline is as active and crazy as it could be and isn’t just all talk while living up to the No Balls Association name that Simmons coined a few years back.

Nick is a contributor to Stacheketball and full time lover of all things roundball related. Follow him on Twitter to discuss basketball or if you can help him get in touch with Mila Kunis @Jubanator14

Melo and Nene: Staying Put?

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It took some time, but Mikhail Prokhorov finally came to his senses and ordered his team to stop its pursuit of Carmelo Anthony.  The Nets allegedly had a standing offer for months that included a top prospect (Derrick Favors), a good point guard entering his prime (Devin Harris), multiple first round picks and plenty of salary cap relief, but Denver waited too long and had their decision made for them.  It was the type of package that teams hope to score when they decide to trade a star and dedicate to rebuilding, but the Nuggets passed, or got greedy, or just couldn’t pull the trigger, and must decide what to do now with the best (publicly known, at least) offer now off the table.  Masai Ujiri faces a difficult task with ‘Melo, the face of his franchise.  What complicates things even more is the fate of the Nugs’ other best player, Nene Hilario, who has and Early Termination Option and can opt for free agency this summer.  He lacks the commercial appeal of his higher-scoring teammate, but in Nene Ujiri has one of the league’s most productive big men, and his situation is arguably more important to the team’s future – if for no other reason than he hasn’t, you know, “demanded” a trade like Melo.

People much smarter than I am have explained why Anthony is not deserving of the max contract or the hype that he gets as someone who makes his money as a volume scorer, so I don’t need to.  But one thing is certain: with him, the Nuggets are a playoff team in the Western Conference, and that is no small feat.  If Ujiri finds Melo’s value on the trade market to be uninspiring, he can choose to keep him and watch his team go to the postseason, not a bad “worst case scenario” for a rookie G.M.  Sure, he risks losing Anthony for essentially nothing this summer, a la LeBron James and Chris Bosh last year, but there is a decent chance that no offer this side of New Jersey approaches the value of a playoff run and the butts in seats that come with it.  The market would appear to depend on Carmelo’s willingness to sign an extension, and even if a team is willing to pay up for a rental, Denver would still have to decide if the long term gain outweighs the immediate impact on this season. As John Hollinger pointed out, with the Collective Bargaining Agreement up in the air, the Nuggets can probably afford to sit tight if they don’t get the deal they like.  Of course, the variable here is the human element, the ability for Melo and his teammates and the organization to operate effectively, and that’s something only they can gauge. You just have to hope all parties do their best to make it work and let the front office make its decision.

I don’t think I blame Ujiri for not making a deal with the Nets, even though I think the combination of Favors, Harris, two premium first round picks AND significant cap savings represented a rare opportunity to rebuild almost instantly.  They may have gotten greedy, but it’s tough to blame them if they tried every way to dump Kenyon Martin ($19 million next year) or Al Harrington ($33 million through 2015!) in the deal.  All indications had the Nets going after their Big Name Star at any cost, and if Carmelo had agreed to sign an extension, who knows what Denver might have pulled off?  It was an ironic twist – Prokhorov announced his disapproval of the negotiations’ public nature during a rare televised owner press conference – but he ultimately made the right decision not to gut his organization for a couple months of ‘Melo.

Because he reportedly wants to sign his extension with New York, Ujiri may decide not to take, say, Landry Fields, Wilson Chandler, Anthony Randolph (or this mystery first round pick they claim they can get for him) and Eddy Curry’s expiring contract for Anthony and some combination of Billups/Harrington/K-Mart. In that case, Fields and Chandler could help, but Randolph and/or a mediocre pick don’t inspire, and that almost certainly doesn’t replace Melo.  George Karl could also make things work on the court and the Nuggets could even win a playoff series – they have plenty of talent – but it would take extreme focus on the part of players and coaches that is no guarantee under these circumstances.

Had the deal with New Jersey gone through, the Nuggets would have rid themselves of the cap space needed to extend Nene, allowing them to build around their ultra-efficient big man, Ty Lawson and a bunch of young, cheap, ideally talented, lottery picks.  As it stands now, any trade scenario should still occur under the context of finding high-upside talent to complement Nene.  He battled injuries and even cancer early on in his career, but is now an ironman who played all 82 games last year and 77 the season before.  He’s getting 15 points and eight rebounds a game and leads the league in shooting (65% from the floor).  Last season he actually led the league (124) in Offensive Rating on Basketball-Reference, a number that estimates points produced per 100 possessions.  This year he is actually producing an even higher rate, with 129 and a career-high 21.4 PER.

He’ll be 29 next season, and Ujiri has every reason to invest in his future with the team.  He has said in the past that he would not opt out, and that would stand to reason with a work stoppage looming, and as we know, players rarely leave their team when their team offers the most money.  A recent “report” suggested that he would want to leave if the Nuggets blow up the roster, but it’s mostly hearsay and lost me at the idea that he could end up on the Heat (and take a pay cut from $11.6 million to the veteran’s minimum?).

For Ujiri, the absolute worst-case scenario would be holding onto ‘Melo and then watching a complete meltdown from the team after the trade deadline.  With a roster full of guys that NBA 2K11 would classify as “unpredictable,” it could happen, but things would really have to go wrong for them to miss the playoffs.  If they do trade him, they would hope to wind up with enough young talent and/or draft picks and cap relief to field a competitive team next year around Nene and Lawson, and that could work out.  Would I rather have the Nets package, or even half of it, than Melo for the rest of the year?  Yeah, probably, but I try to remember that I am not the one who has a won-loss record next to my name.  I wouldn’t be surprised if Ujiri wishes he could go back and do the deal, but he may just find value in another playoff season and all its perks, knowing that he’ll likely have the opportunity to get something in sign-and-trade in the offseason.

Charlie Widdoes contributes to ClipperBlog as well as Stacheketball. Follow him on twitter: @charliewiddoes.

JR Smith Doing Some JR Smith Things

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Photo Credit: Yahoo Sports / AP

JR Smith is a good basketball player when he wants to be one. I mean, when he’s hot, he’s scorching. Long 3 bombs all the way from Hong Kong. Arguably owns the best dunk of this 2010-2011 NBA season, and apparently somewhat breaking Mike Dunleavy’s ankle on this certain play:

Video Credit: NBA

It’s unfortunate that this had to happen to Mike Dunleavy. Apparently a couple games ago, Mike Dunleavy Jr. also got posterized (unintentionally) by his teammate Tyler Hansbrough. I guess that’s what happens to you if you’re the son of arguably one of the most horrible coach in NBA.

I now leave you with a classic JR Smith moment. ( Somehow this had to be in the post lol )

Photo Credit: @nbamusing

Al is a contributor to Stacheketball, if you have any tips on ways to cook Bacon, and tips on how to get Jessica Alba and Keira Knightly to go on a date with him, then you should tweet him at @ahmong.

Behind The Arc (01/17/2011)

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Happy Martin Luther King Day. Remember what he has done for this country.

We’ve got a loooooooong line of games today. There are thirteen, to be exact. I’ll try not to keep you long here if you are reading this. I thought about saving this one for Tuesday, when it’s less busy in the NBA… but anything can happen now.

And by anything, I mean the Carmelo Anthony deal.

I’m resigned to the fact that this is what we have to deal with in the age of instant information. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

Being as a lot of us here are NBA maniacs, especially here in Stacheketball, we are going to get every inch, drop, and iota of information about Carmelo Anthony as long as we keep ourselves tuned to the internet and these social networks. Since the NBA people are mostly on Twitter, we are going to see endless amounts of the “Melodrama”, as some people put it. A lot of these writers get paid to bring out the latest of this impending trade so whether we like it or not, we are going to see information about it (and this really goes for ANYTHING nowadays, not just the NBA).

It’s such a contrast to last decade. Or even five years ago. Hell, back in the day, we had no internet to rely on. So that meant no websites, blogs, forums, or whatever trendy social network is the rage. We would wait for the latest episode of SportsCenter to come on or we’d buy the local papers just to see if a deal went down.

How times have changed. A 17-year-old blogger from Maine can break a story on Twitter these days (maybe not but you get the idea).

I don’t think this is a bad thing. Can it get played out? Sure. But instead of having to wait forever for information, we can access this knowledge instantly. We just have to pick, choose, and ignore the news that comes in every minute or every second. There are TONS of resources now about the NBA (and one of your resources better be Stacheketball!). I’d rather have too much information than having limited options. At least, we’ll always have some NBA knowledge every moment, right?

With the advent of message boards, chat rooms, FaceBook, and Twitter… we can talk to anyone and anybody about the game we love. We’re not alone anymore when it comes to this. And that’s the beauty of having these social networks and the internet. It’s like we’re in a virtual bar or room when we watch the games “together.” And I wouldn’t exchange this experience for anything.

Now hurry up and get that deal done for Carmelo. I hate you so much, internet.

PHOTO CREDIT: Eric Gay/AP.

Rey-Rey is the Editor of Stacheketball and founder of the L.A.-based NBA Blog, The No-Look Pass. He someday wants to go out with Gretchen Wieners from Mean Girls. Babble with him on Twitter at @TheNoLookPass.

I Would Be So Stoked To Have Melo On My Team!

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I Would Be So Stoked To Have Melo On My Team! Why not!? Melo is so awesome, and that nickname is superb. His nickname is “Melo”, as if “Carmelo” was not cool enough. Who shortens their sweet name with an even sweeter nickname? “Melo”… his nickname is “Melo”. I want him on my team!

I loved the commercial where he played every player on the court as himself. He even played the coach. I want that guy on my team. I want him as a teammate. Who needs the other parasites on the team when you have a guy like “Melo”? I guess that is why he only has 3 assists per game. He is not being selfish. He is just passing to himself. That does not count as an assist, but it should. It seriously should. Melo and Kobe would lead the league in “Self Serve Assists”.

I love how he is demanding to be traded. That is the kind of guy that I want on my team. I want a guy that wants to be off of his perennially playoff bound team so bad that he openly demands how bad he wants out of that crumby city where they obviously do not care about their players.

I love how he can so easily cut ties with his coach that leaned on his team as he fought back from cancer. I love how he can so easily cut ties with his teammates. I love how he can drop the city that drafted him, and the city that wears his jersey.

Why do I love it? Because “Melo” is a calculated business man. He will make more money in New York. He will get more publicity in New York. He will get more SportsCenter face time in New York.

That is the guy I want on my team. I want a guy that makes all of his decisions based on what he wants, because he is going to be on my team. He is looking out for himself, and himself will be on my team.

According To The Kelley Blue Book, Carmelo Anthony Is Not A Ferrari

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Picture credits: Google

This thing called “Melo Drama” is like that girl you’re trying to date but has commitment phobia. You know the whole “Hot and Cold” thing, where she’s totally into you at one point then starts to back away. That’s what I am describing this whole Carmelo to New Jersey Nets trade.

This trade talk started since way before the start of the season when Carmelo Anthony decided that he wanted out of denver. When the news broke out, lots of teams started contacting this elite scoring machine. Teams like the Dallas Mavericks wanted to “rent” him, the Orlando Magic tried to woo him in (but, apparently, the Denver Nuggets rejected what Otis Smith had to offer), Houston Rockets tried to make a late push to land the 3-time all star, and, of course, the ever-so-determined New Jersey Nets wanted their superstar.

The trade talks went cold for a while until the New Jersey Nets pulled off a trade that sent New Jersey Nets Terrence Williams to the Houston Rockets, the Los Angeles Lakers’ Sasha Vujajic to the Nets, and veteran  forward/center Joe Smith headed out to Laker land. Along with those players are 2 first round picks from both the Lakers and the Rockets. This would now give the Nets 5 draft picks over the course of 2 seasons.

The reason this trade was pulled off is so that the Nets can again go for Carmelo Anthony. Apparently, Denver is being so greedy that they want more than what Carmelo is worth. Denver wanted Devin Harris and lottery pick Derrick Favors along with future first rounders. (Nothing is set at the moment but the whole proposed trade is over here although this seems to be the proposal that teams are planning on going with)

Now my question to all of you: is Carmelo Anthony really worth an All-Star, a young talent, and future first round picks? I say no. Carmelo Anthony is, yes, a 3x all-star player. He’s an elite scorer but other than that, I can’t really think of much. To put this in perspective, I compared Monta Ellis and Carmelo Anthony stats from last season.

(Better picture can be found here)

As you can see on the table above, both players have nearly identical stats. We see that Carmelo has a little edge over Monta. Now let’s say that Golden State Warriors decides to trade Monta Ellis. Would teams even consider what Denver is trying to squeeze from this whole Melo trade? I mean, if I were a GM, I would definitely not pull the trigger on this. From what I’ve been seeing the past few years, Carmelo is just a scorer; nothing more, nothing less. He’s not that great of a defender. He’s technically in his prime and, the way it’s looking, I just see nothing that’s improving, especially on the defensive end. Remember that Pau Gasol trade where the Lakers got him for basically nothing? In a sense, that is how this current trade proposal would look if it goes through. The Nets would basically be throwing away their All-Star guard in Devin Harris, their young talent in Derrick Favors, and 2 first round draft picks for a big-named elite scorer… but not an elite player.

So to conclude all this, I would just like to say that if Carmelo Anthony were a car, he would be a Mercedes Benz: all power but no handling.

Al is a contributor to Stacheketball, if you have any tips on ways to cook Bacon, and tips on how to get Jessica Alba to go on a date with me then you should tweet him at @ahmong.

Trade Rumors: Ripped from Motor City

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Rip Hamilton has not been happen in Detroit. He has been frustrated and angry and it shows in his 8 technicals (good for fourth most in the NBA).

Don’t worry, Rip, Carmelo and the Nets are here to rescue you and possibly reunite you with your old teammate, Chauncey Billups according to reports from Adrian Wojnarowski.

Sources: Proposed deal is ‘melo, billups, hamilton, carter to NJ for harris, favors, uzoh, graham and picks. Murphy and Petro to DET.

Nets are looking at a roster of Billups, Hamilton, Anthony, Humpries, Lopez with Morrow and Outlaw off the bench. Not bad, but is this team really better than the current Denver Nuggets? Let us know in the comments section.

Shane is a part-time contributor for Stacheketball and a full-time lover of breakfast for dinner. Find him tweeting nonsense at @Suga_Shane