He's gone. It made zero sense for him to pickup the option, regardless of whether he's staying or going. The fact that the Knicks are trying so hard to get him to do it tells me he's already made up his mind to leave. Hopefully we have enough to convince the Knicks to do a SnT. I'm know we can clear the necessary cap space, but it's far more preferrable to stay above the cap and keep the MLE/BAE.
There's no point in dreaming about Lebron. No chance he comes here. Melo though, I put the Rockets 2nd on his list. Chicago's a bigger market and gets to play in east. So that's probably where he WANTS to go. Kind of hoping Love goes to Chicago for this very reason.
Sounds like Melo is ready to split. Nice that we're considered one of the primary options. It also doesn't hurt that the Heat have damn near blown winning another championship this year. It shows that these windows to compete are rare. So Melo's thinking, "Do I really want to hang around New York for another couple of seasons hoping that they might be able to compete? Why not go to a team that seems built for me to step in? Perhaps a team like the Rockets?" Yeah, that sounds very nice indeed. ;-)-
It's all a matter of how badly Carmelo wants to come here. If he tells the Knicks it's the Rockets or bust, then Phil Jackson would have to come to the table. At that point, I think taking back Asik + Lin + picks would be a nice haul to receive for a player who is already out the door anyways. They could then turn around and deal Tyson Chandler for some more picks.
It's all about the guaranteed money. No way his agent would allow him to pick up that option while still able to get another max $$$, max years contract.
While LeBron is an amzing player that would surely take us to the finals, I actually agree with you. I want to win on our terms, not be the next team that just worships Lebron after he came to save us.
That is huge. While he could resign a new longer contract with NYC, I see this as ready to move on and sign a new contract somewhere else. And I see the Rockets as the best odds. Clear Asik. Clear Lin with a Jones and a pick sweetener. Might be a touch shy of a max but with no tax on 1/2 his games and playing for a contender should soften the blow - that is if Phil doesn't want to S&T but I'm not sure why he wouldn't. NYC needs some excitement besides Phil and Fisher. No picks, over the cap, no trades, no Melo...they need something....
