I just finished reading a blog on the Bleacher Report written by James Evens where he asks a really good question, would bringing Carmelo to the NY Knicks make them title contenders? Now this question must be answered carefully because there are many variables to the equation when it comes to the arrival of Denver's star forward to the Big Apple.I guess no one can really answer this question unless (or until) Carmelo Anthony dons the orange and blue officially. Reason being, we are unaware of whether he would arrive in New York via trade or via free agency, and two completely different scenarios can occur. One, we gut the team to make this trade or the give up some of the core pieces that are making the Knicks successful at the moment. All sort of questions will arise if the Knicks must part with Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari, Anthony Randolph, and Eddy Curry. The retaining, or the loss of the first two players mentioned would be key to gauging the teams improvement with the addition of Carmelo.
Now if Carmelo comes to New York as a free agent (which the Knicks would obviously prefer) or a trade with the Denver Nuggets doesn't involve any of our core players, having a go to guy like Carmelo who can break scoring droughts, and a bonifide "go to guy" at the end of games would make the Knicks instant contenders. However, Carmelo alone will not solve some of the major deficiencies of the Knicks like rebounding, a pure back-up point guard, and overall defense. Blocking is one stat that the Knicks have tremendously improved on and currently helps compensate for the "matador defense".
The efforts of The Knicks front office in the Summer of 2010, is an indication of the patience and precise decision making of Mr. Donald Walsh, the tactic was a simple one. Get a big Superstar and surround him with piecesthat will improve his overall play or put him in a position where the play of said superstar would help the other pieces prosper. But in a a legue where it takes more then one superstar to win a championship, Im not saying that if (when) Melo gets to the Knicks he would make them an instant contender he would multiply there chances exponentially :Ie: Conference Champs.. Yes there is the issue of the back up point guard and the lack of defence. How ever unlike most teams who put all of there major effort into gearing up for the Summer of 2010, the Knicks I believed tethered there efforts for a more patient way to change their roster, such is the cool hand of Mr. Walsh.
ReplyDeletethe Knicks are an elite team with Carmelo. End of discussion...
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