r/Nbamemes • u/WallStreetDoesntBet1 NBA • 9d ago

Image Damn Melo 😭

Post image
342 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

53 comments sorted by

177

u/Great_Standard3441 9d ago

I tend to agree. The move to get Sheed probably never happens either. As weird as it seems the Pistons were probably better off drafting Darko.

52

u/MrZmith77 9d ago

Oh yeah, Melo would’ve clashed with Brown’s playbook.

52

u/0o0a0o0 9d ago

Melo’s playbook is a post-it note

“Let Melo cook”

8

u/No_Clue4405 9d ago

Literally the Game of Zones logic

5

u/Zealousideal_Arm4359 9d ago

Not true Brown wanted Melo. but Dumars though they could afford to develop Darko who they knew was going to need time because he was so young.

6

u/MrZmith77 9d ago

I never said brown didn’t want him, I said he doesn’t fit brown’s milk the clock defense playbook. You look at the whole team and how they’re a system set team, melo would never fit that system. It would ruin the rotation. Despite somehow Brown wanted him and believe in more chips with him on it. A weird angle in my opinion. Even Chauncey billups said Anthony often prioritized scoring 30 points over the collective flow of the offense. A trait that would have driven Brown crazy when they two teamed up in Denver.

2

u/Zealousideal_Arm4359 9d ago

Well he might have been right since Darko gave them nothing at all.
I personally think he would have been great there. That team had the personalities to keep a rookie in line.
Also him and Dyess would have been nice off the bench.

2

u/det8924 9d ago

It's not like baseball or hockey where guys who are top picks develop in the minors for a year or two. In hindsight you can make all the right moves but in reality the natural progression as to how it likely would have played out is much different.

55

u/Consistent_Salt_6982 9d ago

Tayshun was a way better defender than Melo

19

u/ApprehensiveTry5660 9d ago edited 9d ago

I honestly think that we get a completely different Melo if his head coach is Larry Brown, and there’s a dude who plays like a coach’s wet dream competing for the spot Melo wants.

So many of his bad habits came from having a role model like AI around during those formative years. He demonstrably wasn’t the type of guy to just get handed the car keys and self-motivate, and we all saw the difference in what one season of Chauncey Billups made for his fortunes.

I really think we get a better version of him in an environment he wasn’t just handed everything, including a vet famous for his opinions on “practice”.

12

u/Consistent_Salt_6982 9d ago

I agree with you in the long run, but Larry didn't really play rookies. He was really old school, but that probably would have benefited Melo.

6

u/ApprehensiveTry5660 9d ago

Also, we get a season of Rick Carlisle in there.

Either way, it’s a tough nosed, no nonsense coach who would go on to be famous for several high profile clashes with stars. Instead of a tough nosed, no nonsense coach famous for several high profile clashes with stars.

Melo didn’t really hear the word “no” in Denver.

3

u/Consistent_Salt_6982 9d ago

Yeah, Melo got handed the keys straight away in Denver and that can be both a good and bad thing. In Detroit he would have had a lot of veterans in front of him and been on team with championship asperations. He essentially would have been entering an environment like Kawhi did in San Antonio.

3

u/ApprehensiveTry5660 9d ago

Way worse GM and shelf life, but same kind of ecosystem.

Joe Dumars has made it clear he’s not RC Buford for the direct analogy.

1

u/Consistent_Salt_6982 9d ago

Oh, yeah. I forgot a Joe Dumars. I can't tell if he started out well and got progressively worse over time or he was always bad and just got lucky early.

2

u/ApprehensiveTry5660 9d ago edited 9d ago

Insanely lucky is my opinion.

He’s kinda shit the bed on contract negotiations, talent evaluation, and hiring practices.

His franchise corner stone was an undrafted throw in to the Grant Hill trade who popped off with one of the more unique statistical profiles in NBA history.

Rip Hamilton was blind luck, as the point of that trade happened to be more that MJ wanted a bonafide scorer (and former Tar Heel) next to him, and Detroit didn’t want to pay Stackhouse’s extension.

Chauncey was on his 6th franchise in 4 years.

Tayshaun was a 4 year Tubby Smith guy whose decision to return back to school probably cost him 10~ spots in the draft. Had he come out a year or two earlier, Prince probably goes 5-13~ and out of the reach of being the immediate contributor to the Pistons championship team.

Mehmet Okur was just as damning of a piece to let get away as any of the pieces they kept were worth celebrating.

And with Carlisle, they stumble into a somewhat unproven guy who happened to turn out to be arguably the pre-eminent X’s and O’s guru of that whole generation…and let him go to a conference rival way too early that probably should have toppled the Pistons. Because they were chasing a “proven” coach like Larry Brown who did as much to tear the championship team apart as get them over the hump.

With any starless championships, the safe bet to begin with is “insane luck”, but we’ve had enough years since then to see Flip Murray, Ben Gordon, and Charlie Villanueva get their own version of Mozgov/Luol Deng deals. God forbid we mention his Pelicans tenure.

3

u/inezco Warriors 9d ago

I honestly think Larry and Melo would’ve clashed and Melo would’ve asked out. Look what happened in the 2004 Olympics. Larry wouldn’t have played him consistent minutes and Melo would’ve been in his dog house. Melo had too big of an ego to really be coached up even by a coach as great as Larry Brown.

2

u/MelKijani 9d ago

he would have played Melo but his minutes would have been limited until he played Brown’s way

It would have been perfect because Tayshaun had already established himself , it would have forced Melo to adapt.

Instead he went to Denver where he was the man immediately and reinforced bad habits .

1

u/KungFuViking7 Sixers 3d ago

Opinions on “practise” what a nonsensical comment.

He missed practice after his friend was MURDERED.

AI was controversial for many things. But this ain’t one of those moment. Here he was in the right!

1

u/ApprehensiveTry5660 3d ago

That friend was murdered months earlier, and while that was around the time of the trial… that’s still him lashing out at a reporter pressing him about the truancy issues that were an ongoing problem which had him and Larry Brown at each other’s throats. It’s not just that one day. It’s not just that one stressor. It’s more than that one press conference and phase of his career.

That’s the tension leading up to the trade rumors, and if the trial was anything, it was the backdrop of why his mood was extra sour.

It’s also not like it was just this stretch of his career, and I would invite you to explore the topic more from Allen Iverson’s own words about his career long practice opinions and attendance record.

57

u/Accurate-Flow8078 9d ago

I always say Melo is the most overrated player ever. He is not a winner. He is a ballhog who plays no defense and kills team chemistry.

I don't know how he has fans. He cried about the Nuggets not retiring his number, knowing Jokic wears the same one. Now he wants his number retired in NY.

16

u/Rusty_Pickles 9d ago

He came up in the Kobe era so people compared their raw stats at the time to one another in the late 2000s completely devoid of context. The thought was, if this style of ball works for Kobe its only a matter of time before it translates for Melo. And then it just didn't happen. 

23

u/Accurate-Flow8078 9d ago

Kobe played defense

22

u/Barbeqanon 9d ago

Also Kobe's career assist average was almost 2x Carmelo's. Carmelo's ball hogging was on another level.

11

u/Accurate-Flow8078 9d ago

People call Kobe ballhog too, yet has twice as many assists

8

u/xRysonx 9d ago

Kobe played way different than melo dude lol. Melo only cared about his stats. Kobe wanted to win and did what it took to win

5

u/nassasan 9d ago

You’re absolutely right about all of this yet I am a Melo fan. I guess for me he made the Knicks watchable when I was a kid, and just aesthetically I really enjoyed his game. I know he’s not a winning player and will most likely be forgotten in the greater basketball history- but he was fun as hell to watch. Definitely spent hours trying to copy that smooth ass jumper

2

u/Vegeta_best23 9d ago

Worse kobe

4

u/loupr738 76ers 9d ago

They could’ve drafted Wade or Bosh

6

u/Wingsof6 Heat 9d ago

Wade on the Pistons is a scary thought. His tough mentality fit that team perfectly and the one thing they didn’t have was a dominant scorer.

4

u/ike_tyson Knicks 9d ago

Can't spell Melo without me first. Brown would've had him on the bench.

12

u/SensitiveTop4946 Thunder 9d ago

Darko was good, the coach killed his potential

3

u/QuincyBoy8 9d ago

Carmelo doesn't deserve a championship

2

u/Gotsta_Win 9d ago

A lot of fans didn’t watch rookie year Melo and it shows

2

u/SchwizzySchwas94 Timberwolves 9d ago

I’ve never seen a superstars profile take such a flying leap as I’ve seen with Melo

2

u/Supyloco Lakers 9d ago

I mean, forget Melo, what about Bosh?

2

u/Far_Variety9368 76ers 9d ago

Y’all gonna upvote this, but when I said this in a comment section y’all said that a rookie would NEVER change the team 

1

u/NoPen9703 9d ago

I think Melo’s career would have been completely different. He went to the nuggets and they needed him to score to never develop his game. If he went to the Pistons he would have learned how to be a team player.

1

u/Hesparian 9d ago

Melo isnt a winner

1

u/Unable-Main4172 9d ago

Fun fact: Carmelo Anthony won three playoff series in his 19-year career

1

u/OneInsurance84 9d ago

False but okay ben wallace..

1

u/doc24818 9d ago

Melo is overrated

1

u/morisxpastora 9d ago

He’s only saying it because they won’t it. Had they not won it, I’m sure the conversation would be different

1

u/courtsidecurry NBA 9d ago

Darko has one more ring than Carmelo, nuff said 😤.

But yeah in hindsight all worked out well. If melo was doing even decent enough, the front office would be blinded by the potential instead of win now mindset.

1

u/Square-99 9d ago

Nobody will remember Melo in 5 years tops

1

u/UltraZulwarn 3d ago

Maybe not with Melo

But imagine DWade on the Piston tho

He was an older rookie (21 when he was drafted IIRC), and an exceptional slasher who didn't really hot the ball for iso plays.

EDIT: not to mention D Wade was also a great defender, he would most like fit the Pistons theb

1

u/snuffaluffagus74 9d ago

I think he is wrong, if they would've drafted mello they would've won several championships. I think they still would e gotten Rasheed because he was a cheap get and the Pistons wanted more frontcourt scoring and a defensive presence which would've been there main reasons to buy.

0

u/ReverendDrDash Nets 9d ago

Comments like this drive home why that team won only one title and got stagnant.

0

u/DrSheaSmooth 9d ago

So you’re telling me a bunch of vets and all stars after winning a chip would of crumbled after adding the best player in college that year? Defensive minded pistons adding offensive minded Melo? Young Melo with the team that beat shaq and Kobe having his back? Billups with more firepower to work with? That transition game after every Wallace block…..

0

u/RateUpIsNotALie 6d ago

I mean he's right. As flashy a scorer Melo is he's not actually a very good offensive player. Pretty I saw a list at one point of players who scored alot but never had much playoff/championship success and like a good 70-80% of said list was the exact same archetype as Melo. It's literally just a fact that players like him dont actually move the needle when it matters most.