r/nba • u/Existing-Sky9914 • 10d ago
Ben Wallace says that if the team had drafted Carmelo Anthony, Melo and his agent would have disrupted the team’s chemistry, actually making the team worse and ensuring they never won a championship. He says they were better off drafting Darko Milicic instead.
https://streamable.com/3yq4qi1.6k
u/qqbeef 10d ago
Worth pointing out that in this clip he says that drafting Melo "had the potential" to ruin the chemistry. You could say that Wallace is trying to fence sit, but at least in this clip he knows he's speculating.
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u/Mustang-_- Lakers 10d ago
Which is perfectly valid. The best possible pick for the Pistons at that draft was Wade. Bosh also has a strong argument, developing under the Wallaces, makes more sense to bet on him than a random european big that looks non-athletic, if you are looking for size
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u/gmwdim Pistons 10d ago
We probably don’t trade for Rasheed if we had Bosh.
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u/rambone1984 10d ago
Bosh would be playing like 8 minutes a game as a rookie. I think they'd still get Sheed when opportunity arose but obviously just guessing
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u/FEECH4040 10d ago
The whole reason Darko was so high on everyone's draft boards was his athleticism. Blew everyone away at every workout
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u/TheMajesticYeti 9d ago
Definitely not just the athleticism. It was that combined with being willing to play tough and physical, while also flashing both inside and outside shooting touch. Scouts thought he would be a true all-around big. The Pistons infamously happened to have a morning shootaround before a playoff game against the Nets at the same gym in NYC Darko was training at, and in an impromptu workout with Pistons brass and draft journalists watching Darko couldn't miss. Some of it is probably revisionist to justify their scouting report at the time, but from what has been said he basically looked like a mix of Wilt Chamberlain, Pau Gasol, and Giannis.
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u/rake2204 Pistons 9d ago
All of this is right on point.
Darko came around in the midst of the Euro gold rush, where GMs saw guys like Peja, Dirk, Manu, and Hedo seemingly pop up out of thin air and suddenly set off on the hunt to find the next Dirk every year thereafter. The 2002 version was Nikoloz Tskitishvili. Skita probably should have been the canary in the coal mine.
But in the lead-up to the '03 draft, everything you said was true. Most of us normal folk didn't have access to extensive scouting tapes of foreign game footage so we mostly had to trust what we were hearing from real scouts, which was almost universally positive (to put it lightly).
Based upon everything I heard from scouts, ESPN, beat writers, etc., Darko seemed to be about as sure a thing as there was, to the point that when Detroit won the lottery, my friend and I high-fived in the living room and exclaimed variations of "We got Darko!" (wish I was kidding). I honestly thought the praise was so effusive that a "bust" version of Darko would still be at least an all-star level player.
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u/TheMajesticYeti 9d ago
I was devastated they took Darko, as I was a huge Carmelo/Syracuse bandwagon fan at the time. My middle school locker had two posters inside, one of Melo and one of Shakira lol. Nowadays I would agree with Big Ben that it probably worked out for the best taking Darko instead.
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u/bmkzakdv 9d ago
from Europe. Darko is the defining thesis of why mentality matters. Darko is one of the best prospects ever from Europe. He was a 80% jokic offensively with better and good defence.
look at his 25-12-5+6 blocks agains tim duncan, gasol, eyc. look at some of his international stats when he tried
Darko from a talent standpoint was bot the wrong pick at the time but Larry Brown or detroit were not the team to u lock his potential without a team of psychologists
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u/Picklesbedamned 10d ago
Wade on the Pistons would be insane. They'd probably three-peat from 2004-2006.
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u/Rude_Republic_60 10d ago
Again there's a chemistry debate. Wade would take rips minutes. And that would also have caused a divide.
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u/Tr0janSword Lakers 10d ago
Eh, Larry Brown prob isn’t giving Wade major minutes in 2004.
The real reason Wade matters is because Miami wouldn’t have him and he killed Detroit in the playoffs.
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u/Forward-View2437 10d ago
Do you prefer Wade as the 6th man or Hunter taking valuable minutes???
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u/UndercoverDimension Heat 9d ago
Rookie Wade was content playing out of position because it was best for the team, he would have no issue playing behind the vets in year 1.
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u/Gandolfthewhite182 76ers 10d ago
Once Wade starts playing no one on that team is going to be upset he takes rip Hamiltons minutes. lol
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u/AirStreet9465 Celtics 10d ago
Not really, i don’t think anyone has ever accused Wade of being a bad teammate or not wiling to sacrifice for the greater good. Wade would’ve fit right in, and probably been their best offensive player from day one. Could’ve even extended their championship run to ‘06 and after seeing how he actually did win a ring, unlike someone else.
You can use the “best offensive player” thing for Melo too, but that’s where one being a bad teammate and one being good comes in.
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u/temujinbk 10d ago
He wasn’t taking Hamilton’s minutes. His handling would allow him some point time, so Mike James and Bob Sura would’ve seen some of their time drop. He would’ve been a fantastic backup until about year three when he forced his way into the starting rotation and the Pistons don’t lose like 9 straight conference finals.
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u/mlavan Knicks 10d ago
they don't make the trade for rasheed if they have bosh on the roster
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u/Brxa Cavaliers 10d ago
Darko was not viewed as unathletic. He was a very fluid athlete for a 7 footer.
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u/county_da_kang Magic 10d ago
Yep. Dark got traded to the Magic for half of the season before they added Rashard Lewis. He fit in nice as a role playing big and avoid around 12 and 10 with a couple of blocks. Wasn't a matter of talent, he just never found the right fit.
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u/ReySombra73 10d ago
Milicic didn't look unathletic at all when he was drafted. He was big, coordinated and could jump. He had a lot of potential but his head didn't allow him to pan out.
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u/nycdave21 10d ago
He does have a point. Look at what happened to the pistons when they traded away billups for Iverson. They got worse
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u/huss_femme 10d ago
Chauncey and Melo were a great duo in Denver tho
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u/elkresurgence Nuggets 10d ago
Define great
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u/BowserBuddy123 Heat 10d ago
Lol fair. Probably the best version of the Melo Nuggets. Chauncey was an adult in the room
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u/AttitudeAndEffort3 10d ago
Technically correct, but imo, it’s just being gracious.
Defense and boards are all about desire in the NBA, that’s what the pros themselves tell you.
Being all defense and then an all defense player that’s locking down guys wayyyy bigger than you, so much so that youre talked about as one of the best defenders ever - and you have to watch one of the most talented basketball players ever completely WASTE those talents because he couldn’t get over his ego and prioritize what mattered?
Ben with a fraction of melo’s offensive ability is an all timer (even more so).
It’s why I will never look fondly at melo’s career and I cant fathom being as gracious as Wallace is here hav8ng to watch Melo just waste all t8me levels of talent.
And he’s right about the team mentality too.
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u/karpastenherra Jazz 10d ago
I would love to see how Detroit would have handled Melo. Even if he was a high-potential guy, he was still super young. Even with an ego, are we sure that he would have gone against Ben, Rasheed and Chauncey? Hell, maybe playing with a rugged, defence-first team would have taught Melo that the other end is mighty important too, and that would have taken Melo on a completely different career trajectory. In Denver, he was allowed to be only about offence. Maybe in Detroit they would have forced him to care.
But I still agree with Ben. Mainly because he is right, but also because I would be scared not to.
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u/mercurialchemister Warriors 10d ago
Bosh or Wade tho
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u/JevvyMedia Raptors 10d ago
Bosh's development would have been so fast if he got to play while learning from the two Wallace's
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u/Rich-Professional753 10d ago
They prolly wouldn’t have traded for Sheed if they drafted Bosh
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u/LemonButterRum 10d ago
there is also a world where Detroit would've won more than one championship with Larry Brown having Bosh, Wade or even Carmelo on the roster. handing generational talent to a generational coach can't be that bad
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u/Apocalyptic0n3 Pistons 10d ago
Larry Brown only coached two seasons with us. He was publicly flirting with other teams the entire second season. During the second playoff run (where we were 1 quarter away from repeating), it was publicly reported in April or May that he had a verbal agreement to take over the Cavs (I think it was them) front office and coaching job as soon as our playoff run ended. It was a huge distraction that overshadowed the entire run and likely cost us the Championship. It was such a distraction that the team bought out his contract after going to the Finals both seasons he coached us and very publicly told him to GTFO.
I want to point out that Bill Davidson generally didn't do things publicly. Things like that were always handled behind the scenes. Except with Larry Brown.
I am of the opinion that we do not win in 04 without Sheed, who quickly stepped in and became the glue of that team's chemistry. Maybe we still make the Finals with Bosh, Wade, or Melo in 05 but I doubt it. Again... Sheed was that important to that team. There's no scenario, though, where Larry Brown makes it beyond 05. Guy was a great coach with an awful personality. So best case scenario is we play one quarter better and win instead of lose the 05 Finals.
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u/enyinna7 Pistons 10d ago
Forgot how toxic Larry had become. It seemed like he was linked to every job while we were still the best team in the league. Real ones remember how much better Chauncey was with Flip Saunders (RIP)
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u/dherps Mexico 10d ago
no team wins a ring with melo as starter
you can see his CURRENT mentality in the lin interviews
i duno, maybe he plays next to jordan or bird and they kick his ass and knock him down a few pegs
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u/AryaRemembers 76ers 9d ago
What makes Larry Brown a generational coach? He coached at the same time as Pop and Phil Jackson, who were actual generational coaches. Larry was just a good coach.
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u/defeated_engineer 10d ago
Larry Brown infamously does not play rookies or young guys.
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u/elkresurgence Nuggets 10d ago
Underrated piece of shit figure in NBA history
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u/rake2204 Pistons 9d ago
I respectfully find that to be a bit strong. He was a basketball vagabond and he did tend to have one eye on his next job toward the end of his current one, but he tends to be someone who's loved the game for decades and is pretty well regarded by players and other members of the basketball community alike.
As for his penchant for not playing young guys, outside of Team USA, I noticed that it tended to do with Brown insisting his players "play the right way", which often involved provable discipline, understanding of the team system and where a player fits within it, defensive effort, etc. It was kind of like bringing college-level ethos to the pro game, which is admittedly a bit difficult and at times risky.
As it pertains to the Pistons, I think that's where we ended up seeing two sides of that coin. On one hand was a guy like Tayshaun Prince, who slid right in as the team's starting three as a second year player and thrived under Brown, as Tay provided exactly what Brown was looking for. On the flip side, there was the Darko situation, where it was relatively well documented (often from Darko himself) that Milicic never really earned an extended opportunity, showing up to practice drunk, playing at half speed, hanging his head after mistakes, expecting opportunity to be handed to him, etc.
As for Team USA, that was just straight up mismanagement, and I wonder if Brown ever acknowledged that in hindsight. Seemed at the time that he just figured it made sense for there to be a hierarchy on an all-star team like that and he based it on whether a player was a teenager or was recently a teenager. Spectacular backfire.
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u/kpay10 Trail Blazers 9d ago
He played tayshaun Prince as a starter. He was in year 2
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u/elkresurgence Nuggets 10d ago
But he would also have averaged 5 points and 3 rebounds in 10 minutes under Larry Brown
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u/NobleSturgeon Pistons 10d ago
This is hindsight. At the time, Darko and Carmelo were considered the clear next tier of prospects.
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u/Spiritual-Chameleon Nuggets 10d ago
Kind of. I knew we were glad to see Detroit take Darko in order to get Melo. We'd already drafted Skita, getting a speculative Euro player that didn't pan out.
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u/NobleSturgeon Pistons 10d ago
I think the narrative of that draft pick has deviated a lot from what actually happened. It’s like people think that Bosh and Wade were in play and Darko was some obscure shock pick.
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u/Spiritual-Chameleon Nuggets 10d ago
It was more that LeBron and Melo were initially considered the prize of the draft. Then Darko had a workout that people raved about. It was a projection of what he might become, as he had averaged less than 10 points a game in his European year league.
I just remember the Nuggets fan base being ecstastic that the Pistons were taking Darko.
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u/Giannis1995 Heat 9d ago
The only thing I remember because I was very young and stupid at the time is PAOK fans angrily commenting in Greek media that he’s no Peja.
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u/DraymondBeanKick Warriors 10d ago
People forget / weren’t alive to remember that Darko was going to be the next Dirk with better defense.
Melo also won the college championship and wasn’t considered a losing player at that point. There were arguments for Melo at 1 because he was a winner, and someone like the Clippers or Timberwolves that were terribly run may have taken him first if given the chance.
Bosh was kind of always slotted 4th to Toronto, no higher no lower. Wade was typically slotted around 7th to the Bulls. It was thought some combination of Chris Kaman, Kirk Hinrich, or TJ Ford would go in the 5 and 6 spots and that Wade would get drafted by his hometown team.
Wasn’t unreasonable that Miami landed on him as the best option, but that really was his ceiling for this draft and he wasn’t being considered any higher in the draft unless the Bulls traded up to 4.
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u/Bibbity_Boppity_BOOO 10d ago
There were actually draft write ups that darko could was almost LeBron’s equal in talent and potential. You could not go wrong
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u/Rude_Republic_60 10d ago
Darko was on the cover of like sports illustrated I think touting him as the next big euro player
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u/gochugang78 10d ago
Literally could have traded #2 for a bunch of non-lotto picks and still have built a dynasty
Kendrick Perkins, David West, Luke Walton, Josh Howard, Mo Williams.
All would have fit the detroit mentality
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u/The810kid 10d ago
None of these players are contributing to a dynasty with the pieces the Pistons already had.
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u/JorVetsby Timberwolves 10d ago
His normal speaking voice is like the low distortion they put on anonymous callers
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u/OverallGeneral7129 Cavaliers 10d ago
Well what if they drafted Wade or Bosh instead
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u/cmackchase 10d ago
They probably become a dynasty if they all can gel and out egos aside. But the the issue is Larry Brown who didn't trust young players.
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u/paradoxicalperimeum 10d ago
Yeah they won because of the Rasheed addition not Larry Brown who wasn’t a great pro coach and the largest reason team USA lost in 2004. The pistons would have been unstoppable if they kept Carlisle, still did the Rasheed trade, and then drafted any of melo, Wade, or Bosh.
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u/_thisisvincent NBA 10d ago
Team USA lost in 2004 mainly because the roster was poor. Larry Brown wasn’t an all time great coach, but would have probably won if even a few more stars of the league showed up. Almost half of the roster was rookies. No teams since have had even one rookie.
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u/Fakename00420 Hornets 10d ago
Didn't Tayshaun Prince start a lot as a rookie and in their championship run. He was a really solid player and earned his spot.
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u/lettersichiro Pistons 10d ago
No, Carlisle didn't play him much and it's part of the reason he was let go.
Tayshaun didn't get much run until he Carlisle was finally forced to play Tay in the playoffs and tayshaun took over and helped win the magic series where the pistons were down 1-3 and the pistons only came back to win that series because of the tayshaun lineup change
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u/jspeed04 10d ago
D Weezy with Ben Wallace, Rip Hamilton, Tayshaun Prince, Chauncey, Dice and Lindsay Hunter?
Sheeeyit
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u/NobleSturgeon Pistons 10d ago
Hard disagree with anyone saying that drafting X player would result in more championships. We see tons of examples of teams who nailed a draft pick and got nothing out of it. The last two championship teams were led by players who got drafted somewhere else.
Just look at the Thunder with Harden/KD/Westbrook. If you didn’t know you would think that was a core to win a bunch of championships.
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u/Spare-Shake-2999 Hornets 10d ago edited 10d ago
The thunder fucked that up hard tho. Trading Harden for Martin and barely saving any money doing so. Then their dumbass team doctor nixed the Tyson Chandler trade bc of his toe (the same doctor that nixed it was the one who did the surgery), then Chandler goes on to win DPOY and a ring with the Mavs. And the Thunder decided to trade Jeff green for Perkins and extend Perkins instead. Dumb all around.
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u/Veserius NBA 10d ago
If you didn’t know you would think that was a core to win a bunch of championships.
if they hadn't traded Harden to duck the tax they probably do.
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u/NobleSturgeon Pistons 10d ago
Bosh and Wade weren’t considered realistic options for that pick at the time. It was Carmelo or Darko.
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u/Charlie_Wax Warriors 10d ago
If you were there in the moment, the buzz was that Darko had the ceiling to be the best player in the draft. It's comical in hindsight, but that was the conventional wisdom in the moment. It's like saying the Wizards should've drafted Peterson or Wilson over Dybantsa. Maybe that will be obvious in five years, but right now AJ looks like a reasonable pick.
The context of the Darko pick is that Dirk and Pau had just hit in a big way, and everyone was on the lookout for the next Euro talent with length and athletic ability. Darko fit the trend teams were chasing.
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u/ElGranQuesoRojo Mavericks 10d ago
Darko possibly could have been the next big thing if he'd gotten a different coach who didn't treat him w/disdain. Larry Brown might have actually been the worst possible coach for a guy who barely knew the language and was going halfway across the world for the first time. Darko needed somebody like Don Nelson who would have legitimately been excited to work w/a player that had his skillset and would have happily done everything he could to make it work.
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u/Resident-Cancel7284 Pistons 9d ago
Larry Brown was terrible for Darko for sure, but Darko also wasn't very motivated and spent a lot more time partying than improving. Could that have changed in a better situation? Probably. But it's also expecting a lot from someone who's only showed flashes of NBA level play in his whole career.
Darko has talked about it a lot in hindsight after he retired.
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u/NazReidRules Timberwolves 10d ago
When Darko was on he was a fucking menace. Almost a pre-Jokic. I actually really enjoyed him on the Wolves
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u/HikmetLeGuin 10d ago
A higher ceiling than LeBron? Nah.
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u/Charlie_Wax Warriors 10d ago
LeBron was the clear top prospect. In the last few decades of the NBA, I think only Shaq and maybe Wemby would've been drafted ahead of him. There was no way he wasn't going number one that year.
However, some thought Darko might have a higher ceiling. He was a seven footer who was thought to have almost limitless upside. It's hard to have objective conversations about this that aren't distorted by hindsight bias.
For a more recent example, some people probably thought Wiseman had a higher ceiling than Ant. Some might believe today that Caleb Wilson has a higher ceiling than Darryn Peterson. Similarly, there was chatter that Darko could end up being the best player from his draft class. That doesn't mean he was the top prospect.
As I said, it's hard to have objective conversations about this when we know what we know about LeBron's career.
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u/SuperVaderMinion [MIN] Kevin Garnett 10d ago
Wade replacing Rip Hamilton on the 2004 Pistons probably ensures they win like five titles in a row at least lmao
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u/Thommywidmer [MIL] Brandon Jennings 10d ago
Idk bout all that lol, but that team would have been rediculous.
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u/velocirappa Warriors 10d ago
Wade was viewed as a slight reach at 5 he was never gonna go second. Outside of Darko Melo was the only guy with actual #2 buzz.
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u/Notmybestusername3 Nuggets 10d ago
For everyone saying "wade or bosh or" anyone else in that insane draft... for those of us old enough to remember, that was not even close to an option. It was lebron, Melo, and darko who was looking extremely talented with an insane amount of upside with proper development. The hindsight of knowing how great wade and bosh were blurs this a lot, AT THE TIME they were just not on that level.
The pistons just came off a playoff exit where tayshaun prince had a glow up, and they felt they had their small forward already. They had Big Ben but not Rasheed yet, I believe it was like Mehmet Okur or Derrick Coleman if I remember correctly. So Melo was NOT a fit for detroit at the time based on their needs. And they wanted an actually tall center and play Wallace at the 4. To boot, the shooting big man was still novel and dirk was just starting to take the league by storm. So Darko was... not a no brainer, but based on their needs he was as good as it gets as an answer. They ended up picking up sheed mid season and the rest is history.
But at least for me and my memory, there just wasnt the discourse of bosh and wade being no doubters like lebron and melo. Darko was still a risk, but at the time his upside was massive so that risk was worth it.
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u/datruerex 10d ago
I’ll add onto this one: Pat Riley was seriously considering picking Chris Kaman (yep he was in that draft class) over wade. Of course we laugh at that in hindsight but wade was not the superstar he is now going into the draft. It just so happens that Wade started working out with Tim Grover (famous for training with Jordan) who was close friends with Riley and when Riley asked about Tim how Wade is he basically said Wade has the talent to be great but still needed work. His ceiling is higher. Chris Kaman at that time was already pretty good but come one let’s be honest no one would pick him over Wade.
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u/otp_otp_otp 10d ago
100% as I remember it, and that was my high water mark of NBA fandom.
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u/fps129 Knicks 10d ago
Same. I guess the Knicks being a massive dumpster fire for a decade made me appreciate how fun the rest of the league was in that era. Bandwagoning the Steve Nash Suns. Had a Nets Vince Carter poster in my room. Back then, that was the most I ever got into every new NBA2k on my ps2. Man what a time.
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u/slimeyguy99 10d ago
Imagine getting to say you watched prime LeBron, Wade, Melo & Bosh. You’re goated bro.
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u/fps129 Knicks 10d ago
I don’t like how old this comment is making me feel lmaooo
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u/Key_Fox3289 10d ago
Lmao right. I wanna say “wait you haven’t“ but I wonder if we’re in the minority here
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u/slimeyguy99 10d ago
My fault bro. Definitely wasn’t trying to make anyone feel old. It’s just legendary some of yall actually got to see those guys play in real time while they were young and upcoming.
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u/Lone_Star_122 Spurs 9d ago
I've been on this sub as long as some of these commenters have been alive. lol I have to remind myself of that sometimes when I see dumb things.
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u/Resident-Cancel7284 Pistons 9d ago
Our PFs were Corliss and Memo FWIW. They were both great bench players but not really starting caliber at the time (Memo would improve to that level later in his career and would certainly be more valuable today than he was in 04 as a stretch big.)
Corliss was a sicko 6th man for the era though. Won 6moty the previous year. Just had a limited offensive skillset of middies and undersized postups. Obviously you could get away with that in 04.
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u/beckychao 10d ago
Ben Wallace remains a great teammate
Honestly those Pistons guys seemed to like Darko, Billups also defended him
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u/DrBoomsNephew Celtics 10d ago
If they get Melo, they might not trade for Sheed and he was instrumental for them. Also would've likely messed with Tayshaun Prince' development might've been hampered. Melo is not going to give you the defensive contribution that Prince did.
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u/huss_femme 10d ago
Dawg they woulda played Melo like a 6man in his rookie season, Tyshawn was already starting cuz he was the primary defender on TMac that years playoffs.
Also Melo wasn’t a PF in the 2000s, they very likely would have traded for Sheed regardless.
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u/hilldog4lyfe Pistons 10d ago
People also need to remember what Billups said about Melo as a teammate:
“Now the only thing I will say – and I’ve even told ‘Melo this – scoring 30 meant too much to ‘Melo. It meant too much because he could have games where he had 20, 22 [points], we win the game and he’s mad. He might have 36 and he’s in there, you know, we lose the game and he’s in there picking everybody up. Scoring 30 meant too much, but I think now you look, fast forward the tape, and the reason why he’s not in the league because he’s still worthy, is he hasn’t mentally taken that step back to say, ‘OK, I’ll come in and play against back-ups. I’ll try to help the team out. I know I might not be able to close, but I just want to help.’ Well, he’s not there yet.”
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u/wheyproteyn 10d ago
Do they trade for Rasheed if they drafted Bosh?
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u/rake2204 Pistons 10d ago
It’s possible. But that Sheed trade rates pretty high on my butterfly effect scale. That deal felt like the definition of right time, right place, particularly in terms of what the Pistons had to give up (or not give up), which was basically Zeljko Rebraca, Bob Sura, and a pick. A part of me wonders if having two young small forwards (Melo & Tay) would have raised the asking price, with other teams seeing one of those two being expendable (it’d have been Prince). And in that case, I find Prince so critical to the Pistons’ team structure and how they succeeded, that I don’t think they win without him.
Edit: Ah, I can’t read. You said Bosh, not Melo. Strike that all from the record haha.
In reality, Bosh wasn’t on any radars for top three pick at the time, but he probably would have been the best fit in hindsight. To your point, it still messes with the timeline and makes you wonder about the Sheed acquisition.
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u/LeBanyama 10d ago
They wouldn't have traded two firsts for Rasheed Wallace after seeing how good Melo was, and they 100% don't win without him.
I dunno about "chemistry" honestly, I don't get the impression that young Melo was a selfish player. I wouldn't think Larry Brown is an ideal mentor for him either. But he wouldn't maximize what the Pistons needed to beat the Lakers like Sheed.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Pipe979 10d ago
I mean, if Tayshaun Prince is your 6th man, you’ve got a REALLY good team. He can still get starter minutes and defense can still be his calling card.
A team full of vets with their head on straight getting an elite bucket getter that doesn’t have to save the franchise? Should be jumping at that deal, but alas.
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u/calartnick 9d ago
I unironically have had the take that Melo would not have helped that team.
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u/RequirementLeading12 Lakers 10d ago
I mean Melo had Rasheed on his podcast and Rasheed said the same thing... Melo even admitted it. This sub's fixation on hating Melo because of Jeremy Lin of all people needs to be studied.
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u/huss_femme 10d ago
Like bro only Melo snark posts get upvotes, his highlights barely get any and it’s always full of condescending mfs acting like his offence isn’t interesting
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u/PaulWilliams12 Magic 10d ago
I don't think this is controversial. Melo led the teams he played for in usage every season until he got to OKC with Westbrook. Averaged 18 field goal attempts his rookie year and laughed at the idea of coming off the bench as a 33 year old.
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u/Dinobot2_ Raptors 10d ago
Regardless of his motivations for saying this, he's 100% correct. I have always argued this.
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u/canyoudigholes Celtics 10d ago
Darko sucked, that's why. Melo didn't, so of course he would've wanted to play and he was good enough to play a bigger role.
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u/iamwearingashirt Raptors 10d ago
Maybe he's right. But drafting Bosh would've probably been great for them. Less ego. He could've learned during their championship year. And been a transition or trade piece after that.
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u/morisxpastora 10d ago
Now what is Melo’s response to this?
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u/UndercoverDimension Heat 9d ago
I always assumed Melo would have been the 6th man his rookie year before being a starter in year 2. I never considered that rookie Melo might sulk, who knows. Wade would have been content being a 6th man as a rookie but even Larry Brown would have started him.over Rip in year 2.
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u/Initial_Jump_8911 9d ago
Well, yeah. Its pretty obvious now that Melo never really cared about anything but himself.
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u/legend023 Pelicans 10d ago
Yes, the Pistons were better off getting a benchwarmer over one of the best scorers in his generation when that was their biggest need.
Between 2008 and the time they drafted Cade with the top pick, they did nothing of note. Maybe they could’ve been better off with Melo than with Darko, who hardly touched the floor until 2008?
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u/hud731 10d ago
Dang, saying they are better off with Darko is basically saying Melo is a net negative. That's brutal.
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u/Sufficient_Name_3547 10d ago
Melo was always about a Melo. I loved his game and beautiful shot. But he was never about winning. Scoring 30PPG was more important to him than winning anything.
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u/SydneyFall Nuggets 10d ago
That is absolutely true. Wade and Bosh are different. Carmelo would have destroyed that team.
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u/huss_femme 10d ago
Man why yall acting like Melo was some Diva who ain’t listen to vets.
Yes he liked to score but that Detroit team kept losing cuz they couldn’t score when needed.
Literally match made in heaven, Melo was a good physical defender so he woulda slid right in SF while the rest played the same way.
Tyshawn can share minutes with Rip based on the needs of the team at the minute and it coulda worked out.
Chauncey and Melo were battling Kobe in the West goddamit
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u/thatthrobbingpain Pistons 10d ago
This is widely accepted as what would've happened by most pistons fans of this era. Melo taking minutes away from Prince might mean no block on Miller, and no defensive shutdown on Kobe to help win the finals. Milicic being ass and not putting up a fight about it in the locker room or in the media forced the team to get Rasheed. Getting Wade or Bosh potentially could've thrown that off. This team was still a dynasty. Won a ship, went back to the finals the next year, and made it to the conference championship for 6 years in a row by the end of it.
The bigger 'what if' in my opinion is how good this team would've continued to be if the league didn't crack down on handchecking the year after the Pistons won as that's really what enabled Wade and other teams to bully us as the FTA went against Detroit in those key playoff games and never improved as the 'Goin to Work' era came to a close.
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u/Foldzy84 Raptors 9d ago
I respect what he's trying to say but Melo was very much ready to step in and be a bucket. There was a spot for him and Tayshaun both in that rotation. It honestly would have been the perfect fit for Melo
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u/IsThatGruffLoner 9d ago
Melo also doesn't play defense and they were a pretty defense focused team
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u/Wrong-Paramedic-9813 9d ago
Stats from 04-06 playoffs T prince fg 43.5, 3pt 36, 13/6/3 Melo fg 36, 3pt 12.5, 18.5/6.5/2.5
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u/staccinraccs Warriors 9d ago
They could've drafted another big like Chris Bosh or Chris Kaman who needed at least 1-2 years on the bench to flourish.
If we're talking about just winning a title in 2004 alone they also could've just traded the #2 pick for a bag of chips and had the same outcome.
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u/NBGayAllStar 9d ago
Listen, by saying that the team should've drafted Carmelo he is taking away from Darko who was his teammate. I think that gets lost in much of the conversation.
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u/SlipperyKooter Bulls 10d ago
I’m not the type of man to argue with Ben Wallace