We Have Melo! And Amare! And...Some Other Guys!

First off, let me begin this by saying I’m a fan of what the Knicks did. If you have a chance to acquire a top 10 (or 15) player, and pair him with another top 10 (or 15) player, you have to do it. When Melo is dropping 35 on Miami on Sunday, nobody in NYC is gonna miss Wilson Chandler or Danilo.

HOWEVER, the Knicks still aren’t that great. Yes, this gives them a base that could potentially be great over the next few years, but as of right now they really aren’t much of a threat (outside of taking one of the East’s contenders to 6 games in the first round) to win anything this year.

“But Dave,” you drunk-as-shit-happy-as-fuck Knicks fan might say, “We got Chaunce too. And Melo will own the Garden. You don’t know shit, we owned the Bulls twice AND we beat the Heat. Eastern Conference Finals, here we come! Bitch.”

Bitch, I'd respond with the quick fact that the Knicks only have three good players now. And remember defense? Yea, the Knicks don’t play any. Melo isn’t exactly a defensive force, and Amare basically blocks a few shots and that’s it. I mean, I'm a Billups fan and everything, but that guy isn’t guarding Rondo, Rose or Nelson in the playoffs, trust me. Over a seven game series the Knicks aren’t stopping Wade/LeBron/Bosh, Garnett/Rondo/Pierce/Allen or Rose/Boozer/Noah/Deng. It’s just not happening. Sure, they can catch fire from the three for a game or two…but remember they just traded Gallinari, Chandler AND Felton, who accounted for 5-threes per game at about 34% shooting. Sure Melo and Billups probably can make most of that up, but there isn’t the depth of 3-point shooting anymore. While the Knicks will still score a TON, how they score will need to change (Billups isn't a pass-first PG, which this offense is predicated on). It's definitely going to take some time. Again, I’m not saying this trade shouldn’t have happened, but it doesn’t exactly leave the Knicks as a true contender. Certainly more interesting, just really not that scary...yet.

If you don’t believe me check this link out. This guy knows a whole lot more than I do, and says it in a whole lot better way than I can. Long story short? Melo and Amare ain’t a perfect marriage…not like Cliff Lee and Phillies.

But don’t worry New York, we got your back. Our 76ers will be out in the first round too. Shared pain, baby. Shared pain.

I Want A Melo And I Can't Have One And I'm Sad

With the news today that Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov has withdrawn his team from trade talks with the Nuggets, it appears that Carmelo Anthony is again available to the highest bidder. However, while that may be true, there are only a handful of teams that truly have a chance to acquire one of best scorers in the NBA.

At this point, there are probably only three realistic outcomes:

1) Carmelo resigns with the Nuggets, accepting the 3-year, $65 million extension that been on the table it seems like forever.

2) The Bulls or Knicks (two teams that Carmelo is known to want to play for) pony up and acquire the star. He then signs the same above extension with them.

3) A team like the Mavericks decides to blow the Nuggets away and take a chance with Melo as a rent-a-player.

That's really it. I guess a fourth scenario could play out, but I really don't know what that is (the Nets re-enter the bidding, but that doesn't look likely at this point).

Now, before I get to the real reason for this post, let me preface this by saying one thing: I fully realize that the Sixers have ZERO chance of ever getting Carmelo Anthony. I know it's not happening. They don't have the right trade pieces and Melo specifically put them on a list of teams he wouldn't resign with next summer.

HOWEVER...this isn't about whether the Sixers can realistically acquire Carmelo. It's about the fact that they don't even have the chance to try to acquire him. Where a bunch of other big market teams (Knicks, Bulls, Mavericks, hell even the f'in Nets) have a chance to get him, the Sixers have zilch. Our franchise is so awful, so unappealing, that they don't even have a chance to put out an offer. That's depressing.

Right now, every other team in Philadelphia is successful. The Flyers are the arguably the best team in the NHL, the Phillies have built the best rotation in MLB and just won 97 games and the Eagles might have the two most exciting players in the NFL. Things are good, they all sell out every game, and each has made the playoffs the past three seasons.

Things for our Sixers however, are terrible. The team is boring. Nobody, besides my brother and that guy in Section 205 that used to yell at Willie Green all the time, goes to games anymore. There are a few young players and a few extremely overpaid, under-performing guys. The rest, well, aren't even worth mentioning, seriously. They are a team that isn't awful enough to get another top pick, but they certainly aren't good enough to give you any hope.

I think what hurts the most here is that Carmelo is exactly what this franchise needs. He's a true superstar, someone that would immediately reinvigorate the team and the NBA lovers in this city (trust me, they exist). Remember the packed houses to watch Iverson? Yea...me too. Melo would go a long way to helping bring those crowds back. Maybe the Sixers wouldn't be a real title contender, but they would be a good team that would be worth watching again. Honestly, that looks really good compared to what we're staring at now.

So, yes, a lot of this was me just rambling about how depressing the current state of the Sixers is. The rest was how sad it is that a big-time player becomes available and our team doesn't even have smallest chance to get him. It's frustrating and it's disheartening. There really isn't much else to say.

At this point, all I can hope for is that in the not so distant future, when a big time player becomes available, that the Sixers might actually be a player in the sweepstakes. But, honestly, that reality seems very, very far away.

Sad face emoticon.

This Trade Rumor is Gold, Jerry! Gold!

By TWW friend Eric

The Phillies are pulling away in the NL east on their way to another World Series run. Football season has just begun and the Eagles are on everyone’s mind. What should I write about? Ridiculous 76ers trade rumors! Carmelo Anthony anyone?

So rumor has it that the 76ers may or may not be possibly entertaining the idea of perhaps putting together a hypothetical package which allegedly might maybe kinda include certain players leaving and others returning.

Anytime I hear “players leaving” in the same sentence as “76ers”...there is cause for excitement (Please be Willie Green Please be Willie Green Please be Willie Green Please be Willie Green).

But the really exciting thing about these rumors is they involve a bona fide superstar. There are two questions to ask here: Can the Sixers really get Carmelo? And, more importantly, should the Sixers get Carmelo?

No. To get him we’d need to give up A.I., E.T., Thad or Speights, and both of our big expiring contracts (J-Kap and Bill “Money” Green). That is a ridiculous amount to give up for a guy with a 0% chance of resigning with the Sixers. If we could get it done without including Turner, then I say go for it, but that’s nahganna happen.

Now to the real possibility: a three team deal that sends Carmelo and Ty Lawson to the Niets, Favors and JR Smith to the Sixers, and has Iggy (and his god awful hair cut), Thad, and Devin Harris in Denver.

Putting aside my unexplainable JR Smith boner, I would do this deal in a heart beat. If you can turn an awful contract (Andre “80 Million” Dala) into a young big man with all-star potential, you don’t pass on that opportunity. Would the Nuggs make this deal? I can't see why, but apparently they like Iguodala so who the hell knows. The Nets, on the other hand, make out like Wet Bandits, swapping an overrated, injury prone, point guard and the #3 pick for one of the 10 best players in the NBA (with a legit shot to resign him) and a young point guard.

One final note: Allen Iverson may be joining the world famous, Vaseline eating, Starbury in China. Does that make him “Allen Iverson-son”? Or is that a Japanese thing?...

Anyway, sad to see it end this way. My aforementioned JR Smith Boner is nothing compared to the big veiny triumphant bastard I have for Iverson. Before this gets any gayer (more gay?) let me just say this: Allen Iverson is, was, and always will be my favorite athlete and is the reason I’m a sports fan. Say what you want about the guy, he left everything he had on the court every single game and I fully expect him to do the same in China. Just against guys named Wang.

This is getting long, so I’ll leave you with this:

“You basically can say anything to someone on an email or text as long as you put LOL at the end” – Kanye West via Twitter

 lol.