Trade Grant Williams for Kevin Huerter might work if we could move Bertans
Sweet! Months and months of brace talk will be good for business. And for all of those in the pocket of big brace, shame on you.
He 100% grates me the wrong way.
If I were running things, heād be on the move
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Is it true that Lamelo has a screw in his ankle and it caused discomfort with the brace? If so, will it come out and when? I havenāt heard much about it.
Begun, the brace wars hasā¦
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Iām over it.
He has his $260m, why should he be too bothered about it?
I feel like you could tell him pretty much anything and heād give a nonplussed reaction.
āHey Melo, a 100 mile wide asteroid will hit the earth tomorrow and itās the end as we know itā
āOh, wordā
Yeah, thatās my point. It wouldnāt be with my $260m. Now, i would happily give my $260m to the rookie who just showed me for a season that he eats, sleeps and breathes hoops.
Damn, Melo really get to you like that? Iāll grant you that heās a terrible interview, at least with the media. I know he has a personality that all the coaches and players say they love, but I wonder how much is his dad or PR person or whoever has drilled in his head to never say anything stupid or questionable, to the point he always gives bland generic answers, and never expounds on it (except with Ashley, but she probably gets a lot of people to stray from their training).
And I know your analysis probably includes injuries/availability, contract, and playing style. Maybe Iām just inferring that his hedgy, noncommittal responses to every question is what sets you over the top that he must go. Like heās that annoying coworker who you canāt stand anything they say or do, even when they get something rightā¦its their nasally tone, or the way they comb their hair, or they smile too muchā¦ Who has the time or means to be happy in this place? Get rid of him!
I of course do think he needs to be held accountable for how strong his body gets and how he adapts to Brandon and new teammates going forward, but he seems like a good guy, wants to get along with everybody, isnāt getting Deshaun Watson massages or going criming with Milesā crew. Letās see him under this new contract before trying to get half value back with a package of Kris Dunn, Brice Sensebaugh, a mid first and 3 2nds. Cause when heās on and Brandon is cooking, it might be something magical that we havenāt had since the 90s.
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Itās an air of entitlement. It could be a generational thing but from the beginning to me heās all about himself and his brand. Basketball is just a means to it.
Cocky I can live with. Cocky and soft I have a very hard time with. He always has struck me as a spoiled brat. His answer on the ankle braces says it all. Instead of, whatever I have to do to stay on the court and live up to the trust the organization put in me by maxing me out. I will do; we get eh, weāll see if they are comfy.
You know whatās not comfy for me, see you in some wretchedly bright neon outfit yucking it up on bench every night.
Chef, itās a generational thing man. I cover high school kids on a regular basis and itās just how these guys are in general now. Itās almost like itās cool not to care or show effort until something smacks them in the face, then itās on. It takes what they consider some type of disrespect or slight to get them motivated instead of it coming from internally.
The only thing we can hope for is someone disrespects Melo enough for him to say F-it and get real serious about maximizing who he can be. There have been moments in games where he shows some dog mentality - I remember him getting into it with Cam Whitmore from the Rockets, for example, so I think itās in there.
Grant Williams saying that him and some others are going to challenge him this summer I think might be the catalyst. Sometimes for people to reach their potential, their feet have to be put to the fire then they realize how good they can truly be. Hopefully we get a coach that can keep the heat on him on top of some teammates that want to come together and be more than just a speed bump on the way to the playoffs.
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To the point on what Melo says and how he answers questions - think back to the Thanksgiving postgame interview with Ashley - thatās who he is, a kid who doesnāt realize the heft of how he says or does things.
I can PROMISE you he has been coached to give canned answers that reek of professionalism and toeing the line. Because he isnāt mature enough to be himself and professional at the same time - his personality needs some maturing, no doubt. Unlike Brandon who can let it shine through yet be professional at the same time.
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if i were the hornets, i would secretly start the āMelo may be the most overpaid in the league. Definitely top 3 worst contracts. Not only is he soft but he doesnāt really seem like a gamer.ā campaign. I would go straight at his ego.
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I feel like peer correction will probably be the best medicine. Miller seems like heās not going to stand for mediocrity and the players will rally around him because heās out there making it happen. It will get to a point, if not already (very curious what Miller meant when he said he and the vets were working with him), where the main active guys are going to turn on him if heās not putting in the work. Guessing that will be more important to Melo than public opinion. The Balls are used to the people and organizations being against them. They arguably thrive on it.
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Coach is right about the generational thing. Being unbothered, chill, too cool for school, not showing excitement - thats the vibe that kids go for. He does have his own brand and has flashy lambos with matching outfits, and alien tattoos, and all the jewelry needed to sparkle and shine. And came from being a reality tv star since he was young. But OTHER THAN THATā¦haha ok, the nature/nurture thing comes out, so he does get treated a certain way. But I guess he doesnāt feel like that super entitled spoiled diva to me - I donāt get the selfish TO or Odell Beckham vibes, that he feels superior to everyone else and his ego needs to be fed all the time.
And the teammate and coach reports from both Cliff and Borrego seem like heās a pleasant fellow who doesnāt scream for attention directly, just likes to look flashy, which Iām differentiating.
Again, Iām not getting the super cocky vibes you seem to see. Any āstarā player is going to be cocky, even golden boy Steph, but itās not the overly arrogant Iām better than you, get out of my face, type of stereotype. He seems, quiet to me? Not really barking at anyone, doesnāt really dispute coaches or teammates publicly, not much strife and friction as far as Iāve heard.
With his ankle braces answer, he did say heād do whatever the trainers say, heās trusting them, so that seemed a good answer. His coached response of āweāll see or look into itā seems that kind of open ended, non committal response you get with kids that answer a question without giving an answer. The fa sho and āfactsā responses are just the young people responses to things (surprised thereās no bruhs in there), at least heās not responding in text short hand or emojis. Yet.
Iām not into bright neon suits either. But isnāt this also some Clint Eastwood get off my lawn thing too? The broadcast shows him laughing because it shows personality, itās more interesting than him staring in space. Plus if the cameras showed him stoic, would he then be criticized as not being engaged with teammates or having any connection with them?
I donāt know, maybe Iām not as bothered with this ancillary stuff until they pull a Boris Diaw/Nic Batum, or are disruptive like Tyrus Thomas. Or are just awful to watch like Gary Neal or Lance Stephenson. Iād say, other than injuries (bad luck) and contract (every team would pay, every player would accept), we shouldnāt worry about these perceived notions until its actually reported that heās a problem. I wouldnāt try to get rid of a superstar talent just cause I donāt like what seems to be mostly aesthetics right now.
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Yeah I think a part of me is definitely me aging into yelling at the clouds part of life.
But hereās the thing I love guys like jaylen Brunson, Jimmy, jokic, shai. They are similarly aged and just go out and play basketball. Sure there are generational differences and quirks but they go out and ball.
Even some of the guys like Luka, giannis, Durant and Kyrie can be whiny and petulant or even funny like when giannis gets butt hurt that someone dunked on him but they still primarily show up and ball out.
Even though he is a maroon, I can even take ja morant.
Melo just doesnāt seem like he cares if he actually plays basketball or not. Thatās my issue especially with marking him as untradable and paying him 35% of the cap
Letās hope the Pelicans get knocked out quick so we can trade Ball for Ingram, Hawkins and their 1st Rounders!
I think you are jumping to conclusions when you say he doesnāt care whether he plays or not. There is absolutely nothing that Lamelo has done that has suggested that. If anything its the opposite.