Stein & Windhorst: Miami planning to chase Melo to create Big 4

[D-Rose]

@ESPNSteinLine 1m
Story posting now co-scribed w/ @WindhorstESPN: ESPN sources say Heat planning underway to try to sign Melo & turn Big Three into Big Four

*faints*

http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2014/story/_/id/11068709/miami-heat-discussing-options-target-carmelo-anthony-free-agency


Sources told ESPN.com that Heat officials and the team's leading players have already started to explore their options for creating sufficient financial flexibility to make an ambitious run at adding New York Knicks scoring machine Carmelo Anthony this summer in free agency.

The mere concept would require the star trio of LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to all opt out of their current contracts by the end of the month and likely take further salary reductions in new deals that start next season to give Miami the ability to offer Anthony a representative first-year salary. The Heat also are prevented from making any formal contact with Anthony until July 1 and can then only if he opts out of the final year of his current contract.


With cooperation from their stars and role players Udonis Haslem and Chris Andersen, who also possess player options for next season, the Heat could open up in excess of $50 million in cap space this summer and have the most flexibility in the league.

[russwest0]

:roll: :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

The rest of the Eastern Conference should literally be moved to the D-League where they'll actually have a chance to compete.

[Fudge]

:roll:

So pathetic.

[Black and White]

Would anyone take the rings they win seriously?? :roll: :roll:

[lakerspng]

not exactly a great sign of confidence from the Heat, if true.

[Derka]

If Wade, Lebron and Bosh all opt out and take less to make this happen, Silver needs to pull out the old "basketball reasons" card and deny it and all four of them should be banned from playing next season.

This collusion shit is getting out of hand.

[MUGEN]

Silver can stop this if he wants to right? Because he should

[DonDadda59]

Seriously... who would be surprised by this?

The best draft of the 80s ('84) shaped the league for 2 decades with Jordan, Hakeem, Barkley, Stockton competing against each other, vying for championships and glory.

Same with the best draft of the 90s ('96).

The best draft of the 00s will potentially all be on one team, they already have 3/4 of the top players.

Hell of an era we're witnessing.


:facepalm

[D-Rose]

If Wade, Lebron and Bosh all opt out and take less to make this happen, Silver needs to pull out the old "basketball reasons" card and deny it and all four of them should be banned from playing next season.

This collusion shit is getting out of hand.
They're not doing anything against the rules :confusedshrug: The league can't say how much a player should take on their contract.

It makes sense that they go after Melo to replace Wade's scoring as he declines. Would be beyond shocking though...

I mean holy shit.

[outbreak]

Bosh and Lebron leave miami and it's just melo and wade.

[Derka]

They're not doing anything against the rules :confusedshrug: The league can't say how much a player should take on their contract.

It makes sense that they go after Melo to replace Wade's scoring as he declines. Would be beyond shocking though...

I mean holy shit.

The rules are irrelevant to the point. At the very least, the Player's Union should make an absolutely massive stink should it happen.

[Black and White]

Starting lineup could possibly be:

Chalmers
Wade
Melo
LeBron
Bosh

(Wade may play sixth man, with Birdman starting)

also a whole bunch of ringchasers could sign with this team too, so you never know.

This is insane :facepalm

[AnaheimLakers24]

wonder how small of a dick bran has. little marble testies too

[TheReal Kendall]

If Melo do this I'm disowning his ass.


If this is true that's some real hoe shit. The East is already booty cheeks. What the **** is wrong with dudes nowadays?

[russwest0]

Seriously... who would be surprised by this?

The best draft of the 80s ('84) shaped the league for 2 decades with Jordan, Hakeem, Barkley, Stockton competing against each other, vying for championships and glory.

Same with the best draft of the 90s ('96).

The best draft of the 00s will potentially all be on one team, they already have 3/4 of the top players.

Hell of an era we're witnessing.


:facepalm

the worst part is all of the top players from this particular draft class all (have now) ended up in the Eastern Conference, so them colluding leaves us with some of the worst basketball I've ever had to witness from the rest of the conference.

[The-Legend-24]

:oldlol: :oldlol:

[D-Rose]

The rules are irrelevant to the point. At the very least, the Player's Union should make an absolutely massive stink should it happen.
I don't see anything that anyone could say or do, unless they go into the next CBA negotiations with it. I mean, what would the rule be? "3 star player limit", "Players can't take less than market value"....I don't think there is anything that you can do to stop this. If the players want to take less $, they can.

[bagelred]

Even as a Knicks fan, I kinda hope this happens. It would be hilarious. I mean, nothing would typify the modern athlete more than that. Easy way out. lol....

But I have a feeling Melo won't do it. I just don't think that's his style to be 2nd fiddle to Lebron....but who knows.

[russwest0]

But, But, I thought by making it so only the rich teams could go over the tax the league was helping the small market teams out!

:oldlol: :oldlol: :oldlol: :oldlol: :oldlol:

Reminds me of an analogy someone made of Golf expanding the Golf courses to try and make it a more level playing field because of Tiger Woods being able to hit the ball so far. But all this did was but Tiger Woods at an even bigger advantage with everyone else at the disadvantage.

[Kvnzhangyay]

I really want this to happen just cause it'd be hilarious even though its completely cancerous for the league

[DonDadda59]

the worst part is all of the top players from this particular draft class all (have now) ended up in the Eastern Conference, so them colluding leaves us with some of the worst basketball I've ever had to witness from the rest of the conference.

Exactly, we're witnessing (pun intended :lol ) the worst Eastern conference on record. They have 3 franchise players from the East all on 1 team, now they're gunning for a fourth. The East is going to be a barren wasteland. All this to beat a team led by a 38 year old way past prime player?

Absolutely disgusting.

[smoovegittar]

They're making Olympic ball exciting...:facepalm

I doubt this happens, but if it does it really hampers any talk of "earning" championships. But this reeks of Heat fans seeing the writing on the wall - they're no where as good as they were 3 years ago, and the defense has disappeared. Spurs are gonna beat them, and the media will be a circus - not to mention this place.

[Black and White]

Even as a Knicks fan, I kinda hope this happens. It would be hilarious. I mean, nothing would typify the modern athlete more than that. Easy way out. lol....

But I have a feeling Melo won't do it. I just don't think that's his style to be 2nd fiddle to Lebron....but who knows.

If this happens, Melo would get DESTROYED in the media for bandwagoning to the highest level, I can't imagine anyone taking rings that they could possibly win seriously.

[russwest0]

I don't see anything that anyone could say or do, unless they go into the next CBA negotiations with it. I mean, what would the rule be? "3 star player limit", "Players can't take less than market value"....I don't think there is anything that you can do to stop this. If the players want to take less $, they can.

There was no rule against the Lakers trading for CP3 while clearing up a bunch of cap space either. The league even told the Hornets management that they had full power to do whatever they wanted with no league intervention.

And we saw how that turned out :oldlol:

[Derka]

I don't see anything that anyone could say or do, unless they go into the next CBA negotiations with it. I mean, what would the rule be? "3 star player limit", "Players can't take less than market value"....I don't think there is anything that you can do to stop this. If the players want to take less $, they can.

"Basketball reasons" is the only thing Silver's got and frankly, it should be enough.

[Milbuck]

Shit.

[russwest0]

If this happens, Melo would get DESTROYED in the media for bandwagoning to the highest level, I can't imagine anyone taking rings that they could possibly win seriously.

Now explain this to LeBron stans and then they'll finally understand why no one respects the way he went about "competing" to win a title.

[D-Rose]

There was no rule against the Lakers trading for CP3 while clearing up a bunch of cap space either. The league even told the Hornets management that they had full power to do whatever they wanted with no league intervention.

And we saw how that turned out :oldlol:
This has been rehashed a million times, but the only reason that happened was that the Hornets were owned by the league, literally. It was a very special situation.

"Basketball reasons" is a weak and uneducated argument. ISH has really built up this myth.

[oh the horror]

If that's the case the east would be further depleted as NY would have to go into full on rebuild so you can count them out and there would be no other eastern team that could hang with them on any level. You might as well forget anyone tuning into the eastern conference playoffs.


To be honest this is some new video game shit.

[russwest0]

I actually hope this happens now. Like really badly want this to happen.

Lets expose LeBron, Wade, and now potentially Melo for being some of the weakest "competitors" that we've ever seen.

[Levity]

would be crazy to see. hopefully, all you heat fans wont go into cardiac arrest when both bosh and wade average less than 16 ppg that season.

[Nash]

why not? Melo has like 5 years left, why not go out competing for a championship the rest of his peak and the few years during his decline? Those guys will help each other, sooner or later they won't be able to carry a team on their shoulder so might as well play together.

You guys need to understand, these player don't give a shit about you and your legacy talk. They want to win.

And with Wade taking bunch of games off and is rapidly declining, having Melo around in 2 years will be good for Miami since good knows how far Wade's decline will be when he's 34 in 2 years with his bum knees. It is all about Wade, if he was younger and healthier this would not be an issue, but Miami, Lebron, Pat Riley and Wade himself knows that Miami won't win shit down the road with Wade making 20m a year.

2 years down the road:

Lebron 31
Melo 32
Bosh 32
Wade 34

Wade can't be trusted, Melo slides in as the 2nd option while Bosh keeps the same role. Lebron wants to win rings because he wants to be in the top 3 in history, Wade just wants collect rings while Melo wants to win something.

[oh the horror]

The issue with that is that you'd have to form another "super team" to compete with them.


And that just creates a huge issue for the entire league.

[niko]

Cap is about $71M. They have at least $5/$6 tied up in other players. Let's say the whole rest of the non big 4 roster is $9M.

that's $62M for 4 guys. Let's say Wade asks for $13 cause he's old. That's $49M for 3 guys. $16M a guy. It's feasible but it's not a little underpaid, it's like 60% of what they can get otherwise. I remember Lebron saying he wanted $100M a year if he could get it. He'll play for $16M?

It's kind of stupid for another reason, it completely devalues the title for Lebron (his next one will be credited with Melo, but Melo won't get credit). Congrats to Melo if he does this, he's found a way that people can't say he won't win a title, and also found a way to get literally zero credit for doing so.

Strange...

[Warfan]

If this ends up happening i might seriously consider not watching the NBA until these f@ggots retire. Hockey seems cool, might starting watching it

[DonDadda59]

would be crazy to see. hopefully, all you heat fans wont go into cardiac arrest when both bosh and wade average less than 16 ppg that season.

"Bron needs more help". :(

[Nash]

"Basketball reasons" is the only thing Silver's got and frankly, it should be enough.
ehh, what? He can't.. stop comparing this to the CP3 situation. The league controlled(basically like owning them) the New Orleans back then when they were between owners and they vetoed the trade down because they believed it was bad. Silver doesn't own Miami and has no saying in this situation.

[russwest0]

The issue with that is that you'd have to form another "super team" to compete with them.


And that just creates a huge issue for the entire league.

The league already tried to combat this problem after the heat big 3 formed in 2010.

What they did was enforce hefty luxury tax repeater fines making it nearly impossible for small market teams to compete only promoting this behavior even more. it made no sense as a counter and it forced the thunder (small market team) to have to trade james harden (a player that THEY drafted) because their owner couldn't afford to pay an excess of 80M+ a season 5 years down the line.

I heard Sam Presti talking about it in his exit interview and he seemed pretty pissed. He was asked about Silver saying that "3 out of the final 4 teams in the playoffs are small market teams so the new CBA is working" and his response was that those teams were all built under the old CBA so that doesn't really make sense.

Usually you never hear Presti speak out on things like that so it's clear he was a bit mad about the new CBA favoring teams who are in large markets and have more money.

[Black and White]

Lebron wants to win rings because he wants to be in the top 3 in history, Wade just wants collect rings while Melo wants to win something.

A move like this would instantly hold LeBron out from the top 5 all-time ever, and every non-lebron fan would agree with me.

[aj1987]

Do you really think that it's gonna happen? Even if they are willing to give up money (could possibly be ~5M-7M less per year for the big 3), Miami need younger defenders more than scorers. Why the heck would Pat sign a scorer to an already great offensive team, which lacks defense? Melo won't help with the defensive issues at all. They're gonna be better of signing 3 good-great 3&D guys for the $20M+ they they give to Melo.

[longtime lurker]

If this happened say hello to a lock out and a franchise designation. The NBA would officially be a joke.

[D-Rose]

why not? Melo has like 5 years left, why not go out competing for a championship the rest of his peak and the few years during his decline? Those guys will help each other, sooner or later they won't be able to carry a team on their shoulder so might as well play together.

You guys need to understand, these player don't give a shit about you and your legacy talk. They want to win.

And with Wade taking bunch of games off and is rapidly declining, having Melo around in 2 years will be good for Miami since good knows how far Wade's decline will be when he's 34 in 2 years with his bum knees. It is all about Wade, if he was younger and healthier this would not be an issue, but Miami, Lebron, Pat Riley and Wade himself knows that Miami won't win shit down the road with Wade making 20m a year.

2 years down the road:

Lebron 31
Melo 32
Bosh 32
Wade 34

Wade can't be trusted, Melo slides in as the 2nd option while Bosh keeps the same role. Lebron wants to win rings because he wants to be in the top 3 in history, Wade just wants collect rings while Melo wants to win something.

Wade's decline would certainly be the greatest factor in this happening. And yeah, they could probably win 3-4 titles or so until they'd be too old.

[NumberSix]

https://puppetlabs.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/director-says-youll-be-phasing-out-Oracle.gif

[Derka]

why not? Melo has like 5 years left, why not go out competing for a championship the rest of his peak and the few years during his decline? Those guys will help each other, sooner or later they won't be able to carry a team on their shoulder so might as well play together.

You guys need to understand, these player don't give a shit about you and your legacy talk. They want to win.

And with Wade taking bunch of games off and is rapidly declining, having Melo around in 2 years will be good for Miami since good knows how far Wade's decline will be when he's 34 in 2 years with his bum knees. It is all about Wade, if he was younger and healthier this would not be an issue, but Miami, Lebron, Pat Riley and Wade himself knows that Miami won't win shit down the road with Wade making 20m a year.

2 years down the road:

Lebron 31
Melo 32
Bosh 32
Wade 34

Wade can't be trusted, Melo slides in as the 2nd option while Bosh keeps the same role. Lebron wants to win rings because he wants to be in the top 3 in history, Wade just wants collect rings while Melo wants to win something.

I hate to break it to you, but they care entirely what we think about them.


ehh, what? He can't.. stop comparing this to the CP3 situation. The league controlled(basically like owning them) the New Orleans back then when they were between owners and they vetoed the trade down because they believed it was bad. Silver doesn't own Miami and has no saying in this situation.

The League approves every deal. If you don't think the Players' Union would be dead off in Silver's ear over this, you're just plain crazy.

[TheReal Kendall]

I bet Silver is shitting his pants after seeing this

[D-Rose]

I hate to break it to you, but they care entirely what we think about them.



The League approves every deal. If you don't think the Players' Union would be dead off in Silver's ear over this, you're just plain crazy.
I think this is wishful thinking on your part, though I do admire your creativity.

[Black and White]

I think this is wishful thinking on your part, though I do admire your creativity.

Where would NBA players be without the fans??? Fans are the ones that create the hype, fans are the ones that create the views which in turn generates their massive paychecks, without fans, they are just a bunch of grown men throwing a ball in a hoop.

[Real14]

Melo iz staying:facepalm

[Fudge]

why not? Melo has like 5 years left, why not go out competing for a championship the rest of his peak and the few years during his decline? Those guys will help each other, sooner or later they won't be able to carry a team on their shoulder so might as well play together.

You guys need to understand, these player don't give a shit about you and your legacy talk. They want to win.

And with Wade taking bunch of games off and is rapidly declining, having Melo around in 2 years will be good for Miami since good knows how far Wade's decline will be when he's 34 in 2 years with his bum knees. It is all about Wade, if he was younger and healthier this would not be an issue, but Miami, Lebron, Pat Riley and Wade himself knows that Miami won't win shit down the road with Wade making 20m a year.

2 years down the road:

Lebron 31
Melo 32
Bosh 32
Wade 34

Wade can't be trusted, Melo slides in as the 2nd option while Bosh keeps the same role. Lebron wants to win rings because he wants to be in the top 3 in history, Wade just wants collect rings while Melo wants to win something.
You're a piece of shit, just like the Heat.

Goodness.

How can you even call yourself an NBA fan? I'd smack the shit out of you if i ever seen you in real life. HOLY SHIT!! I'm fcuking pissed now.

[Derka]

I think this is wishful thinking on your part, though I do admire your creativity.

I don't think it is at all.

[Nash]

I hate to break it to you, but they care entirely what we think about them.



The League approves every deal. If you don't think the Players' Union would be dead off in Silver's ear over this, you're just plain crazy.
No, they don't. That is what you need to understand. Lebron doesn't give a shit about you saying he should attack more or that he should not pass to Bosh in the final seconds of a game instead of taking the last shot. Bosh doesn't give a shit about you calling him soft because he only grabs 3 rebounds. Lebron knows that passing to Bosh is the correct basketball play and Bosh knows that in order for Miami to win he needs to stretch the floor and lose out on a flashy number of rebounds on the box score. Those guys are done with considering what everyone says. They just want to win.

[D-Rose]

Where would NBA players be without the fans??? Fans are the ones that create the hype, fans are the ones that create the views which in turn generates their massive paychecks, without fans, they are just a bunch of grown men throwing a ball in a hoop.
I was referring to the second half.

[PJR]

Lol In Pat Riley I trust.

[Akrazotile]

I actually hope they try and do this, because it speaks to the fact that the league desperately needs to be contracted. There are too many teams and the game is watered down. Think about the teams that these guys were all on before. Bosh's Raptors were bleh. Wade's Heat were bleh after the Shaq run. Lebron single handedly made a putrid Cavs roster relevant. Carmelo's Knicks are bleh.

There are only a handful of ELITE players, and when you spread them out over 30 teams... you get junk. I don't blame the Heat for doing what they did at all. The old Laker and Celtics teams competed against a league that was like 2/3 this size. It's a lot easier to have talent stack up when there are only 20 teams drafting instead of 30.

Contract the league if you want clusters of elite players together playing competitively against other clusters of great players. Keep expanding it if you want to dilute the product and force players who actually want to play competitive games to join together in free agency.

[Black and White]

I was referring to the second half.

Meh, the players union could get angry, but as far as stopping this from happening, its a different situation, as the league owned the Hornets at the time of the CP3 trade.

[Nash]

You're a piece of shit, just like the Heat.

Goodness.

How can you even call yourself an NBA fan? I'd smack the shit out of you if i ever seen you in real life. HOLY SHIT!! I'm fcuking pissed now.
What? You honestly think Miami WON'T pursue Melo because some idiots on forums and twitter will talk? Its a business decision for all of them. Get over yourself.

[Real14]

Even as a Knicks fan, I kinda hope this happens. It would be hilarious. I mean, nothing would typify the modern athlete more than that. Easy way out. lol....

But I have a feeling Melo won't do it. I just don't think that's his style to be 2nd fiddle to Lebron....but who knows.
you have a spurs avatar:coleman:

[oh the horror]

No, they don't. That is what you need to understand. Lebron doesn't give a shit about you saying he should attack more or that he should not pass to Bosh in the final seconds of a game instead of taking the last shot. Bosh doesn't give a shit about you calling him soft because he only grabs 3 rebounds. Lebron knows that passing to Bosh is the correct basketball play and Bosh knows that in order for Miami to win he needs to stretch the floor and lose out on a flashy number of rebounds on the box score. Those guys are done with considering what everyone says. They just want to win.



In a sport that legacies are made off winning you don't think these men form these teams with their name brands and such in mind?


Bro winning ain't that special if you're sitting in a dark room somewhere and no one but you sees it as a professional athlete.



Their professional careers are analyzed and on display for everyone.
You know who didn't care about his legacy? al Jeff walking to the Charlotte Bobcats for a paycheck.

[Black and White]

What? You honestly think Miami WON'T pursue Melo because some idiots on forums and twitter will talk? Its a business decision for all of them. Get over yourself.

They can do it, but as far as LeBrons place in history, you can kiss the top 5 all-time goodbye.

[NumberSix]

Nobody cared when Phil, Mike and Scottie were recruiting Kukoc and Rodman. Why is it such a big problem now? :confusedshrug:

[bagelred]

you have a spurs avatar:coleman:

My team always wins...

[russwest0]

They can do it, but as far as LeBrons place in history, you can kiss the top 5 all-time goodbye.

Implying it wasn't already kissed goodbye during this sequence of events:

http://www.cavstheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/lebron-james-from-the-decision.jpeg

http://www.dibico.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/big3celebration_922474a_1.jpg

http://ihatelebronjames.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/LeBron-Choke.jpg

[Real14]

My team always wins...
You almost bad as Jizzlovesnets:facepalm

[Derka]

No, they don't. That is what you need to understand. Lebron doesn't give a shit about you saying he should attack more or that he should not pass to Bosh in the final seconds of a game instead of taking the last shot. Bosh doesn't give a shit about you calling him soft because he only grabs 3 rebounds. Lebron knows that passing to Bosh is the correct basketball play and Bosh knows that in order for Miami to win he needs to stretch the floor and lose out on a flashy number of rebounds on the box score. Those guys are done with considering what everyone says. They just want to win.

You not only completely sailed off on to an irrelevant tangent, you're just completely dead wrong.

These guys care completely and totally about their legacy with fans and the media. These guys are made and broken by popular opinion at the end of the day. You don't think Lebron 100% cares whether or not people think he is in the Top 10 All-Time when all is said and done? Of course he does. OF COURSE HE DOES. All of these guys do.

[D-Rose]

In a sport that legacies are made off winning you don't think these men from these teams with their name brands and such in mind?


Bro winning ain't that special if you're sitting in a dark room somewhere and no one but you sees it as a professional athlete.


You know who didn't care about his legacy? al Jeff walking to the Charlotte Bobcats for a paycheck.
I don't think they care about legacies like we think they do, or they would have never come together in the first place, at least in LeBron's case. But look at it now, we all know it's his team and he's the #1 guy. I really don't think they don't care either :confusedshrug:

I'd rather Melo go to Dallas or LA though :D

[Rocketswin2013]

Why are people crying? By next year Bosh will be 5 entire seasons seperated from his prime while being close to his mid-30's and so will Wade.


They'd be stacked, but no more stacked than that 2013 team. How will Melo fit with all of the speed and quickness required on that defense too?

Shit really won't be as devastating as people make it seem but they'd definitely slam the east. I like it. :rockon: :applause:

[Black and White]

Implying it wasn't already kissed goodbye during this sequence of events:

http://www.cavstheblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/lebron-james-from-the-decision.jpeg

http://www.dibico.com.br/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/big3celebration_922474a_1.jpg

http://ihatelebronjames.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/LeBron-Choke.jpg

According to Heat fans, no, but after a move like this, its not even a debate, the East is already pathetic enough.

[NumberSix]

They can do it, but as far as LeBrons place in history, you can kiss the top 5 all-time goodbye.
Lol. Sure thing there guy. You fggts were ready to put Kobe on Jordan's level if he won a ring with Pau, Nash and Dwight. :hammerhead:


:roll: :roll: :roll:

[Dbrog]

This won't happen. If somehow the heat were able to free enough space, Silver would 100% block it and the rest of the owners would back him.

[Real14]

Nobody cared when Phil, Mike and Scottie were recruiting Kukoc and Rodman. Why is it such a big problem now? :confusedshrug:
How dumb can you be wit dis shit??:biggums: :biggums:

[tpols]

Nobody cared when Phil, Mike and Scottie were recruiting Kukoc and Rodman. Why is it such a big problem now? :confusedshrug:

Because this would be like Bulls already having phil mike scottie and rodman and then going after karl malone as well.

[BigMacAttack]

Is Lebron the most bitchmade choosen1 ever? I will give up on the nba if this is true.

[eliteballer]

Wade is not going to be a big anything by the time this could go down.

[Nash]

In a sport that legacies are made off winning you don't think these men form these teams with their name brands and such in mind?


Bro winning ain't that special if you're sitting in a dark room somewhere and no one but you sees it as a professional athlete.



Their professional careers are analyzed and on display for everyone.
You know who didn't care about his legacy? al Jeff walking to the Charlotte Bobcats for a paycheck.
Legacies? It is all about winning. If they were afraid of their legacies Miami would not be going after Melo.

In soccer, the best player usually get bought to the best teams. Messi, Ronaldo and the rest of those guys play with 10 other superstars but nobody is diminshing Messi or Ronaldo's accomplishments for it.

Also, in all of this we're assuming Wade healthy and young, which he isn't. Wade is declining and getting older. The season Melo arrives Wade will be 33 with 2 bum knees. Miami just preparing for the future.

[Black and White]

Why are people crying? By next year Bosh will be 5 entire seasons seperated from his prime while being close to his mid-30's and so will Wade.


They'd be stacked, but no more stacked than that 2013 team. How will Melo fit with all of the speed and quickness required on that defense too?

Shit really won't be as devastating as people make it seem but they'd definitely slam the east. I like it. :rockon: :applause:

:biggums: there is a big difference between 31 and 35

[Springsteen]

Melo iz staying:facepalm

You know what? I hope this actually happens so you and pink text guy will finally stop spewing idiotic statements.

Maybe when your god Melo joins the team with the man he is apparently "better than" because he's not a "beta 4 winning w/ superstars" you two will stop making retarded threads about him.

[kuniva_dAMiGhTy]

Lol. Sure thing there guy. You fggts were ready to put Kobe on Jordan's level if he won a ring with Pau, Nash and Dwight. :hammerhead:

Pau and Kobe removed from their prime, 40 y/o Nash, and Dwight(injured) isn't anywhere close to Bosh/Wade(removed from his prime)/Melo/Lebron.

Nice try, gunther.

[The-Legend-24]

Miami don't even need to add more players. They're basically in the finals every year. :oldlol:

[NumberSix]

Because this would be like Bulls already having phil mike scottie and rodman and then going after karl malone as well.
Or...... It's be like having Phil, Shaq, Kobe...... and then getting Payton and Malone.

[Black and White]

Lol. Sure thing there guy. You fggts were ready to put Kobe on Jordan's level if he won a ring with Pau, Nash and Dwight. :hammerhead:


:roll: :roll: :roll:

I would NEVER put Kobe on Jordans level, hes not even close in terms of accolades, you are thinking about posters like Godbe and I can't believe you actually take that shit seriously.

[Heavincent]

The collusion era is in full effect.

[NumberSix]

Pau removed from his prime, 40 y/o Nash, and Dwight (injured) isn't anywhere close to Bosh/Wade(removed from his prime)/Melo/Lebron.

Nice try, gunther.
Don't care. I hop miami gets Melo, Love and Kyrie. I want STACK!!!!!!

[Black and White]

Or...... It's be like having Phil, Shaq, Kobe...... and then getting Payton and Malone.

:roll: :roll: :roll:

Those two were dinosaurs, kind of like what Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis are now.

[NumberSix]

This won't happen. If somehow the heat were able to free enough space, Silver would 100% block it and the rest of the owners would back him.
On what possible grounds? :hammerhead:

[chazzy]

Bron stans already preparing their defense opening statements

[Doctor Rivers]

Nobody cared when Phil, Mike and Scottie were recruiting Kukoc and Rodman. Why is it such a big problem now? :confusedshrug:

shut up

[plowking]

Pau and Kobe removed from their prime, 40 y/o Nash, and Dwight(injured) isn't anywhere close to Bosh/Wade(removed from his prime)/Melo/Lebron.

Nice try, gunther.

We had posters and players from the team predicting beating the 72 win record and people are acting as if it wasn't close to a star studded line up. :oldlol:

It's easy to say that once you saw the product and it failed, but that certainly wasn't how it was being talked about at the time. All I remember was, "we have no weaknesses. Nash's passing, Dwight's defense, Kobe from the outside, Pau inside..."

Seriously.

[plowking]

Bron stans already preparing their defense opening statements

Comments like this. :facepalm

[Derka]

Miami don't even need to add more players. They're basically in the finals every year. :oldlol:

Yeah but they're facing a hint of resistance to the dominance they think they're entitled to...ergo, must avoid actually competing as much as possible in the future.

[NumberSix]

shut up
This is the best response I've received. :applause:

[Fudge]

Pathetic ass franchise and fanbase.

[DonDadda59]

Miami don't even need to add more players. They're basically in the finals every year. :oldlol:

But they have to ensure that the East is a complete non factor and that they beat Old Man Duncan and co.

Competition's a bad thing now. Gotta make it as easy as possible.

[NumberSix]

Pathetic ass franchise and fanbase.
Maybe we can get Westbrook too.

[russwest0]

Maybe we can get Westbrook too.

implying westbrook is a beta like wade and lebron :roll: :roll: :roll: :roll:

[oh the horror]

Funny thing is deep down Heat fans know this is all getting a little silly.

[Black and White]

Maybe we can get Westbrook too.

:no: Steph Curry would be better, you dont need a PG that would handle the ball as much as Westbrook does, just need him to be a shooter

[Nash]

Pau and Kobe removed from their prime, 40 y/o Nash, and Dwight(injured) isn't anywhere close to Bosh/Wade(removed from his prime)/Melo/Lebron.

Nice try, gunther.
lol, on paper they were the amazing. that is all that matters in this discussion.

[hawksdogsbraves]

Pat Riley = GOAT GM

Phil Jackson = WOAT GM

[Fudge]

Maybe we can get Westbrook too.
But he's a competitor doe.

[DonDadda59]

Maybe we can get Westbrook too.

Why stop there? Durant must be tired of losing by now. Imagine what Steph Curry could do with Bron's drive and kick outs. Let's not forget you need rebounds and interior D too. Get Noah up in that bitch too.

[r0drig0lac]

:roll: :facepalm this is just ridiculous

[chazzy]

Comments like this. :facepalm
http://static.comicvine.com/uploads/original/11111/111119281/3106779-4631809602-Hopli.png

[D-Rose]

Pat Riley going for better Big 4 than Phil.

http://www.inflexwetrust.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/IFWT-KICKS-AIR-JORDAN-CONCORDS-KOBE-BYRANY-LA-LAKERS-SHAQ-PHIL-JACKSON-GARY-PAYTON-KARL-MALONE.jpg

this one was just sad :(

http://l2.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/BkzzrgD8Azeo4Hdf_MMkyQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7cT04NQ--/http://media.zenfs.com/en/blogs/sptusnbaexperts/LAL10112.jpg

http://37.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lftiqd7GYq1qdi785o1_500.jpg

http://www.nbaarena.com/img/haberler/boston-celtics-80s.jpg

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-m8bp7iJHNHU/TpxouLy2AbI/AAAAAAAAATw/DArhc6raQkY/s320/Lakers_Jack.jpg

[Derka]

lol, on paper they were the amazing. that is all that matters in this discussion.
No they weren't.

Wrong again. :lol

[SuperPippen]

This would be slightly more tolerable if it weren't such a pathetic, disgusting, undeserving excuse for a "fanbase" being gifted such great players.

[NumberSix]

Why stop there? Durant must be tired of losing by now. Imagine what Steph Curry could do with Bron's drive and kick outs. Let's not forget you need rebounds and interior D too. Get Noah up in that bitch too.
Don't want him. He's a choker. Let him go to Chicago and play with Rose.

[Black and White]

lol, on paper they were the amazing. that is all that matters in this discussion.

LOL ok, so completely disgregarding context, on paper, Heat are the most stacked team in the league,


Best SG (Kobe is injured)

Best player and SF

Top 5 PF

Goat 3 point shooter

Greg Oden, Rashard Lewis, Battier, Birdman, UD

See what I did there???

[D-Rose]

We had posters and players from the team predicting beating the 72 win record and people are acting as if it wasn't close to a star studded line up. :oldlol:

It's easy to say that once you saw the product and it failed, but that certainly wasn't how it was being talked about at the time. All I remember was, "we have no weaknesses. Nash's passing, Dwight's defense, Kobe from the outside, Pau inside..."

Seriously.
I endorse this post. I was one of those that saw LA not failing.

[Sarcastic]

They can explore all they want. There is no way that this will happen unless all of them take extreme pay cuts. There is no way any of them are going to take about $10m per year to make this happen.

[guy]

You guys need to understand, these player don't give a shit about you and your legacy talk. They want to win.



Who cares about what other people think. But isn't there a point where winning isn't really that much of an accomplishment? When you have the deck stacked that much, how much of an accomplishment is it really?

[plowking]

Funny thing is deep down Heat fans know this is all getting a little silly.

:oldlol:

Can a Laker fan please just say it like it is? You're scared of LeBron constantly being in a position to win. That's what it comes down to.

You had 20/8 Karl Malone join your team, along with Gary Payton who was still one of the better point guards in the league. These two guys joined a team that just pretty much won the 3 peat without them.

People won't be happy if the Heat get any marquee player to join them until Wade and Bosh both retire. :oldlol:

[NumberSix]

This would be slightly more tolerable if it weren't such a pathetic, disgusting, undeserving excuse for a "fanbase" being gifted such great players.
You don't get what you deserve. You get what you earn.

[Rocketswin2013]

Wade at this point has no case over Pippen....

So is Melo as good as Prime Scottie Pippen? Serious question.

[Nash]

also, its great business for the nba. Right now, this topic is trending on twitter in 4 different phrases.

[NoGunzJustSkillz]

I'm interested to know what kind of money Miami is willing to throw at Wade and Bosh if they opt out.

[plowking]

Who cares about what other people think. But isn't there a point where winning isn't really that much of an accomplishment? When you have the deck stacked that much, how much of an accomplishment is it really?

This is hilarious coming from a board full of Americans, that send their best players to the Olympics, brag about how easy they will crush the Euro's, then win by single digits in the finals, and still celebrate like they have overcome everything to get the win. :oldlol:

[oh the horror]

also, its great business for the nba. Right now, this topic is trending on twitter in 4 different phrases.


It's fun for discussion purposes but watching them gangbang the east would be sad for the ratings.

[NumberSix]

Miami gonna have the entire 2003 draft class.

[Fudge]

also, its great business for the nba. Right now, this topic is trending on twitter in 4 different phrases.
:roll:

[stephanieg]

I think it'd be funny because Carmelonoma isn't that good except when his jumper is hot. He would make them worse with his horrible defense and iso-ball.

[Black and White]

Miami gonna have the entire 2003 draft class.

Need to sign Darko on a vet minimum then the set is almost complete

[edrick]

If this somehow happened, I think Wade would end up coming off of the bench.

[guy]

This is hilarious coming from a board full of Americans, that send their best players to the Olympics, brag about how easy they will crush the Euro's, then win by single digits in the finals, and still celebrate like they have overcome everything to get the win. :oldlol:

Who honestly thinks winning the Olympics is that big of an accomplishment? It's not the nba title.

[Keno]

you know the motto, heat in 5 ****ers. you thought they were lying when they said not 1, not 2, not 3? hahahahah.

[plowking]

Who honestly thinks winning the Olympics is that big of an accomplishment?

Clearly America does.

Look at the team and the amount of time they spend now after getting the Bronze. Still only winning by single digits, despite American fans telling us how stacked the team is and how they will crush everyone.

Same thing with the Heat. So why is it a problem?

[kamil]

Who honestly thinks winning the Olympics is that big of an accomplishment?

Anyone and everyone who isn't a geographically challenged 'Murican.

[Derka]

This is hilarious coming from a board full of Americans, that send their best players to the Olympics, brag about how easy they will crush the Euro's, then win by single digits in the finals, and still celebrate like they have overcome everything to get the win. :oldlol:

ROFL, literally no one over here celebrates this anymore and if they do, they must be new. The US sleep walks through that crap and wins :lol :lol

[NoGunzJustSkillz]

"Don't expect me to take a paycut"
What exactly is a pay cut according to Wade? He can't possibly think he's getting anything north of 20 million, his next contract. He's pretty worthless to the rest of the league unless he's willing to accept half of that somewhere else.

[Derka]

What exactly is a pay cut according to Wade? He can't possibly think he's getting anything north of 20 million, his next contract. He's pretty worthless to the rest of the league unless he's willing to accept half of that somewhere else.

He's due $41 million on the options for the next two seasons. He'd flat out be leaving it on the table to re-negotiate for maybe half of that to actually make this scheme work.

[ThePhantomCreep]

why not? Melo has like 5 years left, why not go out competing for a championship the rest of his peak and the few years during his decline? Those guys will help each other, sooner or later they won't be able to carry a team on their shoulder so might as well play together.

You guys need to understand, these player don't give a shit about you and your legacy talk. They want to win.

And with Wade taking bunch of games off and is rapidly declining, having Melo around in 2 years will be good for Miami since good knows how far Wade's decline will be when he's 34 in 2 years with his bum knees. It is all about Wade, if he was younger and healthier this would not be an issue, but Miami, Lebron, Pat Riley and Wade himself knows that Miami won't win shit down the road with Wade making 20m a year.

2 years down the road:

Lebron 31
Melo 32
Bosh 32
Wade 34

Wade can't be trusted, Melo slides in as the 2nd option while Bosh keeps the same role. Lebron wants to win rings because he wants to be in the top 3 in history, Wade just wants collect rings while Melo wants to win something.

It's hard to take LeBron's last two rings seriously as is, winning with Melo/Wade/Bosh would be the biggest farce in NBA history. Top 3? Not in this lifetime.

[longtime lurker]

:oldlol:

Can a Laker fan please just say it like it is? You're scared of LeBron constantly being in a position to win. That's what it comes down to.

You had 20/8 Karl Malone join your team, along with Gary Payton who was still one of the better point guards in the league. These two guys joined a team that just pretty much won the 3 peat without them.

People won't be happy if the Heat get any marquee player to join them until Wade and Bosh both retire. :oldlol:

Are you serious with this? The Heat and Lebron would be viewed as an absolute joke if this happened. Lebron would be the biggest front runner of all time as his titles would be absolutely meaningless.

[NumberSix]

"Don't expect me to take a paycut"
"did you think that money was heaven sent?"

[SuperPippen]

Clearly America does.

Look at the team and the amount of time they spend now after getting the Bronze. Still only winning by single digits, despite American fans telling us how stacked the team is and how they will crush everyone.

Same thing with the Heat. So why is it a problem?

Who the hell is talking about the Olympics except for you? Quit deflecting.

I don't hate LeBron, and I don't feel the current Heat team is stacked. But I will be disappointed if the manage to persuade Melo to join them.

[NoGunzJustSkillz]

He's due $41 million on the options for the next two seasons. He'd flat out be leaving it on the table to re-negotiate for maybe half of that to actually make this scheme work.
geez, i didnt even realize they had player options next season, too.:cheers:

[guy]

Clearly America does.

Look at the team and the amount of time they spend now after getting the Bronze. Still only winning by single digits, despite American fans telling us how stacked the team is and how they will crush everyone.

Same thing with the Heat. So why is it a problem?

Losing is a huge embarrassment. Winning is not some huge accomplishment. The players will say what's politically correct. But there's no chance in hell that players like Kobe, Lebron, Wade, etc. value their gold medals as much as their rings. Shit, some players even decline being part of it.

[jrong]

I'm starting to actively hate this team, Wade included. Whatever, we're all Spurs fans for the next week or so. Worry about hating them even more next year.

[ThePhantomCreep]

Wade at this point has no case over Pippen....

So is Melo as good as Prime Scottie Pippen? Serious question.

One of the dumbest LeBron homers I have ever seen. Seriously.

[guy]

If this somehow happened, I think Wade would end up coming off of the bench.

Forget taking 30 games off. Wade could literally just rest the whole season/playoffs until the Finals start:oldlol:

[Black and White]

Clearly America does.

Look at the team and the amount of time they spend now after getting the Bronze. Still only winning by single digits, despite American fans telling us how stacked the team is and how they will crush everyone.

Same thing with the Heat. So why is it a problem?

I don't see anybody bragging about those gold medals, every single one of them would trade theirs for an NBA championship ring.

[Ne 1]

Lebron wants to win rings because....
Basically LeBron's mindset is "I need this ring to be considered great, what's the easiest way to get it" not "I want to rip your heart out and prove I'm the best." Jordan won with the chips he was dealt (Scottie) Say what you want about Kobe, but he won on his terms and put pressure on his team to make moves and tweak the roster, not just (for example) going to the Spurs as a FA to stack the Western Conference and avoid Duncan because he thinks the issue is simply winning rings, not competing for rings. Heck, Kobe was on the verge of signing with the Clippers with Elton Brand in '04 before the Lakers traded Shaq and Jerry West convinced Kobe to stay with the Lakers. He was going to go the Bulls in '07 with Ben Gordon. There's no way in the prime/peak of his career he would go to another superstars team who he'd essentially be competing otherwise and measured against like Duncan's Spurs, KG's T-Wolves, Nash's Suns, Wade's Heat, LeBron's Cavs or Dirk's Mavs. He won with the chips he was dealt (Pau) after all the critics said he would have never won without Shaq.

[ZaaaaaH]

Starting lineup could possibly be:

Chalmers
Wade
Melo
LeBron
Bosh

(Wade may play sixth man, with Birdman starting)

also a whole bunch of ringchasers could sign with this team too, so you never know.

This is insane :facepalm

Wrong, Chalmers will be FA and wont be resign with the Heat.

They will instead grab Darko out of the gutter and make it a BIG 5.

LeBron
Wade
Melo
Bosh
Darko

LeBron will finally go back to his original position.

[zoom17]

http://images4.fanpop.com/image/photos/18100000/The-Big-3-boston-celtics-18168594-500-375.jpg

[Black and White]

Wrong, Chalmers will be FA and wont be resign with the Heat.

They will instead grab Darko out of the gutter and make it a BIG 5.

LeBron
Wade
Melo
Bosh
Darko

LeBron will finally go back to his original position.

They might as well sign Livingston for backup too.

[SuperPippen]

You don't get what you deserve. You get what you earn.


:roll:

What exactly has this fanbase earned?

Mind you, I'm talking about the fanbase, not the players. I feel that Lebron & Co. have earned every ring they've gotten, and even the addition of Melo wouldn't compel me to say that they wouldn't "earn" any more potential rings they might win.

But their fanbase is an embarrassment. It is full of fair weather bandwagon clowns. Not every Heat fan deserves that kind of scorn, but it wouldn't be a stretch to say that the majority of them do.

[Derka]

Basically LeBron's mindset is "I need this ring to be considered great, what's the easiest way to get it" not "I want to rip your heart out and prove I'm the best." Jordan won with the chips he was dealt (Scottie) Say what you want about Kobe, but he won on his terms and put pressure on his team to make moves and tweak the roster, not just (for example) going to the Spurs as a FA to stack the Western Conference and avoid Duncan because he thinks the issue is simply winning rings, not competing for rings. Heck, Kobe was on the verge of signing with the Clippers with Elton Brand in '04 before the Lakers traded Shaq and he was going to go the Bulls in '07 with Ben Gordon. There's no way in the prime/peak of his career he would go to another superstars team who he'd essentially be competing otherwise and measured against like Duncan's Spurs, KG's T-Wolves, Nash's Suns, Wade's Heat, LeBron's Cavs or Dirk's Mavs. He won won with the chips he was dealt (Pau) after all the critics said he would have never won without Shaq.

And it wouldn't be JUST Lebron...it'd be four of the Top 15 players in the League currently...all saying the exact same thing. That's a terrible precedent to set. Now other superstars, just to have a shot at winning, would have to do the same thing. "Sorry, but you have to devalue yourself by half to combine with other superstars to get rings."

[DMAVS41]

Only happens if they lose...

I can't imagine Melo wanting to join them if they win a 3rd straight title...and not sure they'd all want to take pay cuts wither coming off a 3 peat.

But another loss in the finals and with Wade declining...could definitely see them all opting out and making a lot of cap room. Not sure if it will end up as Melo coming over, but the Heat are going to change big time this summer if they lose this series.

Just the fact that is is a possibility makes watching them lose now and in the future that much more fun.

Go Spurs Go!!!

[D-Rose]

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Bp5CEzFIgAEWl01.jpg:large

[UK2K]

Would instantly be the leagues most hated team.

[ILLsmak]

*faints*

http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2014/story/_/id/11068709/miami-heat-discussing-options-target-carmelo-anthony-free-agency

haha wow.

But it's funny they can write an article but be like THE HEAT ARE FORBIDDEN FROM MAKING CONTACT. No need now.

-Smak

[aj1987]

Wow! People are still arguing about this stupid rumor? Not happening. The big 3 won't take such a big pay cut. Miami also need more youth and good defenders over a single scorer.

[ZaaaaaH]

They might as well sign Livingston for backup too.

Why not he is looking for a team.

If this happens LeBron will get his not 5 not 6 not 7 but his 8 rings for sure ~

[rhowen4]

Is Milicic good? Can MIA get him?

[Ne 1]

We had posters and players from the team predicting beating the 72 win record and people are acting as if it wasn't close to a star studded line up. :oldlol:

It's easy to say that once you saw the product and it failed, but that certainly wasn't how it was being talked about at the time. All I remember was, "we have no weaknesses. Nash's passing, Dwight's defense, Kobe from the outside, Pau inside..."

Seriously. Let's not forget that largely due to surgery/injuries, Howard and especially Gasol performed far below what was expected that year.
Nash and Blake missed a significant amount of games to start the season. Gasol played injured for most of the season and then missed a significant amount of games. Dwight Howard spent most of the season working himself back into shape and effectiveness recovering from a surgically repaired back, and then dealt with the shoulder injury and missed games. Jordan Hill practically missed the entire season...

All of this is compounded by the fact that some of the players were dealing with a new system coming into the season, and then training camp went out the window when Mike Brown was fired and D'Antoni hired.

When you have new pieces, a new system, and rampant injury, dysfunction is to be expected. I think people underestimate the value of stability and consistency and how it relates to winning. It's hard for teams to gel when they are dealing with new players, guys coming in and out of the rotation due to injury, a new system, and new coach... all at the same time, and to start the season.

[bluechox2]

just send miami to the olympics as representatives of usa

[HOoopCityJones]

Collusion Era in Full effect. :oldlol:

Seriously , this is the Dream Team playing a season together.

All they need is CP3, Curry or Westbrook and the combo breaker will be complete.

I wouldn't watch the NBA for a couple seasons to be truthful, the East is already watered down to doo doo water , and now you're talking about adding ANOTHER veteran Superstar from the Conference after Lebron and Wade? plus Top 5 PF Bosh.

Say what you want about us, but Nash , Kobe and Gasol were not in their primes. Dwight was coming back from a injury.

Even Gary Payton and Karl were finished by the time we got em , and that's the most talent we ever had around Shaq and Kobe during their time playing together.

[JT123]

Collusion Era in Full effect. :oldlol:

Seriously , this is the Dream Team playing a season together.

All they need is CP3, Curry or Westbrook and the combo breaker will be complete.

I wouldn't watch the NBA for a couple seasons to be truthful, the East is already watered down to doo doo water , and now you're talking about adding ANOTHER veteran Superstar from the Conference after Lebron and Wade? plus Top 5 PF Bosh.

Say what you want about us, but Nash , Kobe and Gasol were not in their primes. Dwight was coming back from a injury.

Even Gary Payton and Karl were finished by the time we got em , and that's the most talent we ever had around Shaq and Kobe during their time playing together.
Bosh and Wade aren't in their primes, and Lebron and Melo won't be in their primes next year either. :confusedshrug:
Lebron may still be the game's best player, but he is not in his prime anymore. He is wearing down from having too many responsibilities on this current roster, and everyone has noticed.

[nathanjizzle]

i hope this actually happens. :bowdown:

[HOoopCityJones]

Bosh and Wade aren't in their primes, and Lebron and Melo won't be in their primes next year either. :confusedshrug:
Lebron may still be the game's best player, but he is not in his prime anymore. He is wearing down from having too many responsibilities on this current roster, and everyone has noticed.

Aside from Wade, you'd have to be full of shit if you think these guys aren't still amidst their prime play. Specifically Lebron, Melo and Bosh.
With Kobe out Wade is still the best SG in the League on bad knees.

:facepalm

[ThePhantomCreep]

Fakkit. Answer the question.

So you're gonna take current DWade over Prime Scottie Pippen?

****, no disrespect to Wade but I'm taking Prime Gasol over him right now at this point.

And is Melo better than prime Scottie? Not is his name bigger but is he a better player? Fakkits need to stop bitching about "stacking" teams. Nothing happening right now hasn't happened before.

Right, because winning with Pippen is somehow equal to stacking the deck with Wade, Bosh and possibly Melo. GTFO. This is an unprecedented pansy move should it happen.

Wade is at least as good as 1998 Pippen, and is a superior player overall. His peak is significantly higher than Pip's, and he would have been the 2011 Finals MVP had Miami won. So not only does Bron have the better second option and third options, he also plays in a far shittier conference. He's in no way, shape, or form "winning with less" as you're implying.

[niko]

Nobody cared when Phil, Mike and Scottie were recruiting Kukoc and Rodman. Why is it such a big problem now? :confusedshrug:
It's not wrong, it's not a problem in any way, shape or form. But don't compare it to Michael bringing in role players, Jordan didn't bring in Olajuwon.

Is it wrong? No. Not at all. But if you stack the deck, people give you less credit. If we play each other a game and i stack the odds in my favor, is my win as impressive?

[HOoopCityJones]

It's not wrong so much as ****ing whack.

The East is already depleted from Lebron, Howard and Bosh leaving their Teams. Now they talk about adding Melo like that wont be the smoothest sail to the Finals in history.

[no pun intended]

Even if they give up Bosh, Wade/Bran/Melo is a winner already

[knicksman]

They're not doing anything against the rules :confusedshrug: The league can't say how much a player should take on their contract.

It makes sense that they go after Melo to replace Wade's scoring as he declines. Would be beyond shocking though...

I mean holy shit.

except that they are employees and they can fire employees if they want

[Rocketswin2013]

Right, because winning with Pippen is somehow equal to stacking the deck with Wade, Bosh and possibly Melo. GTFO. This is an unprecedented pansy move should it happen.


Wade is at least as good as 1998 Pippen, and is a superior player overall. His peak is significantly higher than Pip's, and he would have been the 2011 Finals MVP had Miami won. So not only does Bron have the better second option and third options, he also plays in a far shittier conference. He's in no way, shape, or form "winning with less" as you're implying.
It's so much wrong with this post. If this thread is relevant by the next time I log in I'll butcher it. Until then.....

[ThePhantomCreep]

It should be fun watching LeBron homers desperately try to convince non-idiots that Pippen/Grant/Armstrong or Gasol/Odom/one-legged Bynum are every bit as stacked as Wade/Melo/Bosh. You're already getting a little taste of it now.

Otherwise, garbage move.

[Beastmode88]

I will lose all respect for Melo if he joins up with Bran. Bigger joke collusion than 2011. Win a ring not cheat a ring.

[Solefade]

Would instantly be the leagues most hated team.


as if this didn't already happen 4 years ago :oldlol:

[Solefade]

http://0-media-cdn.foolz.us/ffuuka/board/a/image/1342/91/1342913967758.gif

[Droid101]

I'm starting to actively hate this team, Wade included. Whatever, we're all Spurs fans for the next week or so. Worry about hating them even more next year.
You're back! :eek:

[JT123]

Aside from Wade, you'd have to be full of shit if you think these guys aren't still amidst their prime play. Specifically Lebron, Melo and Bosh.
With Kobe out Wade is still the best SG in the League on bad knees.

:facepalm
That's not saying much, especially seeing as how Wade can barely play in half of the team's games. :facepalm
Bosh is no where near his prime play! That softy can barely grab 4 boards a game most nights. Even as a Bron fan I can admit that he has slowed down a lot this year. People accuse him of being "scared" anytime he goes long stretches without being aggressive offensively, but I honestly don't think he has the energy to go all out on both ends of the floor anymore, or at least not every night. He will be in his 12th season next year, which is past anyone's prime.

[Legends66NBA7]

I made a joke about this in 2009 that all 4 would join up and play together. Who would have thought that it would actually happen ?

Although, I'm not seeing it.

[stalkerforlife]

Cowards.

[eliteballer]

The Miami Cheat stay scheming...

..but Wade won't be a a big anything by the time this would happen.

[Flash31]

Silver can stop this if he wants to right? Because he should

Stop what?It wouldn't be illegal.

What's his reason?Bc the NBA does not own the Heat like they did the Hornets/Pelicans.

No,You can't have too many good players on one team(well unless you're the LAl,Bos,Chi)
I bet if this was NY,the League would be pushinh it to happen.

And if the league so much as tries to ban it when nothing illegal happened,then
they'll get sued to the ground hard and itll set a league precedent in that
You can try to win,but if you're not one of "our" teams,don't dare try to be the best team,You can only have so many good players.



Everybody can talk about "Stackedz" all they want but at the end of the day--
winning is all that matters.

Everybody has Bill Russell as one of Goat if not GOat and 11 Rings say it all.
Magic had Worthy,Kareem.
Bird had Parish,McHale,Johnson,wouldve had Len Bias.
Jordan had Pippen,Grant and then Pippen,Rodman along with the League and officials on his side.

Payton,Kobe,Malone,Shaq along with Horry?
Kobe,Nash,Howard,Gasol?

or how about the 4 All Star Team of
Rondo,Allen,Pierce,Garnett
hey who could forget the Nets trying it this year

Deron,Johnson,Pierce,Garnett,Lopez

Haters gonna hate.
But we all know all the eyeballs will be on Miami and The Heat will quickly become the most popular team in History surpassing the bandwagon of
Lakers,Celtics,Bulls fans.

And nobody besides haters are gonna talk about "Stackedz","Easy way","Cowards" like somehow you get brownie points for choosing the path with most resistance and obstacles

Hmm just how did Wilt,Magic,Bird,Jordan,Shaq,Kobe do
when they had the hard way without help and all star teammates?

At the end,everybody will be talking about how dominating,how great,how legendary this Heat team was and just like fanbases go
theyd be the most popular

[Jameerthefear]

Stop what?It wouldn't be illegal.

What's his reason?Bc the NBA does not own the Heat like they did the Hornets/Pelicans.

No,You can't have too many good players on one team(well unless you're the LAl,Bos,Chi)
I bet if this was NY,the League would be pushinh it to happen.

And if the league so much as tries to ban it when nothing illegal happened,then
they'll get sued to the ground hard and itll set a league precedent in that
You can try to win,but if you're not one of "our" teams,don't dare try to be the best team,You can only have so many good players.



Everybody can talk about "Stackedz" all they want but at the end of the day--
winning is all that matters.

Everybody has Bill Russell as one of Goat if not GOat and 11 Rings say it all.
Magic had Worthy,Kareem.
Bird had Parish,McHale,Johnson,wouldve had Len Bias.
Jordan had Pippen,Grant and then Pippen,Rodman along with the League and officials on his side.

Payton,Kobe,Malone,Shaq along with Horry?
Kobe,Nash,Howard,Gasol?

or how about the 4 All Star Team of
Rondo,Allen,Pierce,Garnett
hey who could forget the Nets trying it this year

Deron,Johnson,Pierce,Garnett,Lopez

Haters gonna hate.
But we all know all the eyeballs will be on Miami and The Heat will quickly become the most popular team in History surpassing the bandwagon of
Lakers,Celtics,Bulls fans.

And nobody besides haters are gonna talk about "Stackedz","Easy way","Cowards" like somehow you get brownie points for choosing the path with most resistance and obstacles

Hmm just how did Wilt,Magic,Bird,Jordan,Shaq,Kobe do
when they had the hard way without help and all star teammates?

At the end,everybody will be talking about how dominating,how great,how legendary this Heat team was and just like fanbases go
theyd be the most popular
No one is reading this ghetto mess. Fix it up.

[KBaller33]

Can't even do this sh!t on 2k man

[Flash31]

Seriously for all the delusional hypocrite haters,
What Team or Player wants to have the hardest road possible?

Every single player in the world,if it can happen would love to win and dominate.
Every player in the world in every team sport would take the easier path,more dominating run,Possibly winning every single year.


There's no player in the world that goes,no I want it hard and to struggle to win.
I don't want to win easily.

We all know,if this Heat Team was assembled in NY,Chi,La,Bos
all the haters would be on their nuts 24/7 with nothing but praise and hype and theyd be getting the Jordan treatment in the media.

[inclinerator]

im a bran fan and i dont want this to happen

[Flash31]

Wow! People are still arguing about this stupid rumor? Not happening. The big 3 won't take such a big pay cut. Miami also need more youth and good defenders over a single scorer.


Youth hmm

Playing Battier,Jones,Haslem,Beasley,old Shard minutes
Playing Cole,Chalmers heavy minutes
Playing LeBron 38 min and Wade,Bish 30+
and wearing the veterans out

or

Playing Chalmers,Cole Less
Playing LeBron,Wade,Bosh less min in regseason
allowing veterans to rest
Not wearing out the Big 3 and
no old vets,unreliable headcases for big minutes
A Great Scoring Option who has to be covered and worried about at all times which can lessen everybodies load

Instead of 4th quarter lineup being
Wade,Allen,LeBron,Bosh,Rashard/Birdman

it becomes
Wade,Allen,Carmelo,LeBron,Bosh

That would be an insane offensive lineup

And in reg season Wade can be limited to 30 mpg
Bosh,LeBron can go 32-36
And They won't have to wear themselves out bc there's a severe mismatch against a c,pg, or 2 guys on the floor who can score only by being fed or are headcases or Old and can only go in lim min

[Velocirap31]

im a bran fan and i dont want this to happen

This. It's too much. Basically cheating to get rings. Melo will hit practically every open look he gets and lebron will get him a lot of open looks. They wouldn't even have to play defence, just drop 120 every game.

[hawkfan]

The Heat would be better off trying to sign a point guard who can actually run an offense and hit a wide open shot every once in a while.

Otherwise, if the Heat want to add another top player - Luol Deng and see if he would agree to a 4 years, $36 million deal. Deng could be helpful as a wing defender, and he is a solid scorer as well.

[Flash31]

im a bran fan and i dont want this to happen

Yeah you're a Bran fan,not team.

I'm a Heat fan and I want this to happen.
The Bos Celtics 60s Dynasty will get some competition.


Championsip Every Year.
All the Haters can mark it on their calendars,The Heat win another Championship
and do that Every Year.


If your team could have a dynasty and you could watch it happen live,Why wouldn't you want it?
Who wouldn't want to see their team contend every year and win every year?

[oh the horror]

flash31 dropping full essays on people.


Switch to decaf dude.

[Flash31]

flash31 dropping full essays on people.


Switch to decaf dude.

Fck Decaf and whoever invented it.
What's the point of coffee then?

[fpliii]

Fck Decaf and whoever invented it.
What's the point of coffee then?
:lol

[G-train]

Thread is full of cry babies.
Any team can clear cap space and do this.
Your GM didn't, so tissues are required.

[Magic 32]

http://websavvypr.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/12/iStock_deckof-cards9166586XSmall.jpg

[IncarceratedBob]

People think this would make Miami a better team? Idiots Melo is one of the worst players in the NBA according to stats like VAR+

[thefatmiral]

how else is melo going to win a chip.

[GimmeThat]

"if my charity and givings are that of surrounding the Cleveland area during my offseason, why does it matter that I have to stay in Miami?"


players wants to play with Lebron.

what's new?

players thought Kobe was impossible to play with

what's new?


Durant is Lebrons only target after he wins this year and prove that he had beaten the Spurs that he couldn't when he was with the Cavs. And even if he doesn't win this year, I highly doubt he thinks that "roster" is the issue.

[Goldrush25]

If Miami comes back to win a championship this series, please let this happen God. 4-peat + destroying the Bulls 72-10 record all in one fell swoop. Heat haters would spontaneously combust. :D

[JimmyMcAdocious]

Where's Darko?

LeBron
Wade
Melo
Bosh
Darko

[oh the horror]

Fck Decaf and whoever invented it.
What's the point of coffee then?

True. Kind of like non-alcoholic beer.

[ThePhantomCreep]

If Miami comes back to win a championship this series, please let this happen God. 4-peat + destroying the Bulls 72-10 record all in one fell swoop. Heat haters would spontaneously combust. :D

Hate to break it to you, but nobody really gives a shit about the Heat. They're not the Lakers or Yankees. All the hate is directed towards LeBron and frankly, winning titles with this hypothetical crew would do more damage to his legacy than good. LeBron haters would probably welcome it, they're already bashing him mercilessly and it hasn't even happened yet. :oldlol:

[AcquiringSteak]

If Miami comes back to win a championship this series, please let this happen God. 4-peat + destroying the Bulls 72-10 record all in one fell swoop. Heat haters would spontaneously combust. :D

this would be sickening, love it

hoping miami can come back to tie it up first

[Poetry]

Where's Darko?

I was wondering the same thing :lol

[JimmyMcAdocious]

True. Kind of like non-alcoholic beer.

Some people like the taste of coffee and don't want to get wired.

I love coffee, even if it didn't have caffeine. Don't drink decaf, tho. A mere cup or two of coffee doesn't do shit anymore. Tolerance built up too much.

[Droid101]

"if my charity and givings are that of surrounding the Cleveland area during my offseason, why does it matter that I have to stay in Miami?"


players wants to play with Lebron.

what's new?

players thought Kobe was impossible to play with

what's new?


Durant is Lebrons only target after he wins this year and prove that he had beaten the Spurs that he couldn't when he was with the Cavs. And even if he doesn't win this year, I highly doubt he thinks that "roster" is the issue.
Yeah that's why Gasol publicly decried the trade that brought him to the Lakers.

"He's selfish and I hate playing with selfish players." -Pau Gasol on hearing of the trade to the Lakers. "He's just a selfish player who nobody wants to play with. This is going to be miserable."

[Just2McFly]

If Melo do this I'm disowning his ass.


If this is true that's some real hoe shit. The East is already booty cheeks. What the **** is wrong with dudes nowadays?
:roll: :roll: :roll:

[G-train]

It's not wrong, it's not a problem in any way, shape or form. But don't compare it to Michael bringing in role players, Jordan didn't bring in Olajuwon.

Is it wrong? No. Not at all. But if you stack the deck, people give you less credit. If we play each other a game and i stack the odds in my favor, is my win as impressive?

If organisations are playing the same game, and one plays it better than the other, they deserve more credit.

The Heat went and got James and Bosh to join Miami.
The Knicks went and got Amare, Melo and Chandler.

The NBA is about organisations, they win games and championships, not just players.
Players are only a part of the game.

[coin24]

Melo is about the $ won't happen.

He's not a pin d.ick beta like bran.

[ClutchOver9000]

Highly doubt that'll happen.

For one, LBJ, Wade and Bosh would have to take drastic pay cuts.

Secondly, Melo doesn't strike me as the type of guy to ring chase on a team which already consists of LeBron (his rival since high school...at least in Melo's mind), and fellow 03 draftmates in Wade and Bosh.

For all the slack he gets, some of it well deserved, the guy comes off as a competitor and its clear as day he has a huge ego as most superstars do.

Melo wants to win badly but he wants to win as THE MAN. Or at least as part of a super duo and if he went to Miami and won titles there, even if he was the 2nd best player, he'll always be discredited by the presence of Wade and Bosh who were there before him and won without him.

So like I said, I highly doubt this happens but I could be wrong.

And if by some chance it did happen? I would lose respect for all of them (LeBron especially) and I'd probably stop watching the NBA.

Melo and LeBron's games fit far better than LeBron and Wade do. It'd be utterly ridiculous.

[NASH = BEST]

Stein & Windhorst: Miami planning to chase Melo to create Big 4

F.A.G.S!

[Mrofir]

I think this is an attempt to put pressure on Wade to lower his expectations in negotiations. The only scenario where Melo joins Miami is if Wade leaves first.

[All Net]

Over for everybody else for a while then... Certainly in the East.

[bdreason]

People give Kobe shit (including myself) for taking a huge contract late in his career... but at least he's not taking paycuts to team up with his rivals.

[JT123]

People give Kobe shit (including myself) for taking a huge contract late in his career... but at least he's not taking paycuts to team up with his rivals.
Only Melo and Lebron aren't rivals. They have only met in the playoffs once, and Melo's team had no chance. You can only be rivals if you regularly meet in the playoffs, and each player/team has a legit chance of beating the other.

[bdreason]

Only Melo and Lebron aren't rivals. They have only met in the playoffs once, and Melo's team had no chance. You can only be rivals if you regularly meet in the playoffs, and each player/team has a legit chance of beating the other.


You're arguing semantics. It's hard to develop rivalries when you team up with your toughest opponents in your prime.


LeBron vs. Wade could have been a rivalry, for example. Imagine if just Wade and Bosh team up in Miami, and they face off against LeBron in the ECF's for a couple seasons. That's what people want to see. The best players in the World trying to beat each other.

[SamuraiSWISH]

More help. They apparently need it. This SOFT AF generation. Embarrassing.

[Eye Test]

Would anyone take the rings they win seriously?? :roll: :roll:

their current ones are a joke, can't imagine it going lower tbh

[Kingwillball]

Funny thing is the Heat would still be small and get wrecked on Boards and defense would not be that great. I rather get a Real Center that can rebound block shots and an upgrade at PG.

[SamuraiSWISH]

Funny thing is the Heat would still be small and get wrecked on Boards and defense would not be that great. I rather get a Real Center that can rebound block shots and an upgrade at PG.
Um doesn't matter when you have 4 out of the 5 starters for the Eastern Conference All-Star Team. LeBron can worry about rebounding when he has Wade, Melo, and Bosh to handle all that elite caliber scoring. Damn, can't believe any self respecting LeBron fan would want to see this happen.

[Kingwillball]

Um doesn't matter when you have 4 out of the 5 starters for the Eastern Conference All-Star Team. LeBron can worry about rebounding when he has Wade, Melo, and Bosh to handle all that elite caliber scoring. Damn, can't believe any self respecting LeBron fan would want to see this happen.


I said I rather get a Center or PG. In fact I would trade Bosh in a heartbeat for example Ariza and Gortat. Solves 2 problems adds another wing defender who can knock down shots and run fast break and Gortat can give U 15 and 10 any night. with that said I hope Miami lets Chalmers walk and find a replacement that actually HELPS team.

[Im Still Ballin]

YES!

Taking fate into their own hands. Bold. Smart. Savvy. That's the Lebron way, shock the world baby!

[R.I.P.]

I think this is wishful thinking on your part, though I do admire your creativity.

That

[JT123]

Um doesn't matter when you have 4 out of the 5 starters for the Eastern Conference All-Star Team. LeBron can worry about rebounding when he has Wade, Melo, and Bosh to handle all that elite caliber scoring. Damn, can't believe any self respecting LeBron fan would want to see this happen.
Do you even watch the Heat? :biggums: Wade can barely play half of a season, and Bosh can't be relied on whatsoever when it comes to scoring. Remember, this man scored ZERO points in game 7 of the Finals! :facepalm

[Im Still Ballin]

Do you even watch the Heat? :biggums: Wade can barely play half of a season, and Bosh can't be relied on whatsoever when it comes to scoring. Remember, this man scored ZERO points in game 7 of the Finals! :facepalm
THIS!

Miami cavaliers baby.

[SamuraiSWISH]

Wade can barely play half of a season
You mean they purposefully rested him for the playoffs? That's how convenient given how stacked they are, and how utterly weak the Eastern Confernce has become. You're seriously insinuating those two aren't still great ball players? Bosh just hit the game winning 3 point in game 2. A power forward !!!

[JT123]

You're arguing semantics. It's hard to develop rivalries when you team up with your toughest opponents in your prime.


LeBron vs. Wade could have been a rivalry, for example. Imagine if just Wade and Bosh team up in Miami, and they face off against LeBron in the ECF's for a couple seasons. That's what people want to see. The best players in the World trying to beat each other.
How could they have had a rivalry when Boston kept knocking both teams out of the playoffs before they could face each other? Wade and Lebron had to team up just to give the Celtics a challenge. Bron and Wade are good, but not good enough to beat 4 future Hall of Famers by themselves.

[Ne 1]

You're arguing semantics. It's hard to develop rivalries when you team up with your toughest opponents in your prime.


LeBron vs. Wade could have been a rivalry, for example. Imagine if just Wade and Bosh team up in Miami, and they face off against LeBron in the ECF's for a couple seasons. That's what people want to see. The best players in the World trying to beat each other.
That was the biggest tragedy in the whole "decision" fiasco....the fact we would never see this again:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjOznE7ILek
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA0ryRXA7eo

The best match-up in the league was forever gone.

LeBron vs Wade in the ECF every year would have been an unbelievable rivalry. The gutless clown has no competitive spirit, he didn't even want to beat his contemporaries but chose the easiest path.

[JT123]

You mean they purposefully rested him for the playoffs? That's how convenient given how stacked they are, and how utterly weak the Eastern Confernce has become. You're seriously insinuating those two aren't still great ball players? Bosh just hit the game winning 3 point in game 2. A power forward !!!
Wade is 32 years old, yet the Heat have to rest him as if he is 42. He can't be relied on, plain and simple. He had a perfect opportunity to prove himself when Lebron cramped up in game 1, but instead he completely disappeared. And LOL at you trying to make a huge deal out of Bosh hitting a WIDE OPEN shot! Bosh can not score on his own anymore, and like I pointed out earlier, ZERO points in game 7 of the Finals!

[Trentknicks]

Would be hilarious, the online meltdowns would be well worth it.

[BoutPractice]

To all those who say they would stop watching the league... :lol I just love the complete hypocrisy and lack of self-awareness.

I guarantee you, every single one of you will be fuming in front of the TV while next year's "Team America" is getting blown out. Every missed shot by the Heat, every shot made by the underdog will put you in a state of quasi ecstasy. The truth is, you need this hatred.

With that said... this move makes me a bit worried. It's not about the LeBron per se, not even the Heat, it's about the system. I wouldn't be opposed to another lockout if they can actually change things this time and not reduce the season too much (or at all).

The NBA's "socialism" has always been an advantage over other leagues, I think they should embrace it and complement market value with indexes that represent real player value, preventing teams from accumulating too many stars. I also would think seriously about contracting the league so that this rule doesn't lead to too many terrible one-man shows like in the 2000s.

My ideal NBA has 7-8 "potential contenders", each with 2 or 3 stars.

[ihoopallday]

Wouldn't even be interesting to watch the NBA if this actually happened. But we all know it won't, so I'll sleep well tonight. :cheers:

[Mr Feeny]

If this happens, Melo would get DESTROYED in the media for bandwagoning to the highest level, I can't imagine anyone taking rings that they could possibly win seriously.

Pierce, Kg, and Allen set the precedent. You should know this.
Cry me a river:oldlol:

[Marlo_Stanfield]

would be nice.
but only if Wade becomes 6th man or retires.
dude is hot garbage these days:coleman:

[Mr Feeny]

would be nice.
but only if Wade becomes 6th man or retires.
dude is hot garbage these days:coleman:

Tbf Manny Paq is even more garbage these days

[Ratnik]

I hope this happens just for the hell of it :applause:

[Blue&Orange]

That espn retard math skills are top notch. There's like ZERO chance of happening.

But it would be hilarious to see Lebron take a bigger paycut after whining he never had a max contrat after he took a paycut :lol :roll: :lol

Leidiot.


LEbron going back to the cavs, why do you guys think NBA kept gifting the cavs with n

[ABG]

please god no.

[Trollsmasher]

makes no goddamn sense

Melo is like the last thing this team needs:facepalm

[All Net]

makes no goddamn sense

Melo is like the last thing this team needs:facepalm
They need more scoring, so he's exactly what they need.

[Shade8780]

Spurs would still beat them.

[Ne 1]

Pierce, Kg, and Allen set the precedent. You should know this.
Cry me a river:oldlol:
Not really. That's kinda like saying Hakeem, Drexler and Barkley set the precedent. Use context. Boston's big 3 were past their respective primes and they were older. Also, Boston's trio was formed by Ainge through trades, they didn't collude to team up. And none of those guys were considered to be the best players in the league in '08. The reason LeBron is criticized was because he jumped ship to another guys team who was pretty much just as good as him and measured against him along with another top PF/top 15 perennial All-Star.

[Warfan]

They need more scoring, so he's exactly what they need.
Nah they need younger defenders (would help if they were good shooters) more than a scorer. They already have a great offense, it's their defense that's gonna need to be improved. Especially since most of their key role players are really old.

[niko]

I doubt they all take the half contracts they'd need to. Seems they have even more salary than i thought. They'd need to take $13M each. Good luck wiht that.

[Ne 1]

"Winning is all that matter." Is winning truly the only reason we play the game? Is winning the only reason we watch? Is there any point where winning no longer holds the same meaning?

For me, winning is not universal. For instance, to play an extreme, I don't roam around looking for teams of fifth graders to defeat in pickup games because "you play to win the game." That's because winning would have no meaning. Me and my fellow basketball playing adults would be stomping out inferior competition. The talent chasm is not that wide in the NBA, but I believe a self-made Dream Team would nearly make it so. If Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Chris Bosh, and Dwight Howard teamed up, I do not believe winning would hold the same weight. I like when winning is a sign of battle, duking it out against a worthy competitor and emerging on top. At some point of team stacking, that no longer remains so. Where that point is, remains up for discussion.

[Andrei89]

:banana: :banana: :banana: :banana: :banana:

Am I supposed to be upset about this?

Not gonna happen though..

[morbius]

If they do this Silver should force the franchise name change to Miami Cowards.

[HOoopCityJones]

If they do this Silver should force the franchise name change to Miami Cowards.

What he needs to do is give the Lakers back CP3.

This is bullshit.

[mistergreens]

There is no way this will happen.

[JohnnySic]

I hope this happens, it would be hilarious. In fact I hope they do another informercial if it does happen. Not one, not two, not three, not four...

[LakersFan626]

Or...... It's be like having Phil, Shaq, Kobe...... and then getting Payton and Malone.

OLD Gary Payton and OLD Karl Malone. HUGE difference. This is PRIME Melo. And besides, how would this work? Melo's a ball stopper and an inefficient volume scorer who's a HUGE choker and doesn't do much else besides score (like Durant who you complain about, except that Durant's efficient and Westbrook stops the ball for him), and he'll be on a team with another ball-dominant forward, a declining shooting guard with no jumper, and a very soft big man who shoots jumpers. Add to that a VERY low IQ point guard. They need to fix their DEFENSE and get a real big like Kevin Love to help with rebounding, as it's been exposed against the Spurs after the mirage against offensive juggernauts like the Pacers, Nets, and Bobcats. Defense wins championships instead of offense, or else Nash would have many rings instead of Duncan (who was on DEFENSIVE teams), being on D'Antoni and Don Nelson teams throughout his prime.

I know you're a Heat fan, but come on, that statement was just grasping at straws. That Lakers year was Malone's 19th season!

[Mr Feeny]

Not really. That's kinda like saying Hakeem, Drexler and Barkley set the precedent. Use context. Boston's big 3 were past their respective primes and they were older. Also, Boston's trio was formed by Ainge through trades, they didn't collude to team up. And none of those guys were considered to be the best players in the league in '08. The reason LeBron is criticized was because he jumped ship to another guys team who was pretty much just as good as him and measured against him along with another top PF/top 15 perennial All-Star.


NOBODY was as good as Lebron in 2010.You're straight up delusional if you think Lebron joined 'somebody as good as him' in order to win. He needed some help. Not everyone has a Shaq, or a Gasol who bails him out in game 7's:no:

[sfballa13]

They could sign and trade Bosh to Houston, his home state, if he is not interested in taking a pay cut

Terrence Jones, Lin, Asik for Bosh

Lin - Wade - Bron - Melo - Asik
Cole - Allen - Jones off the bench

[D-Rose]

Anyone here have ESPN insider?
http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/11070401/could-miami-heat-really-afford-big-four-nba

Amin Elhassan breaks down how the cap would work out.

[D-Rose]

People give Kobe shit (including myself) for taking a huge contract late in his career... but at least he's not taking paycuts to team up with his rivals.
I would say though, as a lifelong Kobe and Lakers fan, he screwed us over with that contract. I mean, he always said that winning was the most important thing to him. It's his right to get that deal, but as Jurgen Klinsmann said, at this point he doesn't deserve it. If there wasn't a cap, I wouldn't care if we paid him a billion dollars....but a 35 year old coming off 2 injury riddled seasons is taking up a large majority of the cap :facepalm Cmon Kobe, could have done it like Duncan, Dirk (this offseason will), KG, etc.

Kobe right now:
http://img1.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20130709224458/epicrapbattlesofhistory/images/thumb/1/14/Scrooge-mcduck.jpg/640px-Scrooge-mcduck.jpg

[oh the horror]

IMO Kobe should have been paid like 10-12 mil.

[Rose'sACL]

The irony is that Celtics fans are against this. Lakers and Celtics fans should really not be against this. If this happens then bulls, Knicks,Lakers and Celtics fans should be ashamed of their big market team doing worse than a mid-small market team like Miami.

[ZHAKIDD532]

So how's this gonna work? Pat Riley is gonna go up to Chris Bosh and hand him a #9 jersey and be like, "Congratulations Chris, you're the new Rashard Lewis" ???