Carmelo Anthony interested in Celtics?
Whoa, whoa, whoa. Carmelo Anthony might want to join the Celtics when (if) he becomes a free agent? (Peter Vecsey, New York Post)
I’m admittedly slow on the uptake, but Anthony gave me the impression he’s singularly interested in playing for a team in the habit of inhabiting first place and bedding championships — you know, like the Lakers, Celtics and Spurs.
So, I was not all that surprised when Anthony revealed to The Post he has not expunged any of those three teams from his bottomless pit of gaping options.
However, I must confess to being a bit floored when Brooklyn’s gift to Baltimore (the borough’s 18-year-negotiation for Skip Wise as compensation is rumored on The Corners to be almost resolved) again divulged to The Post he has not ruled out his home team as a possible landing zone.
Don’t reach for your spectacles, you got that right; the Knicks remain a viable option. I repeat, a viable option.
Okay, so Carmelo’s a pipe dream. The Celtics are just one of many teams that haven’t been “expunged from his bottomless pit of gaping options.” If he did agree to play for the Celtics, Carmelo would likely have to sign for the mid-level exception. The Celtics have few trade pieces to lure Anthony, and barring big moves they will have no cap space this summer.
If Anthony did sign for the mid-level — and it’s possible even if it’s about as probable as me dunking a basketball (I’m a 6’1″ white boy with a credit card vertical) — he would be turning down millions and millions of dollars. The Nuggets have already offered Anthony a contract extension worth about $22 million per year for three years. The mid-level exception is about $6 million per year, so Anthony would have to be willing to turn down about $16 million per year to play in Boston.
Is that possible? Yes. But come on, let’s be serious. Why would Anthony sign in Boston, for the mid-level exception, to play alongside Rajon Rondo and three aging stars on their way out of the NBA, when he could probably just sign in New York to play with Amare Stoudemire and Chris Paul? It doesn’t make sense, unless the thought of playing alongside Rondo is worth $16 million per year. And if I were Carmelo, the thought of playing alongside God himself wouldn’t even be worth $16 million.
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Celtics Blog | Jay King | November 16, 2010
why would he sign with the celtics when paul pierce is clearly not coming off the bench until his contract expires? there’s no way this is happening… it’s kind of easy to find players who fit with rondo for the future anyway… just keep perk for defense and bring in a bunch of scorers…
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As much as I would LOVE to see Carmelo in a C’s jersey, and as much as I think ’15 assists a night’ Rondo feeding a hungry scoring machine like Melo would be the closest I’ll ever get to heaven it’s like richard said, Pierce ain’t moving. He’s my second favorite baller to watch in the L and the way he puts the ball on the floor and goes to the hoop is perfection, but there’s no possible starting position for him to occupy on the Celtics and unless he’s just suddenly, maniacally obsessed with winning a championship THIS YEAR I don’t see him turning down boatloads of money AND coming off the bench. I don’t think a championship ring shines as brightly to a star like Melo when they didn’t earn it as a starter.
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“Just keep Perk for defense and bring in a bunch of scorers.”
If only it were that easy. This, again, is about as likely as me getting struck by lightning as I write this comment. And it’s not even thundering and lightning right now.
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Don’t give up hope on this. He might sacrifice one year knowing he could get multiple years at $20M/per. The Celtics have a tradition that the Knicks wish they had. I could totally see him sign to play with Boston and enjoy a year with the current Big 3 and Shaq and JO and then become the face, with Rondo, of the next great Celtics run. He already has money and now he wants rings. He won a championship at SU so he already knows how great that level of being on top is. And so what if PP came off the bench? If he wants to play 5 more years then at some point he is going to have to. Or RA off the bench. Now that would be a line-up to salivate over. Go Cs…
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Why would he sign with Boston then he would get yelled at every play for not playing defense.
Carmelo is a pretender not a contender he will never win a championship he never plays defense ever. I would be disappointed if the Celtics let Carmelo on the team he is the exact opposite of what a Celtic is.
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There was a neat column in the New York Times saying the Knicks should not go after Anthony. I guess it’s better to have your future in the hands of Wilson Chandler and Danilo Gallinari.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/16/sports/basketball/16beck.html?_r=1&ref=sports
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Nate…
Maybe his defense lapses are because the culture in Denver is to not play defense but to out score opponents? He certainly played defense at SU otherwise Boeheim would have had his ass on the bench. The culture with the Celtics is defense first and that is why they win championships. They wouldn’t sign him, if it ever gets that close, unless he buys into their way of playing ball. I’d take him in a flash. Go Cs…
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If I was any great player with out a winning tradition or championships, I would love to play with a organization like Boston and a point guard like Rondo.
Any good player who plays with Rondo is going to put up good numbers and be with a good defensive team.
If the Celtics can find a great offensive player or a solid big guy, they’ll stay in the mix for a while until the Big 3 start to decline or come of the bench.
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@James:
In Anthony’s seven full seasons, the Nuggets’ average defensive efficiency rank has been 11th in the league (13, 8, 13, 11, 10, 8 16).
Not a defensive powerhouse, no, but hanging near to the top-third of the league with three top-10 finishes.
Thanks for playing.
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I did not know that Denver was ranked that high in team defense. But his 22 rebounds last night are 18 more than PP & RA combined have had in the last 2 games. Of those 22, 15 were on the defensive side. In fact in the Celtics last 2 games their 5 starters collected 24 rebs in each game (Heat & Grizzlies) by comparison to one guy getting 22 in only 38 mins in 1 game (Suns). I’d still take him anyday as a Celtic. Go Cs…
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It’s a pipe dream at the moment guys, I live in Colorado and have been listening to the sports talk radio lately and there hasn’t been one mention of the Celtics when talking about Melo. Maybe down the road, if the Knicks decide not to pull the trigger… but right now its not even worth wasting the saliva over. It is funny how all the sport heads out here talk about melo like he is already gone though. A sad year for sports fans in general out here in the Mountains. I’m so lucky to be from MA and actually have quality teams to root for any given day.
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Anthony in my mind is the single most over-rated player in the NBA. His efficiency numbers are awful, he shoots too much, and he’s a black hole of offense.
Don’t get me wrong, he’s immensely talented, and when Rondo’s finding you the shots rather than you having to create everything on your own, I don’t doubt he’d be an entirely different player in Boston.
But how do he and Pierce co-exist? They happen to play the same position, and something tells me Pierce isn’t going to be thrilled about coming off the bench anytime soon.
If we want to talk pipe dreams about Elite players in green, then let’s talk Dwight Howard… I have dreams about Rondo penetrating defenses and throwing up alley oops to him in 2013…
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