Carmelo Anthony Trade: Power Ranking the Top Starting Lineups With Melo
The Carmelo Anthony saga continues. With no deal in place, there is no shortage of rumors or possibilities. "What could be" is always an intriguing question. A player of Carmelo’s stature could bring wins or roster chaos. Let’s examine some of his possible destinations and see where he fits.
7: New Jersey Nets
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This is the hot one right now.
The Nets were near completion of a four team trade when talks collapsed. The Nets would have sent up and coming point guard Devin Harris out of New Jersey. Here is some idea of what the lineup would have looked like.
PG - Jordan Farmar
SG - Terrence Williams
SF - Carmelo Anthony
PF - Troy Murphy
C - Brook Lopez
At face value this is an eight-seed team at best.
While having one of the best scorers in the game is handy, the rest of the team is unproven. Brook Lopez has shown that he has the tools to be one of the best big men in the game. However, it is much to early to rely on him as the second best player on your team.
Jordan Farmar has yet to prove that he can lead the team on a consistent basis and there are holes at the two and four positions. The Nets could win some playoff games with Carmelo Anthony, just not this year.
6: New York Knicks
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The Knicks have essentially trash to offer Denver. They would have to work in another team that wishes to dump Eddy Curry’s salary next year. Here is a potential first year lineup with Melo.
PG - Raymond Felton
SG - Kelenna Azubuike
SF - Carmelo Anthony
PF - Amare Stoudemire
C - Ronny Turiaf
You might think this looks like a playoff team. I submit to you the huge hole they would have at the center position. It remains to be seen if Turiaf would even be there. He may have to be shipped off with Curry.
Last I checked, you need a dominant center to win anything in the Association. This is especially true in the East where teams just got a whole hell of a lot better this season.
5: Chicago Bulls
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This is the other hot rumor going around.
Chicago missed out on LeBron and would want nothing more than to snag the second best player from the 2003 draft. The problem is they would have to part with not only Luol Deng, but one of their best players in Joakim Noah. Take a look.
PG - Derrek Rose
SG - Ronnie Brewer
SF - Carmelo Anthony
PF - Carlos Boozer
C - Kurt Thomas
Carmelo is definitely an upgrade over Deng. But is it enough of one to lose out on production down low? Thomas is over-the-hill and that spot would need to be addressed immediately. Whatever the Bulls do get as a replacement would not necessarily plug the blaring weakness.
Teams would have their way with them down low. The Bulls would have little to no depth at the power forward and center positions and would be susceptible on the boards.
4: Los Angeles Lakers
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Here is one for the what could be column.
Among the teams Anthony would not mind going to is the Los Angeles Lakers. The fact that they are coming off back-to-back championships should preclude them from making any big changes. But just for funsies let’s take a gander.
PG - Derek Fisher
SG - Kobe Bryant
SF - Carmelo Anthony
PF - Ron Artest
C - Pau Gasol
The more you think about Bynum and his nagging injuries, the more you get the impression the Lakers brass wouldn't mind at least pondering a move. Los Angeles would have to get rid of either Bynum or Pau.
Instantly you can see their lineup may be just as good. However, remember they would most likely give up bench depth by shipping versatile Lamar Odom and/or others.
The Lakers would also be forced to go small with Artest at the four or trade him and keep Odom to start that position. The more we gab about it, the more I realize the move is to stay pat on what they have.
3: Los Angeles Clippers
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Another team spurned by LeBron. They shouldn't feel so bad, as they have to know they had no chance to land James.
How bad of an owner must Donald Sterling be if he makes Los Angeles an undesirable location for free agents? The Clippers would love to throw some ice on the Lake show and steal some thunder. The problem is they give up too much in a trade to matter afterwards.
PG - Baron Davis
SG - Randy Foye
SF - Carmelo Anthony
PF - Blake Griffin
C - DeAndre Jordan
This is assuming Denver would not insist on Blake Griffin. Otherwise the Clippers would be stuck with Carmelo Anthony and really nothing else. This is the best scenario after a Melo trade and even then it looks a bit suspect.
You downgrade from a future All-Star in Eric Gordan to Randy Foye. Foye could have some good years, but it is premature to expect much production.
The real issue comes at the center position. Even if they manage to keep Blake Griffin, he will have to do too much in the paint to make up for whatever slop they put at center.
2: Philadelphia 76ers
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This could be the most likely scenario to placate both sides. Philadelphia would basically have to give up Andre Iguodala and the Nuggets would then get a serviceable small forward. Though nowhere near the scoring threat that Melo is, Iggy is a consistent 18 points a night. You can also pencil him in to play 82 games a season.
PG - Jrue Holiday
SG - Evan Turner
SF - Carmelo Anthony
PF - Elton Brand
C - Marreese Speights
If they can initiate a sign and trade, the 76ers could be formidable for a number of years, especially with the upside of Holiday and Turner.
1: New Orleans Hornets
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Rumors surrounding Carmelo Anthony started back when Chris Paul made his demands to be traded.
It was at that point that we heard he would love to team up with Melo and Amare Stoudemire some day to rival Miami’s “Three Kings.”
With Stoudemire firmly placed at Madison Square Garden, this may be the next best thing. Could it work? The Hornets front office better show an attempt if they would like to retain the services of one of the game’s best point guards.
PG - Chris Paul
SG - Marcus Thornton
SF - Carmelo Anthony
PF - David West
C - Emeka Okafor
Now that’s a little more like it. A solid team front to back. Slipping Trevor Ariza to the bench adds depth as well. However, a small little hiccup. You would need to convince the Nuggets to re-build immediately.
They would have to buy into taking Peja Stojakovic’s expiring contract as a good thing. I doubt there is enough ganja in the world for this deal to happen.
