NBA Trade Speculation: How Would a Paul/'Melo/Amar'e New York Knicks Team Fare?

Like many New York rumors, this story starts with a wedding toast. Chris Paul toasted Carmelo Anthony at his wedding, allegedly saying, "We'll start our own Big Three" under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden. With Carmelo now in New York, Knicks fans are convinced that CP3 is next in line. Of course they forget that the Hornets would rather not be screwed, but that's irrelevant. 

So let's pretend New Orleans has a mental meltdown and thinks Shawne Williams is the key to their championship puzzle, and the Big Three comes together in the Empire State. Would this team work together? Would they be a top-three team in the league? 

I don't think so. 

Exhibit A

How is this team supposed to win a championship when it's a poor man's version of Miami? A Miami team that, I may add, that did not win a title. Let's compare the Big Threes player by player. 

LeBron James is a better player than Chris Paul is. Some of you may disagree because of his finals appearance, but I think it's undeniable. If New Orleans traded Paul for LeBron, would they win more games next year? Of course they would. LeBron is better.

Dwyane Wade is a better player than Carmelo Anthony is. In fact, he's better in almost every way. Wade dominates Anthony in terms of ball-handling, passing, defense, efficiency and intangibles. They are on par in terms of scoring. Carmelo takes rebounding by a hair due to the sole fact that he is four inches taller than Wade. It really shouldn't be an argument either: Wade is better than Anthony.

It's true, Amar'e is better than Chris Bosh, but not by as much as you may think. STAT dominated Bosh in scoring this year, but Bosh is a better rebounder and he plays defense, which is more than Stoudemire can say. Amar'e is better at one thing; Bosh is more complete. Ultimately though, yes, Amar'e is better than Bosh.

So what you're left with is that two of the NY Big Three are undeniably worse than the Heat's and the third member is only marginally better. Miami did not win the title this year, and they're not going away. So how could New York expect to top Miami?

Exhibit B

Injuries kill momentum, and this team is poised to have multiple injuries.

Paul is a player who has been limited for a year by a nagging knee injury. It's not something that you really have to worry about in terms of missing games, but it will absolutely have an effect on his performance, especially in an up-tempo system.

Stoudemire's injuries need no introduction. STAT missed almost a whole season with microfracture knee surgery, one of the most devastating surgeries for basketball players. Of course, Amar'e is the success story, but you always have be a little wary of his knees. While he has been fine for the past few years, it is known that his knees will eventually fall apart. If knees aren't bad enough, try not to remember Amar'e's back injuries during this year's playoffs.

'Melo isn't as much of an injury concern as the other two, but tends to miss a couple games a year for various reasons anyway.

For most teams, injuries just mean that the team has to step up and try and fill that player's role. This team, however, has no depth available to fill the gaps. If one of these players gets hurt against an above-average opponent, do the Knicks have a chance?  

Exhibit C

When you see this team, this is it. To get a sense of the team, let's assume that after the trade, the Knicks have no Chauncey Billups, Landry Fields, Bill Walker or Toney Douglas. Let's also assume that Chris Paul was signed to an extension. 

After these moves, you are left with a roster of 'Melo, Amar'e, CP3, Ronny Turiaf, Renaldo Balkman, Derrick Brown, Iman Shumpert, Josh Harrellson and Andy Rautins. For those of you keeping track at home—yes, that list includes two players yet to play an NBA game and three others who averaged less than 10 minutes a game last year. 

So right now, your supporting cast is making Miami's supporting cast look like the '86 Celtics, but the Knicks still have players they must pick up to meet roster limitations. The only substantial money they have to throw around is the MLE and minimum contracts. Absolute best-case scenario, the Knicks sign Jason Richardson with the MLE to be the starting 2-guard and then fill out the rest of the roster with minimum guys. 

However, this still makes the team more shallow than a high school cheerleader, and with no means available to improve the team. To top things off, the Knicks won't have a frontcourt player on the roster that can play defense effectively. New York's only hope is that title-chasing vets become disoriented and forget the "title-chasing" in their name. 

Exhibit D

The pieces really don't fit together so well in New York. All three guys need the ball in their hands to be effective, and there's only one ball to go around.

Of course Paul, being the great distributor that he is, can make Amar'e's job much much easier, but he really can't do much for 'Melo. Anthony is a player who stops the ball and has to make his moves in order to play his game. Paul can't help him with that, and it limits the other two whenever he has the ball. 

The beauty and success of the Boston Celtics was because the pieces fit together. Kevin Garnett was the player who was the backbone of the defense; Paul Pierce was the isolation scorer who took over when necessary; Ray Allen was the spacer who made everyone's job easier. 

There isn't a player on New York's roster that can be the backbone of the defense. Two of the players are isolation scorers exclusively, and the third is the point guard who should have the ball. No player on the roster can space the floor effectively enough for the Big Three to do their job. All in all, this team fits like Miami, only with worse players. 

Bottom Line

Even if every GM loses their mind and gives away pieces, the Knicks still aren't good enough to win a title. And fans are forgetting how hard it really is to even make this team happen. The Knicks have no assets to speak of and no chance of signing Paul due to the monster deals for Amar'e and 'Melo.

Overall, it's just not a viable move for the Knicks.