“It’s not going to heal in a week or a couple days or two weeks,” Anthony said after finishing with 21 points, six rebounds and seven assists in 35 minutes in Sunday’s loss to the Denver Nuggets. “What I had done, the procedure I had done, is going to take time to heal.”
and
Anthony’s surgically repaired left knee has already cost him seven games this season while robbing him of a quick first step and any explosiveness at the rim. The Knicks have copped to giving Anthony one MRI but according to a team source, Anthony has had two MRIs in the past three weeks so the concern over his long-term health is very real. “Today, it wasn’t that sore,” Anthony said. “I think the couple of days off helped.”
-Tobias Harris "is available"
-Miami interested in Rudy Gay
Melo is going to have to grit it out. Seems like he's expected to be better next season -- this is just the natural healing time. I wouldnt run him too hard. Season is mostly over IMO. ESPN gives us .7% chance for the playoffs, BBR gives us 1.6%.
I was actually hoping Melo would leave via sign and trade and the Knicks would blow it up. In fairness I didn't expect whomever we got in the draft to be "this good" but I wasn't pro-keeping Melo personally.
Summer 2015; 2015-16 season: Jordan, Monroe, and Aldridge still turn us down. Not clear if Rolo and AA want to sign here. Knicks either overpay worse players, or go into tank mode in a season where DEN/TOR owns their #1. Yay! The rookie gets brutalized with no lineup protection.
Summer 2016, 2016-17 season: Shitty roster plus KP/Towns/Okafor/Russell. Durant, Horford dont even take meetings here. No #1 pick. Nothing to trade. Year 2 of watching the grass dry as the rookies develop.
Summer of 2017; 2017-18 season: Knicks land no one in UFA. Cap is $109 million, and every good UFA can sign with the dozen good teams that will get them to the playoffs. KP continues to develop (sinking our chances of a top 3 pick); Grant too, or not -- maybe he never fixes his shot/finish.
Can someone paint me a realistic, optimistic script where Melo leaves and we're better off for it?
ESPN sources say that the Knicks have fired coach Derek Fisher
-SethFromAstoria
In any event, Rolo, Afflalo, rookie KP = terrible. Arent we like 0-8 or 0-9 without Melo? Is there a realistic counterfactual you can think of where we're somehow better off during/after 2014-15, 15-16, and 16-17 with KP + whatever free agents our Melo-less roster draws? Because I cant, and that is primarily my point: letting Melo walk may have made sense in a vacuum but not in real life.