The Massive Melo Speculation Post: Part 5

Trade #1:

Denver gets: Jeff Green, James Harden, Stephen Jackson, DeSagana Diop, Matt Carroll, and Julian Wright's trade exception
New Orleans gets: Carmelo Anthony, Arron Afflalo, Boris Diaw
Oklahoma City gets: David West
Charlotte gets: Chauncey Billups, Marcus Thornton, Trevor Ariza, and $9M Peja Stojakovic's trade exception

Post trade rosters:

Denver Nuggets:
PG - Ty Lawson, Anthony Carter
SG - Stephen Jackson, James Harden, J.R. Smith
SF - Jeff Green, Gary Forbes
PF - Kenyon Martin, Al Harrington
C - Nene Hilario, Chris Andersen, DeSagana Diop

New Orleans Hornets:
PG - Chris Paul, Jarrett Jack
SG - Marco Belinelli, Willie Green, Arron Afflalo
SF - Carmelo Anthony, Quincy Pondexter
PF - Boris Diaw, Jason Smith, Pops Mensah-Bonsu
C - Emeka Okafor, Aaron Gray

Oklahoma City Thunder:
PG - Russell Westbrook, Eric Maynor
SG - Thabo Sefolosha, Daequan Cook
SF - Kevin Durant, Morris Peterson
PF - David West, Nick Collison, D.J. White
C - Serge Ibaka, Nenad Kristic, Byron Mullens

Charlotte Bobcats:
PG - Chauncey Billups, D.J. Augustin, Shaun Livingston
SG - Trevor Ariza, Marcus Thornton, Gerald Henderson
SF - Gerald Wallace, Dominic McGuire
PF - Tyrus Thomas, Edjuardo Najera
C - Nazr Mohammed, Kwame Brown


Trade #2:
Denver gets: Kevin Love, Martell Webster, Robin Lopez, and Earl Clark
Minnesota gets: O.J Mayo, Hedo Turkoglu
Phoenix gets: Carmelo Anthony
Memphis gets: Grant Hill

Post trade rosters:

Denver Nuggets:
PG - Chauncey Billups, Ty Lawson
SG - Arron Afflalo, J.R. Smith
SF - Martell Webster, Gary Forbes
PF - Kevin Love, Kenyon Martin, Al Harrington
C - Nene Hilario, Robin Lopez, Chris Andersen

Minnesota Timberwolves:
PG - Johnny Flynn, Luke Ridnour, Sebastian Telfair
SG - O.J. Mayo, Wes Johnson
SF - Hedo Turkoglu, Corey Brewer
PF - Michael Beasley, Anthony Tolliver
C - Darko Milicic, Nikola Pekovic, Kosta Koufos

Phoenix Suns:
PG - Steve Nash, Goran Dragic
SG - Jason Richardson, Josh Childress
SF - Carmelo Anthony, Jared Dudley, Gani Lawai
PF - Hakim Warrick, Earl Barron
C - Channing Frye, Garrett Siler

Memphis Grizzlies:
PG - Mike Conley, Greivis Vasquez
SG - Tony Allen, Xavier Henry, Sam Young
SF - Rudy Gay, Grant Hill
PF - Zach Randolph, Darrell Arthur
C - Marc Gasol, Hasheem Thabeet, Hamed Haddadi

Trade #3:
Denver gets: O.J. Mayo, Hedo Turkoglu, Spencer Hawes, Grant Hill, Robin Lopez
Philadelphia gets: Carmelo Anthony
Phoenix gets: Zach Randolph
Memphis gets: Andre Iguodala, J.R. Smith

Post trade rosters:

Denver Nuggets:
PG - Chauncey Billups, Ty Lawson
SG - O.J. Mayo, Arron Afflalo
SF - Hedo Turkoglu, Gary Forbes
PF - Nene Hilario, Kenyon Martin, Al Harrington, Shelden Williams
C - Spencer Hawes, Chris Andersen

Philadelphia 76ers:
PG - Jrue Holiday, Louis Williams
SG - Evan Turner, Jodie Meeks
SF - Carmelo Anthony, Andres Nocioni, Jason Kapono
PF - Elton Brand, Thaddeus Young, Darius Songaila
C - Marresse Speights, Tony Battie

Phoenix Suns:
PG - Steve Nash, Goran Dragic
SG - Jason Richardson, Josh Childress
SF - Jared Dudley, Earl Clark, Gani Lawai
PF - Zach Randolph, Hakim Warrick
C - Channing Frye, Earl Barron, Garrett Siler

Memphis Grizzlies:
PG - Mike Conley, Greivis Vasquez
SG - Andre Iguodala, J.R. Smith, Sam Young
SF - Rudy Gay, Tony Allen
PF - Darrell Arthur, DeMarr Carroll
C - Marc Gasol, Hasheem Thabeet, Hamed Haddadi

Trade #4:
Denver gets: Thaddeus Young, DeSagana Diop, Anthony Parker, J.J. Hickson, Jamario Moon
Cleveland gets: Andre Iguodala, Matt Carroll
Charlotte gets: Mo Williams
Philadelphia gets: Carmelo Anthony

Post trade rosters:

Denver Nuggets:
PG - Chauncey Billups, Ty Lawson
SG - Arron Afflalo, J.R. Smith
SF - Jamario Moon, Thaddeus Young, Gary Forbes
PF - J.J. Hickson, Kenyon Martin, Al Harrington
C - Nene Hilario, Chris Andersen

Cleveland Cavaliers:
PG - Ramon Sessions, Daniel Gibson
SG - Andre Iguodala, Christian Eyenga, Manny Harris
SF - Antawn Jamison, Joey Graham, Jawad Williams
PF - Anderson Varejao, Leon Powe, Samardo Samuels
C - Ryan Hollins

Charlotte Bobcats:
PG - Mo Williams, D.J. Augustin, Shaun Livingston
SG - Stephen Jackson, Gerald Henderson
SF - Gerald Wallace, Dominic McGuire
PF - Boris Diaw, Tyrus Thomas, Edjuardo Najera
C - Nazr Mohammed, Kwame Brown

Philadelphia 76ers:
PG - Jrue Holiday, Louis Williams
SG - Evan Turner, Jodie Meeks
SF - Carmelo Anthony, Andres Nocioni, Jason Kapono
PF - Elton Brand, Marresse Speights, Darius Songaila
C - Spencer Hawes, Tony Battie


Trade #5:
Denver gets: Marcin Gortat, Brandon Bass, Martell Webster, Corey Brewer, Nick Young
Orlando gets: Carmelo Anthony, Kevin Love, J.R. Smith
Minnesota gets: Gilbert Arenas, Mickael Pietrus
Washington gets: Rashard Lewis

Post trade rosters:

Denver Nuggets:
PG - Chauncey Billups, Ty Lawson
SG - Arron Afflalo, Nick Young
SF - Martell Webster, Corey Brewer, Gary Forbes
PF - Nene Hilario, Brandon Bass, Al Harrington
C - Marcin Gortat, Chris Andersen

Orlando Magic:
PG - Jameer Nelson, Chris Duhon, Jason Williams
SG - Vince Carter, J.J. Redick, J.R. Smith
SF - Carmelo Anthony, Quentin Richardson
PF - Kevin Love, Ryan Anderson
C - Dwight Howard, Daniel Orton

Minnesota Timberwolves:
PG - Johnny Flynn, Luke Ridnour, Sebastian Telfair
SG - Gilbert Arenas, Wayne Ellington
SF - Mickael Pietrus, Wes Johnson
PF - Michael Beasley, Anthony Tolliver
C - Darko Milicic, Nikola Pekovic, Kosta Koufos

Washington Wizards:
PG - John Wall
SG - Kirk Hinrich, Alonzo Gee, Cartier Martin
SF - Rashard Lewis, Josh Howard, Al Thornton
PF - Andray Blatche, Yi Jianlian
C - JeVale McGee, Hilton Armstrong, Trevor Booker

Playing Like a Super Star: It's not just in the numbers

You knew I would get to this eventually.  I just had to, there's so much to write about here.  Really.  The Miami Heat are now 10-8 after a much needed win against a dismal Washington Wizard's squad.  10-8.  That puts them smack between Chicago (9-6) and Indiana (8-7), 5th overall in the Eastern Conference, which is exactly where they were last season 5th in the Easter Conference.  We're talking about a team that replaced Dorrell Wright, Michael Beasley, Quentin Richardson, and Jermaine O'Neal with LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Mike Miller, and Zydrunas Ilgauskas.  Okay, so Miller has yet to play a game, Haslem is out for the season, but really?  This is the team we were itching to break the 1996 Chicago Bulls' 72-10 record?  I mean, sure they can win 63 of the next 64 and do that...  Seriously though.

You can gripe all you want about how Miami doesn't have that defensive minded point guard they need (read: George Hill), how they don't have a real center that can live off of crashing the boards (read: Tyson Chandler), etc... What does it ultimately come down to though?  The Miami Heat aren't a good team.  Don't get me wrong, they are a team with awesome players, this is the makings of some broken roster on some version of an NBA basketball game or another, but the difference between reality and the video game is that you can't "manufacture" team play.  If I know specifically what crossover leads me to an easy dunk, and I can hit cutters with anybody, sure, I'll average 10 assists a piece for both LeBron and Wade, heck, I'll have Udonis Haslem and Mike Miller averaging 20 points a game each.  Chris Bosh will average 25 ppg on 80% shooting.  I can do that all on a video game.  So far though, as we've seen, the lineup of random PG, Dwayne Wade, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, random C isn't working, but it should, right?

Outside of Chris Bosh (who's really just put up a lot of flashy numbers on a really bad team), no one can deny the mercurial talents that are Dwayne Wade and LeBron James.  They've consistently led mediocre teams into the playoffs year after year, and in 2006 (with the help of Shaq) Wade got a ring, and in 2007 James stunned the world by taking a less-than-mediocre Cavaliers (when Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Drew Gooden are your 2nd and 3rd leading scorers you are less than mediocre) to the Finals.  So you figure, when you put the perennial All-Star starting SG, SF, and PF together on one team you get awesomeness right?  I mean, it sort of worked with Boston, right?  or maybe we were just expecting awesomeness to just by bringing three awesome players together?  Well, look at how Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson ended up.  Sure they both averaged 25 ppg but Denver was still a pretty dismal team.

I think because of how good these players are, and how bad of a team they were on, and how far they took those bad teams (that and the fact that those teams, save maybe the 2006 Miami Heat, arguably, were never good with these players), we often overlook what it takes for a star of any caliber to help his team succeed.  The same scrutiny that Kobe Bryant endured sharing a starting lineup with Smush Parker and Chris Mihm.  In order for the Heat to succeed, they can't be just doing whatever it is they've been doing, i.e. chuck LeBron James/Dwayne Wade the ball and hope something good comes out of it.  Certainly not having any confidence in Mario Chalmers/Carlos Arroyo/Zydrunas Ilgauskas/Joel Anthony doesn't help, but frankly, they need more of an option than "give the best player on the floor the ball".  While Phil Jackson has been gifted with stellar talent like Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, why do his teams win?  Because Kobe/Michael "taking over" is more of a last resort than primary plan of attack.  We can argue all we want about both LeBron and Wade needing the ball in his hands to be effective, but at the end of the day 2 points is 2 points right?  It shouldn't matter if it's LeBron James or James Jones that scores 30 so long as Miami comes out with the win, right?  That's they're job as basketball players, to win.  We all believe that Wade and LeBron are a better pair than Iverson and Melo, why?  Because we still think Wade and LeBron do more than just score, and they've shown that they can (albeit in flashes, because they've been asked to score so much). 

Where am I going with all this?  First, the Heat need to understand what they are good at.  Does this mean moving without the ball?  Gasp! What a novel idea?  Ball movement?  Who would've thought!  Between LeBron and Wade there are enough handles where it shouldn't matter who the PG is.  If neither one wants those duties then you have to be willing to work within the system you have and not just hang around the triple threat zone waiting for your turn to go off.  Ultimately what it boils down to is this, as good as you are, as the star of your team, you're not going to win if you don't make your teammates better.  It's an intangible that's hard to measure or sometimes even point to, but ultimately, your team, your system, which is based around your star, has to make your other players play better than they would otherwise.  Sure Erik Spoelstra is doing his job in trying to motivate the team, but the person who ultimately does that is the best player on the team.  A lot of people criticize LeBron James for passing the ball to Donyell Marshall at the end of Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Finals in 2007, I don't, it was the right decision at the time.  That's what role players are there for, to fill a role, what the star does, is make their jobs easier for them.  Kelly Dwyer called LeBron out saying that if he's not going to get the bulk of the offensive possessions then he should be shutting down the opposition, hitting the glass harder, etc... and I completely agree.

The Miami Heat can totally get away with winning by just having better players on their roster, but until their stars get the rest of the team to step it up by example, just being awesome (on paper) is only going to get you so far, and that certainly isn't far enough to win a championship.  What do all these great championship stars have in common?  They lead by example.  Kobe Bryant will get in your face and basketball you to death, Tim Duncan lets Pop do that, and if Timmy's gonna get railed by the coach that means nobody's safe, because if the best PF of all time is going to listen to his coach, you figure everyone else should listen to him too, and right there I've accounted for 9 championships in the past 11 years.  Miami, you can sit on your laurels and just be a collection of awesome players, or you can have (one of) your stars emerge as a driving force that pushes the team to greatness.  It's more than just basketball, it's more than just the stats, the numbers are nice, but the rings are nicer.

The Massive Melo Speculation Post: Part 4

Still going:

I'll just post ideas and maybe analyze later:

Again, this is just speculation, I have no basis for this.


Trade #1
Denver gets: Andre Iguodala, Anthony Randolph, Nazr Mohammed, Eddy Curry's expiring contract
Philadelphia gets: Gerald Wallace, Danilo Gallinari
New York gets: Carmelo Anthony
Charlotte gets: Chauncey Billups, Wilson Chandler

Post trade rosters:
Denver:
PG - Ty Lawson, Anthony Carter
SG - Arron Afflalo, J.R. Smith
SF - Andre Iguodala, Gary Forbes, Renaldo Balkman
PF - Kenyon Martin, Al Harrington, Shelden Williams
C - Nene Hilario, Chris Andersen, Nazr Mohammed

Philadelphia:
PG - Jrue Holiday, Louis Williams
SG - Evan Turner, Jason Kapono, Jodie Meeks
SF- Gerald Wallace, Danilo Gallinari, Andres Nocioni
PF - Elton Brand, Thaddeus Young
C - Spencer Hawes, Marresse Speights

New York:
PG - Raymond Felton, Toney Douglas
SG - Landry Fields, Bill Walker, Roger Mason, Andy Rautins
SF - Carmelo Anthony, Kelenna Azubuike
PF - Amar'e Stoudemire, Shawne Williams
C - Timofey Mozgov, Ronny Turiaf

Charlotte:
PG - Chauncey Billups, D.J. Augustin, Shaun Livingston
SG - Stephen Jackson, Gerald Henderson
SF - Wilson Chandler, Dominic McGuire
PF - Boris Diaw, Tyrus Thomas, Edjuardo Najera
C - Kwame Brown, DeSegana Diop

Trade #2
Denver gets: Jamario Moon, Anderson Varejao, Eddy Curry's expiring contract
Cleveland gets: Danilo Gallinari, Anthony Randolph, J.R. Smith
New York gets: Carmelo Anthony

Post trade rosters:

Denver:
PG - Chauncey Billups, Ty Lawson
SG - Arron Afflalo, Gary Forbes
SF - Jamario Moon, Al Harrington
PF - Nene Hilario, Kenyon Martin, Shelden Williams, Renaldo Balkman
C - Anderson Varejao, Chris Andersen

Cleveland:
PG - Mo Williams, Ramon Sessions
SG - J.R. Smith, Anthony Parker, Daniel Gibson
SF - Danilo Gallinari, Jawad Williams, Joey Graham
PF - Antawn Jamison, Anthony Randloph, Leon Powe
C - J.J. Hickson, Ryan Hollins

New York:
PG - Raymond Felton, Toney Douglas
SG - Landry Fields, Bill Walker, Roger Mason
SF - Carmelo Anthony, Wilson Chandler, Kelenna Azubuike
PF - Amar'e Stoudemire, Shawne Williams
C - Timofey Mozgov, Ronny Turiaf

Trade #3
Denver gets: Derrick Favors, Gerald Wallace, Jamal Crawford
Atlanta gets: Boris Diaw, Nazr Mohammed
Charlotte gets: Troy Murphy, Josh Smith, J.R. Smith
New Jersey gets: Carmelo Anthony

Post trade rosters:

Denver:
PG - Chauncey Billups, Ty Lawson, Anthony Carter
SG - Jamal Crawford, Arron Afflalo
SF - Gerald Wallace, Gary Forbes
PF - Kenyon Martin, Derrick Favors, Shelden Williams
C - Nene Hilario, Chris Andersen

Atlanta:
PG - Mike Bibby, Jeff Teague
SG - Joe Johnson, Mo Evans
SF - Marvin Williams, Pape Sy

PF - Al Horford, Boris Diaw
C - Nazr Mohammed, Zaza Pachulia, Josh Powell, Etan Thomas, Jason Collins

Charlotte:
PG - D.J. Augustin, Shaun Livingston
SG - J.R. Smith, Gerald Henderson, Matt Carroll
SF - Stephen Jackson, Dominic McGuire
PF - Josh Smith, Tyrus Thomas, Troy Murphy
C - Kwame Brown, DeSegana Diop

New Jersey:
PG - Devin Harris, Jordan Farmar
SG - Anthony Morrow, Terrence Williams
SF - Carmelo Anthony, Travis Outlaw, Damion Jones, Quinton Ross
PF - Kris Humphries, Joe Smith
C - Brook Lopez, Johan Petro

Trade #4
Denver gets: Anderson Varejao, Jamario Moon, Zach Randolph, O.J. Mayo
Cleveland gets: J.R. Smith, Thaddeus Young, Kenyon Martin (and his expiring contract)
Philadelphia gets: Carmelo Anthony
Memphis gets: Andre Iguodala, Antawn Jamison

Post trade rosters:

Denver:
PG - Chauncey Billups, Ty Lawson
SG - O.J. Mayo, Arron Afflalo
SF - Jamario Moon, Gary Forbes
PF - Zach Randolph, Al Harrington, Shelden Williams
C - Nene Hilario, Chris Andersen, Anderson Varejao

Cleveland:
PG - Mo Williams, Ramon Sessions, Daniel Gibson
SG - Anthony Parker, J.R. Smith
SF - Thaddeus Young, Joey Graham, Jawad Williams
PF - Kenyon Martin, Leon Powe
C - J.J. Hickson, Ryan Hollins

Philadelphia:
PG - Jrue Holiday, Louis Williams
SG - Evan Turner, Jason Kapono, Jodie Meeks
SF - Carmelo Anthony, Andres Nocioni
PF - Elton Brand, Darius Songaila
C - Spencer Hawes, Marresse Speights, Tony Battie

Memphis:
PG - Mike Conley, Acie Law
SG - Andre Iguodala, Xavier Henry, Greivis Vasquez
SF - Rudy Gay, Sam Young
PF - Antawn Jamison, Darrell Arthur
C - Marc Gasol, Hasheem Thabeet, Hamed Haddadi


Trade #5
Denver gets: Shane Battier, Anderson Varejao, Nazr Mohammed, Anthony Parker
Houston gets: Carmelo Anthony
Cleveland gets: Gerald Wallace, J.R. Smith
Charlotte gets: Mo Williams, Kevin Martin

Post trade rosters:

Denver:
PG - Chuancey Billups, Ty Lawson
SG - Anthony Parker, Arron Afflalo
SF - Shane Battier, Gary Forbes
PF - Nene Hilario, Kenyon Martin, Al Harrington
C - Anderson Varejao, Chris Andersen, Nazr Mohammed

Houston:
PG - Aaron Brooks, Kyle Lowry, Ishmael Smith
SG - Courtney Lee, Jared Jeffries
SF - Carmelo Anthony, Chase Budinger
PF - Luis Scola, Chuck Hayes, Jordan Hill
C - Yao Ming, Brad Miller

Cleveland:
PG - Ramon Sessions, Daniel Gibson
SG - J.R. Smith, Christian Eyenga
SF - Gerald Wallace, Jamario Moon, Joey Graham, Jawad Williams
PF - Antawn Jamison, Leon Powe
C - J.J. Hickson, Ryan Hollins

Charlotte:
PG - Mo Williams, D.J. Augustin, Shaun Livingston
SG - Kevin Martin, Gerald Henderson, Matt Carroll
SF - Stephen Jackson, Dominic McGuire
PF - Boris Diaw, Tyrus Thomas
C - Kwame Brown, DeSagana Diop

Trade #6
Denver gets: Tayshaun Prince, Peja Stojakovic, Chris Wilcox, Marcus Thornton
Detroit gets: Kenyon Martin, Jamal Crawford, Josh Smith
New Orleans gets: Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith
Atlanta gets: David West, Richard Hamilton, Jason Maxiell

Post trade rosters:

Denver:
PG - Chauncey Billups, Ty Lawson
SG - Arron Afflalo, Marcus Thornton
SF - Tayshaun Prince, Peja Stojakovic, Gary Forbes
PF - Shelden Williams, Al Harrington, Chris Wilcox
C - Nene Hilario, Chris Andersen

Detroit:
PG - Rodney Stuckey, Will Bynum
SG - Jamal Crawford, Ben Gordon, Tracy McGrady
SF - Jonas Jerebko, Austin Daye
PF - Josh Smith, Kenyon Martin, Charlie Villanueva
C - Ben Wallace, Greg Monroe

New Orleans:
PG - Chris Paul, Jerryd Bayless
SG - Trevor Ariza, Marco Belinelli, J.R. Smith, Willie Green
SF - Carmelo Anthony, Quincy Pondexter
PF - Jason Smith, Pops Mensah-Bonsu
C - Emeka Okafor, D.J. Mbenga

Atlanta:
PG - Mike Bibby, Jeff Teague
SG - Joe Johnson, Richard Hamilton, Jordan Crawford
SF - Marvin Williams, Mo Evans
PF - David West, Etan Thomas
C - Al Horford, Zaza Pachulia, Josh Powell

Trade #7
Denver gets: Jeff Green, Nenad Kristic, Kevin Martin, Kosta Koufos, Lazar Hayward
Oklahoma City gets: Kevin Love, J.R. Smith
Minnesota gets: Shane Battier, Chauncey Billups
Houston gets: Carmelo Anthony, Martell Webster

Post trade rosters:

Denver:
PG - Ty Lawson, Anthony Carter
SG - Kevin Martin, Arron Afflalo
SF - Jeff Green, Gary Forbes
PF - Nene Hilario, Kenyon Martin, Al Harrington
C - Nenad Kristic, Chris Andersen, Kosta Koufos


Oklahoma City:
PG - Russell Westbrook, Eric Maynor
SG - Thabo Sefolosha, James Harden, J.R. Smith
SF - Kevin Durant, Morris Peterson
PF - Kevin Love, Nick Collison
C - Serge Ibaka, Cole Aldrich, Byron Mullens

Minnesota:
PG - Chauncey Billups, Johnny Flynn, Luke Ridnour, Sebastian Telfair
SG - Corey Brewer, Wayne Ellington
SF - Shane Battier, Wesley Johnson
PF - Michael Beasley, Anthony Tolliver
C - Darko Milicic, Nikola Pekovic

Houston:
PG - Aaron Brooks, Kyle Lowry, Ishmael Smith
SG - Martell Webster, Courtney Lee
SF - Carmelo Anthony, Chase Budinger
PF - Luis Scola, Chuck Hayes, Jordan Hill
C - Yao Ming, Brad Miller


Trade #8
Denver gets: Donte Greene, Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu, Jeff Green
Oklahoma City gets: Jason Thompson
Sacramento gets: Chauncey Billups
L.A. Clippers get: Carmelo Anthony

Post trade rosters:

Denver:
PG - Ty Lawson, Anthony Carter
SG - Arron Afflalo, J.R. Smith
SF - Jeff Green, Donte Greene, Al-Farouq Aminu
PF - Nene Hilario, Kenyon Martin, Al Harrington
C - Chris Kaman, Chris Andersen

Oklahoma City:
PG - Russell Westbrook, Eric Maynor
SG - Thabo Sefolosha, James Harden
SF - Kevin Durant, Morris Peterson
PF - Jason Thomson, Nick Collison, D.J. White
C - Nenad Kristic, Serge Ibaka, Cole Aldrich

Sacramento:
PG - Chauncey Billups, Beno Udrih
SG - Tyreke Evans, Francisco Garcia, Luther Head
SF - Omri Casspi, Antoine Wright
PF - Carl Landry, Darnell Jackson, Hassan Whiteside
C - Samuel Dalembert, DeMarcus Cousins

L.A. Clippers:
PG - Baron Davis, Eric Bledsoe, Randy Foye
SG - Eric Gordon, Rasual Butler
SF - Carmelo Anthony, Ryan Gomes
PF - Blake Griffin, Craig Smith, Brian Cook
C - DeAndre Jordan, Jarron Collins


Trade #9
Denver gets: Gerald Wallace, Boris Diaw, Thaddeus Young, Andres Nocioni, Jason Kapono
Dallas gets: Andre Iguodala
Charlotte gets: Shawn Marion, Jason Terry
Philadelphia gets: Carmelo Anthony, Kenyon Martin

Post trade rosters:

Denver:
PG - Chauncey Billups, Ty Lawson
SG - Arron Afflalo, J.R. Smith, Gary Forbes
SF - Gerald Wallace, Thaddeus Young, Andres Nocioni
PF - Boris Diaw, Al Harrington
C - Nene Hilario, Chris Andersen

Dallas:
PG - Jason Kidd, J.J. Barea, Rodrigue Beaubois
SG - Andre Iguodala, DeShawn Stevenson, Damion Jones
SF - Caron Butler, Steve Novak
PF - Dirk Nowitzki, Brian Cardinal
C - Tyson Chandler, Brendan Haywood

Charlotte:
PG - D.J. Augustin, Shaun Livingston
SG - Stephen Jackson, Jason Terry, Gerald Henderson
SF - Shawn Marion, Dominic McGuire
PF - Tyrus Thomas, Edjuardo Najera
C - Nazr Mohammed, Kwame Brown, DeSagana Diop

Philadelphia:
PG - Jrue Holiday, Louis Williams
SG - Evan Turner, Jodie Meeks
SF - Carmelo Anthony, Craig Brackins
PF - Elton Brand, Kenyon Martin, Darius Songaila
C - Spencer Hawes, Marresse Speights, Tony Battie

Why all the big fuss?

Maybe I'm being cynical, maybe I'm a little jaded.  Maybe it's because I live in Seattle and frankly I should be the one going to games and raving about Kevin Durant, which causes me to be predispositioned to dislike the city that stole our team.  I'm a little confused as to how the Thunder all of sudden are considered contenders.  Don't get me wrong, I know they're good.  Are they really THAT good though?  As good as the Lakers?  As good as the Celtics?  The Magic?  Let's compare:

	THUNDER	LAKERS	CELTICS	MAGIC
PG	Russell Westbrook	Derek Fisher	Rajon Rondo	Jameer Nelson
SG	Thabo Sefalosha	Kobe Bryant	Ray Allen	Vince Carter
SF	Kevin Durant	Ron Artest	Paul Pierce	Quentin Richardson
PF	Jeff Green	Pau Gasol	Kevin Garnett	Rashard Lewis
C	Nenad Kristic	Andrew Bynum	Kendrick Perkins	Dwight Howard
Bench	Eric Maynor	Steve Blake	Nate Robinson	Chris Duhon
	James Harden	Shannon Brown	Delonte West	J.J. Redick
	Morris Peterson	Matt Barnes	Marquis Daniels	Mickael Pietrus
	Nick Collison	Lamar Odom	Jermaine O'Neal	Brandon Bass
	Serge Ibaka	Theo Ratliff	Shaquille O'Neal	Marcin Gortat
	Cole Aldrich	Luke Walton	Glen Davis	Ryan Anderson
	D.J. White	Sasha Vujacic	Semih Erden	Daniel Orton

I honestly can't say that the Thunder roster looks significantly better than any of the "contenders" out there, well, let's call them definitive contenders, as these three teams are the ones that made the Finals in the last two seasons.  I like the Thunder roster but not enough to call them contenders.  Am I short-selling Kevin Durant?  Maybe, but frankly, a single player doesn't win titles.  Can we definitively say that these OKC Thunder are definitively better than... say the 2009-2010 Cleveland Cavaliers?

	THUNDER	2009/2010 CAVS
PG	Russell Westbrook	Mo Williams
SG	Thabo Sefalosha	Delonte West
SF	Kevin Durant	LeBron James
PF	Jeff Green	Antawn Jamison
C	Nenad Kristic	Shaquille O'Neal
Bench	Eric Maynor	Daniel Gibson
	James Harden	Anthony Parker
	Morris Peterson	Jamario Moon
	Nick Collison	Anderson Varejao
	Serge Ibaka	Zydrunas Ilgauskas
	Cole Aldrich	J.J. Hickson
	D.J. White	Jawad Williams

Really?  Let's assume that LeBron and Durant are a wash.  I know Westbrook is a significant upgrade over Williams, and the 2009/2010 Cavs dealt with a plethora of injury and chemistry issues, but really?  Can we say that the OKC is significantly better?  Is Jeff Green better than Antawn Jamison?

Per Game:

Rk	Player	Season	Age	G	GS	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
1	Jeff Green	2009-10	23	82	82	37.1	5.9	13	0.453	1.3	3.8	0.333	2	2.7	0.74	1.4	4.6	6	1.6	1.3	0.9	1.6	2.7	15.1
2	Antawn Jamison	2009-10	33	66	64	36.5	7.2	15.7	0.461	1.3	3.7	0.344	2.9	4.5	0.647	2.1	6.3	8.4	1.3	1.1	0.3	1.4	2.7	18.7

Per 36:

Rk	Player	Season	Age	G	GS	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
1	Jeff Green	2009-10	23	82	82	3043	5.7	12.7	0.453	1.2	3.7	0.333	2	2.6	0.74	1.3	4.5	5.8	1.6	1.2	0.9	1.6	2.6	14.7
2	Antawn Jamison	2009-10	33	66	64	2406	7.2	15.5	0.461	1.3	3.7	0.344	2.9	4.5	0.647	2	6.3	8.3	1.3	1.1	0.3	1.4	2.7	18.5

Well... they're pretty comparable, but Jamison shoots better, rebounds better, scores more, and gets to the line more.  Hrm...  They lost 4-2 to Boston in the Conference Semi-Finals.  A lot of people thought LeBron could do it, but I was pretty skeptical as to actually how good the team actually was, I see the same case here.  Sure Durant might be awesome, but at best I don't see that he's better than LeBron awesome.


Per 36:

Rk	Player	Season	Age	G	GS	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
1	Kevin Durant	2009-10	21	82	82	3239	8.8	18.5	0.476	1.4	3.9	0.365	8.4	9.3	0.9	1.2	5.8	6.9	2.6	1.2	0.9	3	1.9	27.5
2	LeBron James	2009-10	25	76	76	2966	9.3	18.5	0.503	1.6	4.7	0.333	7.2	9.4	0.767	0.9	5.9	6.7	7.9	1.5	0.9	3.2	1.4	27.4

Now, honestly, they're about the same, except LeBron passes the ball better.  Aside from that most of the stats are fairly comparable.  With that then, I can't say that the Thunder are significantly better than any solid playoff team, I mean, statistically you can't really even say he's significantly better than Melo::

Per 36

Rk	Player	Season	Age	G	GS	MP	FG	FGA	FG%	3P	3PA	3P%	FT	FTA	FT%	ORB	DRB	TRB	AST	STL	BLK	TOV	PF	PTS
1	Carmelo Anthony	2009-10	25	69	69	2634	9.4	20.5	0.458	0.8	2.6	0.316	6.9	8.4	0.83	2.1	4.1	6.2	3	1.2	0.4	2.9	3.1	26.6
2	Kevin Durant	2009-10	21	82	82	3239	8.8	18.5	0.476	1.4	3.9	0.365	8.4	9.3	0.9	1.2	5.8	6.9	2.6	1.2	0.9	3	1.9	27.5

While Melo scores less on more shots, he's also a way better offensive rebounder, and frankly, there isn't enough of a differentiation between them to definitively declare one better than the other, at least statistically speaking.  Sure most of us (GMs and their assistants included) like Durant more than Melo, but that doesn't mean a whole lot when the tip-off whistle is blown.  I really don't buy the whole hype about how Thunder, if they aren't contenders are the only ones that can take down the Lakers, sure overall they might match up okay against the defending champs, but I certainly don't think they have a significantly better shot than anyone else in the West.  Why?  Their frontcourt is pretty atrocious.  Jeff Green is not a PF and if he is, he's at best a harder-working Al Harrington.  And I would take an old Shaq and Big Z over Nenad Kristic and Serge Ibaka, I don't care if Ibaka is supposed to have a "breakout" season.  What they have to their advantage is youth and thereby health, something some of the more seasoned teams cannot boast as much of, but seriously?  If the Lakers appear to be head and shoulders above the rest of the West does that mean that Thunder are a head above the rest?  I think not:

	THUNDER	SPURS	MAVERICKS	BLAZERS	NUGGETS	JAZZ
PG	Russell Westbrook	Tony Parker	Jason Kidd	Andre Miller	Chauncey Billups	Deron Willaims
SG	Thabo Sefalosha	Manu Ginobili	Caron Butler	Brandon Roy	Arron Afflalo	Raja Bell
SF	Kevin Durant	Richard Jefferson	Shawn Marion	Nicolas Batum	Carmelo Anthony	Andrei Kirilenko
PF	Jeff Green	DeJuan Blair	Dirk Nowitzki	LaMarcus Aldridge	Kenyon Martin	Al Jefferson
C	Nenad Kristic	Tim Duncan	Brendan Haywood	Greg Oden	Nene Hilario	Mehmet Okur
Bench	Eric Maynor	George Hill	J.J. Barea	Wesley Matthews	Ty Lawson	Earl Watson
	James Harden	James Anderson	Jason Terry	Rudy Fernandez	J.R. Smith	C.J. Miles
	Morris Peterson	Bobby Simmons	DeShawn Stevenson	Dante Cunningham	Gary Forbes	Gordon Hayward
	Nick Collison	Antonio McDyess	Ian Mahinmi	Marcus Camby	Al Harrington	Paul Millsap
	Serge Ibaka	Tiago Splitter	Tyson Chandler	Joel Przybilla	Chris Andersen	Francisco Elson
	Cole Aldrich	Matt Bonner	Rodrigue Beaubois	Armon Johnson	Renaldo Balkman	Kyrylo Fesenko
	D.J. White	Gary Neal	Dominique Jones	Fabricio Oberto	Shelden Williams	Jeremy Evans

Maybe it's me, but while Durant would be the SF I'd want the most on my roster, I can't say that Westbrook is someone I'd pick over Kidd, Parker, Billups, and definitely not Deron Williams.  Every team except maybe the Nuggets has a more desirable PF, and every other team has actually a more desirable frontcourt pairing and a comparably deep bench.  While the Thunder may have surprised us last season with a strong performance, I can't say with confidence that they can beat any of the other five leading Western Conference teams not called the Lakers, not in a 7 game series.

Team	Pts	Reb	Ast	Stl	Blk	To	Pf	Dreb	Oreb	Fgm-a	Pct	3gm-a	Pct	Ftm-a	Pct	Eff	Deff
Utah	104.5	41.9	26.4	7.9	4.8	14.4	23.1	31.3	10.7	39.2-80.1	0.49	5.5-15.0	0.365	20.6-27.9	0.739	123	15
Orlando	101.9	42.8	19.3	6.3	5.5	13.5	20.2	33	9.8	36.1-76.9	0.469	10.2-27.3	0.374	19.5-27.1	0.72	113.8	14.2
Boston	98	38.7	23	8.4	4.8	13.9	22.7	30	8.8	36.4-76.5	0.476	6.0-17.1	0.351	19.1-25.6	0.748	112.6	11.9
Dallas	101.4	41.8	23.1	7.5	5.4	12.4	19.3	31.6	10.3	38.0-82.2	0.462	6.8-18.3	0.369	18.6-22.8	0.814	118.4	10
Oklahoma City	101	43.5	19.7	7.7	5.9	14	21.4	31.8	11.7	36.9-80.7	0.457	5.1-15.2	0.337	22.0-27.3	0.807	114.7	9.6
San Antonio	100.8	42.6	22	6.2	4.6	12.9	20.4	31.8	10.7	38.2-80.9	0.472	6.5-18.4	0.356	17.9-24.3	0.735	114.1	8.9
L.A.Lakers	101.6	44	20.8	7	5.1	12.8	20.2	31.9	12.1	38.1-83.2	0.458	6.6-19.4	0.338	18.8-24.6	0.763	114.8	7.9
Portland	97.8	40	20.4	6.3	4.3	11.5	21.1	28.9	11.1	36.0-78.6	0.459	6.0-16.9	0.356	19.7-25.0	0.786	109.4	6.5
Denver	106.6	41.3	20.8	8.1	5.1	13.5	23.1	30.4	10.8	38.0-81.2	0.468	6.6-18.5	0.359	23.9-31.0	0.772	118.2	5

Based on their overall team metrics, while I'm surprised they out-rebounded everybody, I can't really say they particularly stand out enough to warrant the sudden hype.  Frankly, I don't find them to be significantly better than any playoff/fringe playoff team save for the presence of Durant.

	THUNDER	ROCKETS	HAWKS
PG	Russell Westbrook	Aaron Brooks	Mike Bibby
SG	Thabo Sefalosha	Kevin Martin	Joe Johnson
SF	Kevin Durant	Shane Battier	Marvin Williams
PF	Jeff Green	Luis Scola	Josh Smith
C	Nenad Kristic	Yao Ming	Al Horford
Bench	Eric Maynor	Kyle Lowry	Jeff Teague
	James Harden	Courtney Lee	Jamal Crawford
	Morris Peterson	Chase Budinger	Mo Evans
	Nick Collison	Chuck Hayes	Etan Thomas
	Serge Ibaka	Brad Miller	Zaza Pachulia
	Cole Aldrich	Jordan Hill	Jordan Crawford
	D.J. White	Jermaine Taylor	Pape Sy

Sure, it's a great Cinderella story, but hey so were the Hornets in 2008, and look at them now.  Granted, the Thunder are in better shape than the Hornets, but really?  Contenders?  Really?  Seriously people, I know they're a fun team to watch, but let's be realistic.  I mean, a lot of this is coming from the same people who said Zach Randolph and Eddy Curry would make a monstrous frontcourt.

The Massive Melo Speculation Post: Part 3

Okay, so this isn't dead.  I stopped posting when I thought Melo was for sure going to New Jersey, but he's not, or not yet.  We'll see.  Meanwhile, onwards to my pointless (but fun) trade mongering...

Golden State Warriors send Monta Ellis, Andris Biedrins, with the expiring contracts of Vladamir Radmonovic and Dan Gadzuric to Denver for Melo and K-Mart

Okay, so I don't know that Denver wants to save money more than it wants a different super star, I'm also fairly confident that they probably won't consider Monta Ellis that super star.  Another option would've been swapping Vlad Rad and Gadzuric for Brandon Wright and K-Mart for J.R. Smith otherwise waiting until December and using Dorrell Wright.  Either way, it's an interesting concept, but frankly it does leave the Ws a little thin in the frontcourt, forced to once again play David Lee as a center (which he really isn't).  With Louis Amundson injured and missing time, I'm not positive that GSW is willing to pull the trigger in parting with one of its key bigs (Biedrins) even if it means getting a star in return, and frankly, I don't see Melo signing an extension with GSW so they'd be essentially giving away Monta and Biedrins for nothing.  A lot of fans would love to see this though.

New York seems to think it can trade Danilo Gallinari and/or Anthony Randolph for a star of tradeable caliber to Denver.  I'm not entirely convinced that's the case, but speculation puts me with either a Gilbert Arenas trade or a recreation of the 2004 Detroit Pistons.  I'm pretty sure neither Gilbert nor Rip Hamilton are answers.  Additionally, I don't think Gallinari and/or Randolph are super appealing to the Wiz who have Blatche, Thornton, Yi, and Howard nor the Pistons who are sitting on T-Mac, Jerebko, Austin Daye, Jason Maxiell, and Charlie Villanueva.  Not a fan of either, but I'm just throwing it out there for thought.

Now I don't know that they're looking, but a trade that makes sense to me is this:


Charlotte Bobcats send Boris Diaw, Gerald Wallace, and Nazr Mohammed to Denver for Melo and J.R. Smith

Why? Bobcats need a scorer and Melo can score (so can J.R. Smith when he's on).  This trade also makes sense too.  In fact I like it better.  Essentially Bobcats still get Melo and Denver still gets Wallace and Mohammed, but we loop in Toronto, getting Boris Diaw from Charlotte and Kenyon Martin from Denver and sending Reggie Evans to Denver and Jose Calderon with Chris Bosh's trade exception to Charlotte.  Why does this work?  Jerry Colangelo loves those saavy European vets like Boris Diaw and Leandro Barbosa, they had originally wanted essentially Diaw for Calderon, but were balked by Jordan for wanting Tyson Chandler too (who he later gave away for Erick Dampier who he waived so nothing?), and Calderon is precisely the type of point guard that works well with Larry Brown (runs sets, doesn't push the game, takes carefully selected shots) and therefore precisely the kind of PG that the Bobcats want.  The main question is whether or not Gerald Wallace is a sufficient star in what Denver wants in return.  Certainly Wallace has shown his prowess on the defensive end, and adding eligible big men in Mohammed and Evans while jettisoning K-Mart's contract is on the agenda, will adding Wallace keep the Nuggets competitive?  I'd like to say yes, via also more opportunities for Nene, but I honestly can't say I know their games well enough to say for sure.

I'll keep thinking of these and we'll keep going until Melo is actually traded.

Revisiting Shoe Endorsements

Nike obviously has the most endorsements in the NBA in terms of shoe contracts.  As with all my pointless speculations and hypotheticals, we are coming back to the question of whether or not Nike does in fact have the "best" endorsements.  I know that Jordans technically are Nike sneakers, but I'm counting them as a different brand.  Reebok honestly is so hurting I'm tempted to add "other" to them, nonetheless.  Let's assume it's playoffs and teams are running a typical 10 man rotation.  Have at!

Starters:	Nike	Jordan	Adidas	Reebok	Other
PG	Deron Williams	Chris Paul	Derrick Rose	Jameer Nelson	Jason Kidd - Peak Shoes
SG	Kobe Bryant	Dwayne Wade	Chauncey Billups	Jason Terry	Stephen Jackson - Protégé
SF	LeBron James	Gerald Wallace	Josh Smith	Rasual Butler	Ron Artest - Peak Shoes
PF	Amar'e Stoudemire	Carmelo Anthony	Tim Duncan	Danilo Gallinari	Kevin Garnett - ANTA Sports Products
C	Pau Gasol	Juwan Howard	Dwight Howard	Yao Ming	Shaquille O'Neal - Li-Ning
Bench	Rajon Rondo Brandon Roy Andre Iguodala Dirk Nowitzki Chris Bosh	Joe Johnson Ray Allen Richard Hamilton Kevin Martin Jared Jeffries	Devin Harris John Salmons Hedo Turkoglu Nene Hilario Brook Lopez	John Wall Eddie House Jamal Crawford Morris Peterson Jason Smith	Baron Davis - Li-Ning Monta Ellis - And 1 Shane Battier - Peak Shoes Al Harrington - Protégé Ben Wallace - Starbury

Team Nike
Strength: Depth, versatility, scoring
Weakness: Chemistry, no true center

I don't see how Nike can't be the favorites to take this one.  I mean, Nike could probably field like 5 other fairly legit teams, I mean, seriously, I'm cutting the likes of Steve Nash, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili, and Rudy Gay from this roster.  Seriously.  The only flaw I see in this team is possibly how everyone except for Pau Gasol kind of need the ball in his hands to be effective.  It would be interesting to see how Roy and Bryant come off of catch-and-shoot situations.  The fact that they don't really have a low-post presence also kind of bothers me, but not immensely as Amar'e and Gasol are both fairly versatile in the paint, tack on the unique skillsets of Bosh and Dirk and suddenly we have here a very unorthodox and potent froncourt.  However, the defensive tenacity of said frontcourt does come into question.  You'd need a coach who is able to handle all the personalities.
Recommended Coach: Phil Jackson


Team Jordan
Strength: Shooting, mismatches
Weakness: Lack of size

Jordan seems only to really endorse wing players, maybe it's because Jordan himself was a wing player.  With the likes of Ray Allen, Richard Hamilton, Joe Johnson, and Kevin Martin though, the lights will get shot out.  The amount of perimeter defense that the opposition would have to deal with frankly ends up being is frankly quite ridiculous.  The issue though is the fact that the team is extraordinarily small and thin up front.  Juwan Howard and Jared Jeffries are by no means going to be any menace in the post, this forces Melo and Wallace to log a number of minutes as a big forward, so while the shooting is there, there might just not be enough easy baskets to make this team entirely viable.  That being said, Wallace is a fairly underrated rebounder, so these guys could do a lot better than I can imagine right now.
Recommended Coach: Mike D'Antoni



Team Adidas
Strength: Size, interior defense
Weakness: Perimeter shooting, defense

With his improved mid-range shot, I think Dwight Howard and Tim Duncan would be the second coming of the Twin Towers.  While I don't necessarily think that Howard is as versatile as David Robinson was, I think that he can make up for it.  Add in the fact that both are ridiculous interior defenders, then I think it works itself out.  I'm not confident in anybody's outside shot other than Billups's and possibly John Salmons's, so it's hard to see there not being a potential bottleneck in the paint.  However, I can see a smart system working that out.  This team is tremendously balanced and deceptively deep.  While Billups may not be an ideal off-guard, they tried it in FIBA this year and it seemed to work.  Additionally, knowing the likes of Howard and Duncan are in the paint may help bolster everyone's confidence defending perimeters knowing that Howard and Duncan (and even Smith) can help cover up a lot of defensive miscues.
Recommended Coach: Gregg Popovich


Team Reebok
Strength: Shooting
Weakness: Depth, lack of size

This really needs to be one of those "whole is greater than the sum of the parts" kind of teams.  There's no one on this team that really makes this team stand out in any way besides a healthy Yao Ming.  However, with that, this team could start to catch people off guard with smart shot selections and effective screen-and-roll plays they could really keep themselves in the game.  While I don't savor a Jameer Nelson/Jason Terry backcourt, especially on the defensive end, it could be worse.  How effectively this team manages the intangibles and plays together will determine its success or failure.
Recommended Coach: Rick Adelman

Team Other
Strength: Defensive tenacity
Weakness: Scoring

Between Stephen Jackson, Ron Artest, Shane Battier, and Ben Wallace, this hodgepodge of non-mainstream company endorsed players have most of their defensive bases covered.  However, that being said, it's more of a question of who can put the ball in the bucket.  Monta Ellis is probably the one player that can be relied on to most consistently put the ball in the bucket, but I don't see him being the Allen Iverson type scorer that such a team would need to carry the load.  Of course, this could be a very even-keeled well-distributed scoring balance between everybody.  That would work too.
Recommended Coach: Larry Brown

That's my take.  What's yours?

The Massive Melo Speculation Post: Part 2

Continuing on, two other teams mentioned in regards to the whole Melo trade speculation thing have been the Bulls and Rockets.  Here's what I think it will boil down to...


Chicago Bulls send Luol Deng, Taj Gibson, Joakim Noah, and James Johnson to Denver for Melo.
Frankly if this ever gets proposed and this does end up happening Ujiri will look like a genius and Paxson an idiot.  It's not that I don't like Melo, but the Bulls are getting fleeced for this deal, unless a third team gets involved and Chicago gets more out of this, this is the only way Chicago can even muster up enough salary to match Melo, short of trading Derrick Rose.  While a core of Rose, Melo, and Carlos Boozer is quite formidable, the Bulls essentially have gutted their entire frontcourt.  Chicago is now relegated to once again searching free agency, since their C slot is relegated to Omer Asik and Kurt Thomas, leaving no one really to backup Carlos Boozer.  I don't mind a 3 big rotation, but only if the three bigs are of high caliber.  Not to knock on Asik and Thomas, but frankly, Asik is completely unproven and Thomas, well, at best he'd be the third big. 

As for Denver, well, they get an amazingly solid lineup.  The presence of Noah will slide Nene back to PF, where he is more comfortable, and then Deng can take Melo's starting spot.  While perhaps not as offensively polished as Melo, Deng can hold his own and is a defensive force to be reckoned with.  Tack on the hustle and rebounding of Taj Gibson, plus scoring off the bench of Al Harrington (provided the rotations work out) and the Nuggets actually get better by getting rid of their best player.


Houston Rockets send Kevin Martin and Shane Battier to Denver for Melo.
Ultimately I really see this to be something of a wash, since it involves how well Melo meshes with a very team oriented system on Rick Adelman's Rockets.  This certainly allows Courtney Lee to get his chance as a starter on the Rockets next to a formidable lineup of Aaron Brooks, Melo, Luis Scola, and Yao Ming (if healthy).  While they don't have a number of big name players, Jared Jeffries can spot minutes as a defensive specialist, and Kyle Korver and Brad Miller off the bench is still a pretty good system roster wise.  Melo definitely is a step up from Kevin Martin scoring wise and should take a lot of that load off of Yao, providing a very balanced offense with Scola's hustle and Brooks's shooting.

On the flip side, Kevin Martin and Shane Battier slide into the Nuggets' starting lineup quite well.  However, the question is, how well will a platoon of J.R. Smith and Arron Afflalo for minutes work behind Martin in the depth charts.  Again, it's muuch more of a horizontal movement than any improvement given Martin's peaking game and Battier's decline due to age.