Carmelo is very good at what he's good at-- an all-timer in the modern era, really. But as he's gotten older, things like his defense and his passing have taken a tumble, diminishing his value in a team construct. So I was someone arguing in the other post that I understand why teams, including teams with Melo's friends, don't want Melo on their NBA team.

But this team wasn't putting together to value any of Melo's areas of weakness. It was constructed, apparently, to do what Melo does best. And Melo has more experience than all these guys. So if you want a guy to run iso ball in international play, you honestly could do a *lot* worse than Melo. Like, Brook Lopez is a good piece if you want ball movement, pick-and-pop, 3-point shooting at a high percentage, drop coverage defense, etc... but if you're emphasizing iso ball on offense, the fuck is Brook Lopez on your roster for? Y'know?

So yeah, I know in the other thread the Melo talk got a little heated, but I think Melo is an all-timer at certain skills and a first-ballot HOF guy. Considering the flaws of this team and the construct of this team, I think it's a given that Melo belonged over some of the other guys.