Ben Wallace says Pistons would not have won a championship with Melo

[JohnMax]

[ROCSteady]

agreed. Young Volume shooter getting his feet wet in the NBA... woulda messed up the chemistry. It would have been a good team but their complimentary chemistry is what got them the 'ship.

They choked in Game 7 the next season smh

[Horatio33]

agreed. Young Volume shooter getting his feet wet in the NBA... woulda messed up the chemistry. It would have been a good team but their complimentary chemistry is what got them the 'ship.

They choked in Game 7 the next season smh

They didn't choke the 2005 finals.

[iamgine]

It's a reasonable take by Ben. Especially the part about Tayshaun and Larry Brown.

[Kblaze8855]

They didn't choke the 2005 finals.

If you walk away from a hot Horry up 2 with seconds to go in OT in a tied finals series....I’m calling that a mental choke.

[ROCSteady]

They didn't choke the 2005 finals.

That Spurs team was mentally fortified with some of the best execution/ coaching ever to close out such a game.

That Pistons team was doing just about everything right against SA but choked and got outworked at the end with a major breakdown in crunch time.

Both of these are true

[RIP CITY]

That was one of the most competitive Finals Series'... I wouldn't say the Pistons choked, San Antonio just out-executed us in that 4th Quarter and Manu got hot. These teams were so evenly matched that it just came down to who executed their plan better, we did 3 times, they did 4 times and in that Game 7. Manu had the hot hand so Sheed went to cheat over and trap him leaving Horry open, mental error on Sheed's part even tho we needed to do something to get the ball out of Manu's hand at that point. But you don't cheat off of Horry like that, he'll knock that down every time.

As for Melo, it's hard to say. The Pistons had a really good locker room and leadership at that moment, if he would have accepted a 6th Man Role in his first 2 years with the promise of being handed the keys in Year 3, he could have been the shot creator/wing scorer we needed desperately at that time, it was the one thing we were missing. Hard to say how well he would have meshed with Larry Brown, I don't see it being a good relationship unless Melo really bought in, but maybe he would of in a Championship environment at 19-20 years old. If you don't play defense, Larry won't play you... maybe it would have made Melo work harder being with a no nonsense Coach early on.

But overall I agree with the point that the chemistry on that team was perfect and Melo could have easily disrupted it with his style of play. That was a team, no one was above another, anyone could be the star any particular night and everyone locked down on defense. That's not Melo's M.O.

Frucking Darko tho.... SMH...

[ImKobe]

Seems like bullshit to me. Darko wasn't much of a factor, if all, and Brown wouldn't have given Melo many minutes, but he could have used him to make a better trade to keep their dynasty going in the long run. Darko was a wasted(and a TERRIBLE) pick. You can't tell me the Pistons wouldn't have been better off in the long run if they drafted Melo instead of a bust they got nothing out of. Tayshaun was a key piece defensively for their title run, but imagine trading him and building the team around Melo while still having an elite defenders around him, the league was moving in a different direction after the rules got changed to favor the offensive player, he could have helped them win another ring in the 2000s via a trade or by being the leading scorer.

[ralph_i_el]

Melo might have been a completely different player if he was taken by the Pistons.

[jayfan]

If you walk away from a hot Horry up 2 with seconds to go in OT in a tied finals series....I’m calling that a mental choke.

Definitely a choke/brain fart by Sheed on that play. Doesn't necessarily mean the team choked.

Similar thing in game 5 of the '87 ECF when Isiah threw the infamous inbound pass to Bird. He choked that play badly, and history was rewritten as a result. But the team played a hell of a game.

[ronniec]

Melo might have been a completely different player if he was taken by the Pistons.

I am kind of agree to this.

[guy]

Maybe in 04 they were better off without him but that’s the only title they won. They were very close to winning in 05 and then very close to making the finals again from 06 to 08. He could’ve been the difference.

[Back In Shape]

Add one of the most selfish players of all time to one of the most unselfish teams of all time. Seems like a winning receipe.

Prince and Rip were switching on Kobe and double teaming him the whole time. It was especially Prince that gave Kobe fits. Put Melo on Kobe and/or leave Rip to guard Kobe by himself, and he's going off!

[IllegalD]

This sounds like pure Melo hate. Can't believe how hated on this guy is, even by other players.

Do you think Ben Wallace's response would've been different had they asked about drafting Wade or Bosh instead?

Dude literally just sat there and justified drafting Darko over Melo because of some "team chemistry" BS.

Melo would've made them deeper, provided them a specialist in their biggest weakness (scoring), made them more dangerous in crunch time, and would've extended their championship window well into the late 2000's.

Just look how well a past his prime Billups and prime Melo did on the Nuggets out in the West in 2009.

[Back In Shape]

Dude literally just sat there and justified drafting Darko over Melo because of some "team chemistry" BS.

It's not BS though. Lakers had way more individual talent than the Pistons already. As did many of the teams they beat up on the way to meet the Pistons. Its was a superior game plan, coaching, players buying in, and chemistry that beat the Lakers. Throw Melo into the Pistons mix and that makes them almost as talented as the Lakers but all the other stuff goes to hell