CWebb got 20 shots while playing with Iverson? Then why is he so disgruted, just as most other guys, who have played with Iverson? If he's such a great team-first player, then why do his teammates complain about not feeling involved in the offense? The ball is in AI's hands 90% of the time and everyone is at the mercy of his decision making. And dont even give me that load of bull where AI KNOWS its Melo's team. Its not going to be Melo's team anymore when AI is in town. He's the immediate second fiddle...no questions asked.
JSub is wrong about alot of stuff. Like when he was hating on Melo before the start of the season. Pay no attention to him.
Know your place, boy. Melo and AI cannot coexist. Neither of these two players was built to be second option, but thats exactly what one has to become. Melo's not going to be a very happy camper in the long run.
i hope iverson is not going to Denver... he is going to ruin the chemistry of the Nuggets.... how's andre miller and Jr.smith going to play when Iverson is here??? I think Denver already has a pretty good backcourt, and they should rather look to trade for pau gasol instead of iverson...
Gasol has a contract that runs for 5 more years. AI only has 2 years left on his deal, so if Denver does get him they can clear massive cap room when his deal comes off the books. See? It helps them in the short AND long term.
Plus, Denver needs another guy who can create shots. No doubt about it.
I think Karl can get AI to be a distributor and go to about 25ppg. Its not like they don't need a 2nd scorer. They really do. JR is going to be great, but he's inconsistent right now and if he doesn't feel it early instead of getting more agressive and attacking, he gets timid.
They'll probably get Joe Smith's expiring contract and two first-round picks.
As far as AI killing Melo's development -- I think it will be the opposite. AI and Melo like each other, AI knows that Denver is Melo's team, and AI is getting up there in age. I think that will make it much more likely for him to defer a bit and be more of a distributor. If Denver keeps Andre Miller (which looks like it will happen), then AI can go back to what he does best, which is penetrate and score.
Think about it -- who the hell are you going to cover when Melo and AI are on the floor together? Do you double AI and get smoked when he dishes it to an open Carmelo? Do you double Melo (like everyone has been doing) and leave AI to run all over the place? It just creates a ton of matchup problems. Teams could leave Andre Miller open for shots at the top of the key or from 3 and focus on Carmelo -- but they cannot do that with AI there. It's a coach's nightmare to have a guy like Melo who can shoot, drive, and play the post along with a guy like AI who can shoot, drive, and draw tons of fouls on the court at the same time. Nobody has been able to cover Melo by themselves this year, so they're going to have to keep doubling him unless they want him to hang 40 on them every night due to single coverage. Adding AI into the mix just makes it an impossible decision. I think this is a great move if/when it happens.
EDIT: IggyIverson is spot-on -- even a mediocre Webber got a bunch of shots with AI running the point. This myth about AI being really selfish is kind of beyond me... Somebody who can score absolutely at-will like 'Melo is going to have a field day with another guy to distract the defense from him. That's been the problem with the Nuggets this year -- they have no other reliable (ahem.. JR) scorers to pull the defense from 'Melo. It seems like the rest of the team either plays great and they end up with 40+ bench points, or nobody shows up and Melo has to do it all. AI will solve that problem the second he walks onto the court.
AI is only good when he controls the ball and shoots 25+ times/night. That wouldn't happen in Denver.
Know your place, boy. Melo and AI cannot coexist. Neither of these two players was built to be second option, but thats exactly what one has to become. Melo's not going to be a very happy camper in the long run.
