Talking Carmelo Anthony for Joakim Noah and Luol Deng: The search for September pageviews

But last year he posted a 24.7 PER. His career PER is 25.0, so statistically, he’s still as good as he’s ever been.

Can you bring that to the table?

we’re trading him for BOTH. Not just one. And you just don’t find double-double centers laying around the league. Perkins isn’t as good as Noah.

You’re not even making an argument; you just keep saying ‘he scores 28ppg, Noah and Deng aren’t All-Stars, they’re replaceable, blah blah’ even though the fact is that, at best, it’d be a lateral move.

Injuries are part of the game and that is fine when guys miss games. But in the NBA more than any other sport, when minutes are intentionally limited they skew the ‘per game’ statistics. If you don’t think that Noah’s superior per game statistics pre-injury are a more accurate account of his production then there is no hope for you.

Did I discount 4th quarter scoring? Didn’t I say that Rose was one of the top 4th quarter scorers last year? 4th quarter scoring was not one of the team’s struggles; it was overall offensive production. And debilitating defense by adding some offense makes no sense. No when the best teams in the league are fortified with talented big men. If you are on a basketball blog then you have to know this. And Noah is more than just a simple ‘defensive minded big man.’ Actually assess the player properly before you judge how easy to replace he is. His talents are defense, rebounding both offensively and defensively, passing and screen-setting (something that should not be underrated.) Noah’s production has gone up each of his first 3 years in the league. Melo is what he is. Noah can still be more. Oh, and tell me who Luc Longley 2.0 is. I suggest you actually line up an appropriate replacement before declaring that one will be so easy to find. Longley was a lot better than you think. Clearly.

By talking about the past Bulls teams, who had Jordan and Pippen, acquiring adequate big men to fill the hole, that is an obvious implication that the surrounding Bulls players of this squad (plus Melo) would be comparable to the surrounding players of the Dynastic Bulls teams of the 90s. If you are not saying that then you need to delete any of that Longley/Cartwright horsecrap you came up with. Those Bulls teams could succeed with average big men BECAUSE they had Jordan and Pippen. Melo and Rose are not even close to being comparable with those two players, therefore they need a strong front court. Noah/Boozer/Deng is superior to `Filler Center`/Boozer/Melo. By your logic, a filler big with enough size is all the Bulls need just because Melo and Rose are on the perimeter. So yes, it is the ‘dumbest thing you can do.’ If you honestly think that Melo and Rose can compensate for a lackluster defensive front court (having lost both very good defenders in Deng and Melo) then their is no hope for you… as I have said before.

Your commentary is not fun, and even less correct.

So the formula for winning a title is simple — collect guys who are superstars and who have a chance of making the hall of fame.

Wow.

however, the impact Deng has on this team is large. And the impact Carmelo would have wouldn’t be as large.

I might believe you the second time you say it.

Take it east essay.

Deng is worse than Anthony by a lot. You know why? Because the Bulls are willing to TRADE HIM for a guy that plays the same position.

Horrible argument you’re making

and he’s definitely going to be a C in New York. I suspect Bosh might be listed at PF in Miami, but who knows. It’s all about where the team lists him on the roster. That’s why Duncan has never been a C on the ballot because the Spurs list him as PF, even though for years he was obviously the center.

It all depends on what Denver wants to do going forward. From other posters here, it sounds like Kroenke wants to keep a competitive team together. If that’s the case, the Bulls may have a decent shot at putting together a good package. If he wants to rebuild, the Clippers, Knicks and Nets can put together more appealing offers.

they are the bulls front office. some teams actually like having a team they can respect

all the stuff I’ve read points to an increase in usage having a corresponding decrease in TS%.

True shooting % is easily the least consistent stat when a player changes roles, which seems to back up the concept of skill curves. When a player has a high TS% and a low possession %, it may be that his efficiency is inflated by taking relatively easy shots, attempts that comprise a smaller proportion of his shot selection when he is asked to increase his usage. Along the same lines, turnover rate was the 2nd-least consistent offensive rate stat when changing roles, suggesting that not only is shooting % dependent on the player’s usage, but the ability to avoid turnovers is as well.

http://www.basketball-reference.com/blog/?p=7220

and this -

One can infer that generally, when players in a lineup are forced to increase their usage, their efficiency decreases, and when players are forced to decrease their usage, their efficiency increases. This is evidence of a usage vs. efficiency tradeoff, or diminishing returns for scoring.

It also affects player valuation. How much value should be attached to shot creation as a distinct ability from shooting efficiency? John Hollinger’s PER weights it heavily, while Dave Berri’s Wins Produced gives it very little weight. My study suggests that shot creation is an important skill, but more research needs to be done to find out just how much extra credit high-usage players deserve.

http://www.countthebasket.com/blog/2008/03/06/diminishing-returns-for-scoring-usage-vs-efficiency/

So it isn’t easy to do what Melo is doing. Most players can’t handle usage that high with that efficiency.