CARMELO

OK, coming off a long hiatus due to getting used to college life but this deal has prompted me to put down a bazillion case briefs to analyze what just went down to get one of the top 3 scorers in the league. So with out further a due lets get to the new Knick lineup

Starters:


Center: 
Ronny Turiaf is our starter. Big inhale... now exhale. Ok. Turiaf is a good rugged big man. Unfortunately, he won't play more than 27 mpg. He's a great bench player and brings in a bunch of good things to the table that we need (rebounding, defense, hustle). That being said, this is our biggest weakness at the moment. Mozgov wasn't worth holding onto if it was going to prevent us from landing Melo. That being said, we're weak in the frontline depth department. Moving on before I start second guessing this trade again.


Power Forward:
Amar'e. The best pure power forward left in the league (until Griffin takes that title in 6 months). What more can I say about Amar'e? Did he lay us the foundation for this Knick team? Yes. Was he arguably the MVP of the first 3 months of the season? Yes. Did he play too many minutes over that period of time? Absolutely. When Amar'e gets used to playing with Melo and the rotation starts being played regularly Amar'e will be able to play fewer minutes and preserve his best play for the playoffs when we need him most.


Small Forward:
'Melo. 'Melo. 'Melo.

Ok, first off, he won't be wearing No. 15, that was Earl Monroe's number. But the more important thing is that now we have the best forward tandem in the league other than Bosh-LeBron. Sure, defensively they're two of the most underachieving duo there is, but on offense, they will be dominant. Neither is particularly good at setting others up (though 'Melo is definitely better than he was a couple years ago) their ability at creating shots will stretch apart the defense and make everyone elses jobs easier. Not to mention that they will put hella points on the board. In the end, totally totally worth it. Sure we'll miss Chandler and Gallanari, but lets be honest, there was no way we were having 'Melo and Chandler and Gallanari can be replaced in the three-point shooting category.


Shooting Guard: 
The only reason that the Nuggets pushed to try and get Landry Fields was for trade value and to save face. The more pieces they got for 'Melo the better. But on the post-'Melo Nuggets, a player like Landry Muddy Fields isn't especially valuable. On a boarderline contender like the Knicks, Fields is invaluable as a glue guy. He provides defense, rebounding, ball movement, and efficient scoring. I love Fields, he's the perfect compliment guy on a team that is interested in winning. In general, he's a selfless winner who has the confidence and talents to make an impact on a team heading to the playoffs.


Point Guard: 
Ok, here's the stickiest part of the 'Melo deal. This deal is supposed to be about the long term rather than trying to win a few games this season. Yet we had to give up our long term answer at point guard, Raymond Felton, for an aging stud who is good for the next year or so but isn't in the long term future, Chauncey Billups. Hopefully Billups can help us enough this year and then his expiring contract will be there to help us acquire better depth and hopefully another starter. Deron Williams and Chris Paul are both long shots because of the new CBA which will lower the Salary Cap but hopefully the Knicks can move around enough space to stay in contention for one of them or get another impact player.