No Rings With Melo!?!!?? Is Ben Wallace trippin'?
The 2003 NBA draft is regarded as one of the best ever. In a rare occurence, a seasoned playoff team was able to get high draft pick that year. It was the Detroit Pistons who lucked into the second overall pick after a trade they’d made roughly six years prior with the Grizzlies. They famously chose ___ center Darko Milicic instead of Carmelo Anthony, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade or any other number of players who enjoyed long notable careers from that draft class.
People wonder the most about Melo on the Pistons, as he went #3 to the Denver Nuggets. He reminisced about potentially playing for Detroit back in ‘03 with Dwyane Wade on Instagram Live.
“I don’t know what In would have been if I would have went to Detroit. I know I would have had two, maybe two or three rings”
Ben Wallace, who was playing for Detroit at the time seemed to disagree on the 120 Watts Podcast.
“If we would’ve drafted Carmelo, I honestly don’t think we would have ever won a championship... Melo would want to play right away. That would have the potential to disrupt the team chemistry. By drafting Darko, he came in and said that he is not ready to play on this team. Who I am going to play in front of. I’m not ready, and by him doing that and accepting his role, it allowed us to build and grow and get stronger and eventually win a championship.”
It’s too bad NBA twitter and the media aggregators missed Wallace’s point. It was never meant to be a slight at Melo, but rather a credit to the veteran crew that won that title in 2004.
We must also consider who the Pistons did draft with that second pick in 2003: Darko Milicic. He was a foreign big, and barely touched the court in his first season. But he accepted that role and waived that towel as his team rose to the top. Would Carmelo have behaved the same way coming off of a national title just a year prior? Could he have disrupted the harmony of that tight-knit group while yearning for more minutes and shots?
Melo was a highly touted prospect coming out of his Syracuse. He led them to a national title as a freshman and surely would have commanded playing time from day one. Wallace noted that Melo wanted to play right away. It’s rare that a lottery talent goes to a contending team. Contending teams with established veterans do not change offensive and defensive systems to accomodate rookies. That’s what lottery teams do. They can afford to let a new guy cook and get his numbers while they pile up losses and figure out the rest of the roster. The stakes are higher for contenders. One bad playoff run could be the signal to the owner and GM that the squad need to be broken up. Coaches get fired and players get traded in years like that.
Those Pistons teams won on defense and a balanced offensive attack, neither of which are strong suits for Melo. He spent nearly his entire career being chastised for his effort on defense and being a ball-stopper. Considering his potential impact on those Detroit rosters goes beyond adding the 20 points he averaged as a rookie.
Consider his position at small forward. That spot was occupied by Tayshaun Prince, a defensive ace on the perimeter for a few years that developed a reliable jumper. His ability to give the high-scoring wings around the league trouble was a key piece of Detroit’s attack en route to six consecutive Eastern Conference Finals appearances (2003-08). Would Melo have made a play like this to protect a lead in the playoffs?
Of course, people have an affinity for big names and Melo is that. Tayshaun just isn’t, along with the things he was best at. tHat includes, defense, moving without the ball. We undermine those things in lieu of a big-time scorer, even though Detroit managed to win without one.
Ben never said Melo wasn’t a great player, rather that the circumstances he would have been drafted into with Detroit would not have been conducive to a ring his rookie year, if ever.
I feel for Melo, because he’s the classic star that gets lambasted for never winning a championship. He’s had his own issues, but none of this is a slight towards him. It’s a matter of timing and fit, and I just can’t bring myself to disagree with Ben Wallace’s assessment.
