Is Carmelo Anthony Worth the Hype?

As at least 4 NBA teams hold their breath while the Nuggets make up their minds about a rumored Carmelo Anthony deal, the question has to be asked:

Is he worth all the hype and attention?

In a special to ESPN, Tom Haberstroh (http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/insider/news/story?id=5439653) nails it on the head: While he may be a prolific scorer, his overall lack of efficiency and production in areas other than scoring keep him from being an elite player.

But, in this instance, you have to say that he’s still easily a top-15 player* in today’s NBA, and if a coach could get him to post up more and shoot less 3’s, he’s a great value and asset to a team.

*For the record, I would go, in no particular order: Kevin Durant, LeBron James, Kobe Bryant (excuse me, have to vomit), Dwight Howard, Dirk Nowitzki, Steve Nash, Carmelo Anthony, Rajon Rondo, Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Brandon Roy, Dwyane Wade, Derrick Rose, Tim Duncan and Russell Westbrook. But that’s a debate for another time.

So while he’s a top-tier NBA player, you could easily make the argument for him being at least out of the top 5, if not top 10 of the best in the game today. Here’s a guy who will score a ton for you, but he doesn’t shoot much better than league average (right around 46%), takes a lot of 3’s but hits a low percentage of them (career 31% from the arc), and doesn’t do anything else particularly well. His rebounding numbers are weak (6 per game is average for a small forward) and he has as many turnovers as assists per game (3 of each). Click here for total stats.

So what’s the big deal? He’s still a matchup nightmare on the offensive end, and while he’s an average defender at best, he has the skillset to be solid if someone flips the switch a la Paul Pierce.

Plus, you can’t forget the biggest point: How often does a top-15 NBA player become available or change teams? You know, besides this offseason?

He might not be elite, but Carmelo Anthony is definitely worth the time and energy for almost all the teams in the league today.

~ David