Amare was getting off but the Knicks were a 500 squad when Melo got traded there at the end of the season........
and the following season, the knee collector had came to collect and STAT life was gone..... so in essence.... Melo had a top tier STAT for what? 30 games maybe... after that STAT was nowhere near the same the following season and MELO was the guy for that squad.....
And you big upping George Karl for going to the playoffs one more time without Melo with the western conference version of the 2015 Atlanta Hawks....
and losing to a Green Warriors squad on top of it.... George Karl and talented teams don't go together... The only thing Melo had consistently was an enforcer in Kenyon and an underachieving Nene....... He got AI and Chauncey after their primes.... unless you're referring to Andre Miller and Howard Eisley as this talent you speak of.
Those squads were real solid...... but Melo was the only true talent perse..... and at least he can say he lost to the Spurs and Lakers(championship squads) for 4 to 5 years straight.... it aint like George Karl was taking them anywhere to begin with...
Melo was Denver.. they were a lottery squad before he was drafted, and a playoff team after they signed him