I think the meltdown in the Lick era was when we lost Smith, Kelly, Freeman etc. who we saw a key pieces to build on. I think Mel is a good talent, but he needs to step it up. Right now he's not the building block the others were when they went.
If he were to go I would not be nearly as upset as if we were to lose White or Marble for example. Frankly I'm not sure Mel will see a lot of minutes next year. With Meyer and Woody coming in to bolster the 5 spot and the BIG O and Archie continuing to learn the game minutes in the post won't be as easy to come by. Mel is a 4 but White would have the majority of the minutes there if I was the coach based on this years play. McCabe, Marble, Gessel, May,the SHOOTER, and the other two new guards will compete for minutes at 1,2,3 and IMO keep White spending more time at the four.
Now don't get this wrong. I think Mel can be a real cog in a good machine. He's got the talent to be a key piece. I think he's just got to get his focus on being that piece instead of being the guy. I don't want to see him go, but if he were to leave I would not go into meltdown mode.