A thought on the Webber trade...

[El Duque]

Before we all kill ourselves, lets think here. We didn't win a damn thing with Webber. I repeat: we never won a damn thing with Webber. That's not to say he isn't a great player, or that this trade won't hurt us short term, but if Petrie believes this is for the best interests of the team, I'm gonna have to take his word for it. He's not been wrong yet. Those three smaller contracts are also a LOT easier to package with other players for deals than Webber's gargantuan contract that would've kept him here when he was in a Patrick Ewing-like state: completely ineffective and sitting out most nights. Just take a deep breath; we've always played well without Webb anyways.

 

[gotpitbull]

I tend to agree, it still hurts though. Looking back on it, the Doug trade seemed to hurt worse, and that seems to have worked out.

We'll see.

 

[bigbadred00]

Have we won anything without him either? Hello? Did we ever win a playoff series without him? NOPE! Did we win a title without him? NOPE? Did we get to the playoffs every year with him? Yup? Did we win a 3 first round playoff series with him? Yup. Hmm........Are we now better than the Spurs, Mavs, Rockets, Suns or Sonics.............I think that'd be a NOPE.

 

[El Duque]

bigred, feel free to disagree, but the fact is we had many chances to win "the big one", and this team didn't get it done. I'm thankful that Webber got us this far, but it's pretty clear to me, at least, that he wasn't taking us any farther.

 

[Diabeticwonder]

Are we now better than the Spurs, Mavs, Rockets, Suns or Sonics.............I think that'd be a NOPE.

I don't think that with him the Kings were a better team than those other teams right now. Losing 6 of 7 (with Webb) and with 6 straight on the road in the next 2 weeks would only solidify that the Kings weren't going anywhere this season with Webber. If the Kings had kept Webb and went 2-4 on this trip the majority of Kings fans would have been complaining that Webb wasn't traded before the deadline. Something had to be done and Petrie chose to trade Webb. I'm not saying it was the best deal out there, but I have enough faith in Petrie to trust him and to not rush to judgment. The last time fans rushed to judgment on something Petrie did was when he drafted a guy by the name of Predrag rather than Final 4 hero John Wallace out of Syracuse. Worked out pretty good.

 

[bigbadred00]

El_duque have the Kings been healthy for any time the last 2 years? Has either Bobby or Webber been injured for just about every game but the first 24 this year. Has any team won the title with a major part being injured for significant amounts of time? I honestly can't remember one. What direction are we going now? LotterY? First round exits? I'd rather take a 2nd round exit than the Lottery or a first round exit any day of the week. Obviouly titles are the only thing that matters, but most players don't have a title. I like cheering for the Kings but it's going to be tough when they traded my favorite player for less than his value...way less. Am I the only one that would rather have the Knicks deal now? Sigh .

 

[bigbadred00]

Well the Knicks got to the finals without Ewing in the weak east, so theres 1.

 

[Joker112]

Before we all kill ourselves, lets think here. We didn't win a damn thing with Webber. I repeat: we never won a damn thing with Webber. That's not to say he isn't a great player, or that this trade won't hurt us short term, but if Petrie believes this is for the best interests of the team, I'm gonna have to take his word for it. He's not been wrong yet. Those three smaller contracts are also a LOT easier to package with other players for deals than Webber's gargantuan contract that would've kept him here when he was in a Patrick Ewing-like state: completely ineffective and sitting out most nights. Just take a deep breath; we've always played well without Webb anyways.

No we didn't win any championships with Webber. We did, however, become a winning team. After more than a decade of being the laughingstocks of professional sports, the recent teams that featured Webber won games. As a fan of the Kings since 1985 and a season ticket holder, I can say that watching a winning team with Webber is certainly more enjoyable than the 32-50 dogs that the Kings rolled out in the 80s and 90s. If the new lineup maintains the success of the previous squads then that is great. But to devalue what the franchise has accomplished the last several years is pure ignorance.

 

[El Duque]

Good points all, specifically the health ones. But perhaps Webber's health being what it is, that concern wasn't going away? I just see too many gaping holes in the reliance on Webber.

Joker112, I agree entirely. Please don't think I'm devaluing what our franchise has accomplished with Webber. But to say that we should keep a blind reliance on an injury-prone, slow, old player who is one twisted knee away from never playing again is to ignore some reality. We are no longer "Webber and Gang". We are a TEAM. Sacramento Kings basketball has become more than just Webber vs. Expansionism. Bibby, Mobley, Stojakovic, Miller gives us a young core that most teams outside of Phoenix, Washington, and Chicago would LOVE to have.

 

[G_M]

Good points all, specifically the health ones. But perhaps Webber's health being what it is, that concern wasn't going away? I just see too many gaping holes in the reliance on Webber.

Joker112, I agree entirely. Please don't think I'm devaluing what our franchise has accomplished with Webber. But to say that we should keep a blind reliance on an injury-prone, slow, old player who is one twisted knee away from never playing again is to ignore some reality. We are no longer "Webber and Gang". We are a TEAM. Sacramento Kings basketball has become more than just Webber vs. Expansionism. Bibby, Mobley, Stojakovic, Miller gives us a young core that most teams outside of Phoenix, Washington, and Chicago would LOVE to have.

Good post!!

 

[RoyalDiva]

Good points all, specifically the health ones. But perhaps Webber's health being what it is, that concern wasn't going away? I just see too many gaping holes in the reliance on Webber.

Joker112, I agree entirely. Please don't think I'm devaluing what our franchise has accomplished with Webber. But to say that we should keep a blind reliance on an injury-prone, slow, old player who is one twisted knee away from never playing again is to ignore some reality. We are no longer "Webber and Gang". We are a TEAM. Sacramento Kings basketball has become more than just Webber vs. Expansionism. Bibby, Mobley, Stojakovic, Miller gives us a young core that most teams outside of Phoenix, Washington, and Chicago would LOVE to have.

Agreed!!

 

[Big Cuz 15]

El_duque have the Kings been healthy for any time the last 2 years? Has either Bobby or Webber been injured for just about every game but the first 24 this year. Has any team won the title with a major part being injured for significant amounts of time? I honestly can't remember one. What direction are we going now? LotterY? First round exits? I'd rather take a 2nd round exit than the Lottery or a first round exit any day of the week. Obviouly titles are the only thing that matters, but most players don't have a title. I like cheering for the Kings but it's going to be tough when they traded my favorite player for less than his value...way less. Am I the only one that would rather have the Knicks deal now? Sigh .

red take your blinders off please. webber and bobby are having more injuries... why? age might play a factor into it. we all understand your sentimental connection with the players but it was a really smart move in petries part to do this. we're going to need $$ to resign mo evans, maybe peja and bobby. this was the only way to do it. i totally agree with the other person on "Patrick Ewing-like state". we would've been chained to his contract if his skills would've diminished even more. who in the world would want to trade for a aging pf thats got really bad wheels with an gigantic contract?

 

[Evenstar]

i still trust geoff. he obviously knows more then we do.

by playing on one leg, webber is putting more stress on his other knee, ankle etc. with that much money commited to him ( which will be going up each year and when you factor age into the equation, his production is probably going to go down) it's just too risky IMO.

if webber had gone down with another injury, what would the kings have done??? we've played without him, we will just have to do it again. and play some better damn defense

 

[Gary]

We should just let this play out. [sarcasm]I am hoping that we will still be a good team with the 3 allstar caliber players we have[/sarcasm] hehee.. We will be OK.

I have trust in our team, but I would like to see more specific positioned players instead of all these tweeners

 

[ZEKEDAWG]

Have we won anything without him either? Hello? Did we ever win a playoff series without him? NOPE! Did we win a title without him? NOPE? Did we get to the playoffs every year with him? Yup? Did we win a 3 first round playoff series with him? Yup. Hmm........Are we now better than the Spurs, Mavs, Rockets, Suns or Sonics.............I think that'd be a NOPE.

Did he cost us big time with his lousy free throw shooting down the stretch in tight games. Heck yeah. It sucks when you lose an integral part of a team but he was an anchor, I loved to watch him play and still will in a 76 ers uni. We can only hope that things will be better next season. this one is a wash, geez i sound like a niners fan now.

 

[bigbadred00]

Sorry Double Post.

 

[bigbadred00]

I remember the TEAM shooting 50% from the line. Yes Webber was a part of this but to solely blame Webber for bad free throw shooting in game 7 is being an idiot. When we lose it's Webber's fault. But when we win it has nothing to do with him. I'm sick of this guys.

 

[bigbadred00]

Webber shot 0 of 2 from the line in the 2nd half. Please blame Webber......you guys are fools. You want the game log. Vlade missed 5 in the 2nd half......You gonna blame him too.

 

[NBAGURU]

Well think of it this way. Now that C-Webb is gone...will see who the real weak link is.......and he will have to be the one to blame!!!

 

[PFFFT!!]

Just saw the latests article in Sacbee and there was a fan comment from a Cruz guy saying he'll never watch a Kings game again. Was that Cruzdude? Haven't seen him post since the trade. I think this forum will get a bit lighter now that Webber is gone.

 

[bigbadred00]

PFFFT! I'm going to admit since I don't live in Sacto, the reason I am (might still be) was because of Webber. He's been my 2nd favorite player to Mr. Jordan since I was a child and I abhored the teams I lived near (Knicks/Nets/Philly) growing up. Now with this trade especially the way it was done it's going to be tough......I can imagine there are others in this group. I wouldn't call myself bandwagon. I'm a Chris Webber fan and I've followed his career around. It's going to be tough to watch.

 

[t5chris]

Just saw the latests article in Sacbee and there was a fan comment from a Cruz guy saying he'll never watch a Kings game again. Was that Cruzdude? Haven't seen him post since the trade. I think this forum will get a bit lighter now that Webber is gone.

I'm joining him along with my friends here in Southern California. MAYBE i'll be back if Petrie dies.

 

[RoyalDiva]

Just saw the latests article in Sacbee and there was a fan comment from a Cruz guy saying he'll never watch a Kings game again. Was that Cruzdude? Haven't seen him post since the trade. I think this forum will get a bit lighter now that Webber is gone.

Honestly, if that is the opinion of any "fan", then all I have to say to them is good riddance.

 

[Twix]

Honestly, if that is the opinion of any "fan", then all I have to say to them is good riddance.

WORD!

 

[bdouble013]

Amen RD. I was crushed last night. I'm still upset, but life goes on and I'm still a Kings fan. I'm rocking all my Kings gear today. I'll always have great memories of Webb, but all emotions aside I know there was going to be a time when Webb simply couldn't cut it. Its always better to trade a player early than to trade him too late.

 

[Gary]

I wouldn't call myself bandwagon. I'm a Chris Webber fan and I've followed his career around. It's going to be tough to watch.

Tough to watch the Kings now, or Webber? I have bled purple since the beginning (blue or powder blue as well), and will continue to love my Kings!

 

[bigbadred00]

Both, I thought the Kings were the best home for him. The team he is joining is built around AI and not himself anymore. Dude, I'll be the first to tell you I wanted Webber to retire a King.........this breaks my heart.

 

[Stojakovic]

Good points all, specifically the health ones. But perhaps Webber's health being what it is, that concern wasn't going away? I just see too many gaping holes in the reliance on Webber.

Joker112, I agree entirely. Please don't think I'm devaluing what our franchise has accomplished with Webber. But to say that we should keep a blind reliance on an injury-prone, slow, old player who is one twisted knee away from never playing again is to ignore some reality. We are no longer "Webber and Gang". We are a TEAM. Sacramento Kings basketball has become more than just Webber vs. Expansionism. Bibby, Mobley, Stojakovic, Miller gives us a young core that most teams outside of Phoenix, Washington, and Chicago would LOVE to have.

Right on Duque !

I don't agree with blaming our failures on our injuries though. Injuries were always going to occur, so there's no point in saying if we had all been healthy Webb or anyone else for that matter would have won it for us. I think when you look over the past couple of years, you'd have to say that our execution (luck also played a big part) down the stretch against the Lakers was our downfall.

 

[Crackerman]

I'm joining him along with my friends here in Southern California. MAYBE i'll be back if Petrie dies.

I don't think there is any need for comments like that. Maybe you shouldn't come back!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[VF21]

Okay, let me - VF21 the MODERATOR - clarify something. We are all reacting differently. Some are very sad, some are convinced it's a step in the right direction. There's room on this board for all of us.

What there ISN'T room for and what WON'T be tolerated is for people to come here and totally slander one of our players, our coaches, Petrie, etc. This board has always been about being civil even in the midst of the hottest debates and it's not going to stop now.

t5chris has left the building, as will others who can't seem to understand what we here at Kingsfans.com been about for so long. This goes for those who are applauding the trade, thought Webber was wrong for this team all along AS WELL as those who are in mourning because they think the team is now headed for years of mediocrity. (And anybody who falls anywhere in between.)

Thanks to everyone who's managing to follow the rules regardless of how strongly they feel one way or the other. We're Kings fans and we will survive!!!