How about these dream deals?

[KingKong]

http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/12345261p-13213039c.html


[font=verdana,geneva,arial,helvetica,sans-serif]How about these dream deals?



By Ron Wenig -- Bee Assistant Sports Editor
Published 2:15 am PST Tuesday, February 15, 2005


You hear it all the time: Trade Webber! Trade Peja! So we thought we'd oblige. With the NBA trade deadline nine days away (Feb. 24), Bee Assistant Sports Editor Ron Wenig spent a night in a field of daisies, staring at the moon, and came up with four blockbuster deals. Each conforms to salary-cap restrictions.

BLOCKBUSTER I

Kings trade to New York: Chris Webber.New York trades to Utah: PG Stephon Marbury, PF Kurt Thomas.

Utah trades to Kings: F Carlos Boozer, F Matt Harpring. Utah trades to New York: PG Raul López.

Why the Kings would do it: With a starting lineup of Boozer, Mike Bibby, Cuttino Mobley, Peja Stojakovic and Brad Miller, the Kings get younger and would be set to contend for a title for the next five seasons. Harpring, a good shooter, adds solid depth.

Why they wouldn't: Boozer has yet to prove he's ready for prime time.

Why the Knicks would do it: Isiah Thomas loves Webber.

Why they wouldn't: If Webber crumbles due to injury, the Knicks might not be heard from again for a decade.

Why the Jazz would do it: Utah has soured slightly on Boozer, and team owner Larry Miller has hinted that Boozer may be on the trading block. Marbury is an elite point guard who could turn around the team. Thomas is a suitable replacement for Boozer and a good fit for a Jerry Sloan team.

Why they wouldn't: Marbury might drive Sloan into retirement.

Real-world odds of happening: Dream on.



BLOCKBUSTER II

Kings trade to Philadelphia: Chris Webber. Kings trade to Toronto: Darius Songaila, Bobby Jackson.Philadelphia trades to Kings: C Samuel Dalembert. Philadelphia trades to Toronto: F Glenn Robinson, F Corliss Williamson, first-round pick.

Toronto trades to Kings: F Jalen Rose, F Donyell Marshall.

Why the Kings would do it: Finally, an answer to their defensive and rebounding prayers in up-and-coming, 6-foot-11 Dalembert, who is averaging 6.9 rebounds and 1.72 blocks in just 23 minutes a game. Rose is a talented scorer. Marshall adds rebounding up front.

Why they wouldn't: None of the three players the team would get in exchange can bring Webber's overall versatility.

Why the 76ers would do it: Philly would love to have a big-man scoring option to team with Allen Iverson. Webber would catapult the team into an Eastern Conference power.

Why they wouldn't: 76ers are already loaded down with bad long-term contracts.

Why the Raptors would do it: Toronto clears salary-cap space (Robinson's contract expires after this season), gets a first-round pick and picks up a talented forward in Songaila.

Why they wouldn't: Might want more young talent in return.

Real-world odds of happening: Keep dreaming.



BLOCKBUSTER III

Kings trade to Boston: Peja Stojakovic, Bobby Jackson, Kevin Martin.Boston trades to Kings: F Paul Pierce.

Why the Kings would do it: Pierce is tough, fearless and a gamer.

Why they wouldn't: Still doesn't address defensive or rebounding deficiencies. Does this team really need another scorer?

Why the Celtics would do it: Boston still fondly remembers Larry Bird - and Peja may rekindle that buzz for the fans.

Why they wouldn't: Danny Ainge has made a lot of deals - some good, some bad - and needs to be certain before he pulls the trigger on a blockbuster like this.

Real-world odds of happening: Dreams do come true - but very, very rarely.



BLOCKBUSTER IV

Kings trade to Denver: Peja Stojakovic, Matt Barnes.Denver trades to Kings: F Carmelo Anthony, F Nene, G Greg Buckner.

Why the Kings would do it: Despite his struggles this season, Anthony was being compared favorably to LeBron James last season and has unlimited potential. He could flourish in the Kings' system. Nene is a high-flying, athletic big man.

Why they wouldn't: Anthony has turned into a head case. Trading Peja to a Western Conference rival might be risky.

Why the Nuggets would do it: The team would love to have a long-range threat such as Stojakovic, especially if he regains the MVP form he displayed during the first half of last season.

Why they wouldn't: What if Anthony turns out to be as good as previously thought?

Real-world odds of happening: The impossible dream.



Now go vote

Which of these dream deals would you like to see the Kings pull off? Go to www.sacbee.com/links and cast your vote. Results will appear in Wednesday's editions.[/font]

 

[SLAB]

--If one were to happen, I would be PHYCHED. I like that trade ALOT. Boozer has plenty of potential, and his toughness would definatly help this team. Harpring is another tough player who can definatly shoot.

--Number 2. Wouldn't that give us a logjam at SF? Peja, Donyell, and Rose? Donyell could play the PF, I believe, actually. Also recieve Dalembert, who I love. Still, I'm not to sure about this one. Chalk it up as an undecided.

--One word... NO. To much for to little. Don't get me wrong, Pierce is awesome, but not worth the price of Peja and Jackson. Then to throw in Martin. To much for to little.

--Number 4 is a pipe dream. If it happened, again it would be awesome, but come on...Peja and Melo' lets say are a draw. I'd possibly even give the nod to Melo' based on potential alone. Then you got Barnes going for Nene. Not even close. Nene is a better rebounder and can score. Also get Buckner.... Pipe dream.

 

[Bricklayer]

1) you have to know the writer here to understand where some of this stuff comes from. And besides his own personal little bully pulpit, none of those ideas are any better than what we come up with here. Actually #1 and #2 are just pure fantasy ball ideas proposed because well, its Ron Weinig, and he has an eternal axe to grind. And the last two we've more or less covered here in the past.

2) the Pierce trade is actually something that is within the very far outer boundaries of possibility. Bobby is hardly talked about here anymore.

3) the Carmelo/Nene trade is similar to one I faceitously proposed months ago. Think I included Darius to sweeten the pot. Think I also said that Carmelo is vastly overrated, and Nene has yet to do much with his potential besides do the wannabe thing with the name change.

 

[bigbadred00]

Boozer has had alot of problems in Utah already and some of their fans are already regretting getting him. Will see though. Boozer isn't that great, he can board though, but he backstabbed his previous team (Cleveland) which is never a good sign.

 

[G_M]

I just don't see the Kings taking on another max deal like Pierce. It just does not make financial sense.

Peja is a relative bargain at six million +/- per year. In a strange way it's hard to get value and match the salries. Also, I do not believe you can trade a player (Bobby) who is on the injured list.

 

[bigbadred00]

G_M you can, remember when the Wolves traded Terrell Brandon when his career was over. So I'm pretty sure you can.

 

[Bricklayer]

I just don't see the Kings taking on another max deal like Pierce. It just does not make financial sense.

Peja is a relative bargain at six million +/- per year. In a strange way it's hard to get value and match the salries. Also, I do not believe you can trade a player (Bobby) who is on the injured list.

Trading injured guys is pretty common when you are talking about ending contracts.

Mentioned this before -- since you have to match salaries if you bring back a Pierce, you had to dump that much salary to get him anyway, so you are no worse off (except that you have lost some flexibility in the future). And of course Peja is going to be looking for a max deal after next year too. I would have questions about a Pierce deal, but financially isn't one of them.

 

[Lightforms]

I think it is absolututely sick that the Bee would use front page space of the sports section to tout how we can break up our team on the pure fantasies and opinions of one unnoteworthy person. This isn't the gossip columns, nor where we poll useless stuff like the entertainment section. I'm disgusted on the number of useless polls and I wish the Bee would to return to journalism instead of fantasy.

Take a note from a professional: "I don't think it's right to be throwing players' names out there, particularly if it's just a matter of speculation or a wish list kind of thing. I think it is a sigh of disrespect. I don't think it's productive for the overall stablility of the team. You're asking players to commit themselves to a team system and an organization, and then to turn around and cavalierly throw their names out there, I don't think that helps at all."

While I understand that this was just a news writer spouting off, I'd like to see a new poll about which writers and editors we'd like to get canned from the Bee.

 

[piksi]

9 more days to the deadline = 9 more days of garbage

 

[FullAB]

I found it interesting this morning to open my sports section and be greeted by essentially message board fodder. These are the same fantasy deals that have been hashed around here many times....entertaining chat to be sure....but I hesitate to call parroting what's been read on Kingsfan.com journalism of any kind. The Bee should be ashamed for allowing this kind of drivel to be printed.....especially on the front page.....wow

 

[Kev.in]

I couldn't believe what I saw. All this hype about blockbuster trades that "could" happen. In 9 days, when all that hype doesn't pan out, what's next for the SacBee Sports? Do they just go back to covering the Kings like none of this ever happened?
I can understand catching "trade fever" and wanting to put something in the paper about it, but why the front page? This should've been on page 5 in a little sidebar, because Wenig has no sources and he's just going with ideas that tons of people have been throwing out there for discussion for months.

 

[BullKing]

I would do 1 or 4 anytime. #1 sounds great.

 

[Crackerman]

I think it is absolututely sick that the Bee would use front page space of the sports section to tout how we can break up our team on the pure fantasies and opinions of one unnoteworthy person. This isn't the gossip columns, nor where we poll useless stuff like the entertainment section. I'm disgusted on the number of useless polls and I wish the Bee would to return to journalism instead of fantasy.

Take a note from a professional: "I don't think it's right to be throwing players' names out there, particularly if it's just a matter of speculation or a wish list kind of thing. I think it is a sigh of disrespect. I don't think it's productive for the overall stablility of the team. You're asking players to commit themselves to a team system and an organization, and then to turn around and cavalierly throw their names out there, I don't think that helps at all."

While I understand that this was just a news writer spouting off, I'd like to see a new poll about which writers and editors we'd like to get canned from the Bee.

Nice post, could not agree more.... This is pretty trashy

 

[KingKong]

I don't know about you guys but I'm happy with the team that we have. Sure we have rebounding issuses and defensive problems but I don't think trading significant players is really going to make a huge difference. I think it has a lot to do with our system during the regular season. Effort, obviously has a to do with it as well, but I think we will see some real effort when the playoffs come around. This current team hasn't even practised all that much together and we have tremendous room for improvement. I like the current team we have and I think we should wait and see if we are no further in the playoffs than the previous years, to really consider some of these dream deals that are out there, if they are possible at all.

 

[HndsmCelt]

Yet another example of why sports writers should be drug tested along with athleets.

 

[G_M]

To be fair I think it's logical to talk about Peja being involved in a trade. I think when someone says they want to be traded and then they follow that up with subpar play it's natural to think they could be traded.

 

[Evenstar]

thats a great thing to wrtie about. who cares about tonights game, how can the kings get rid of webber!!!!!!!

geezus.... i want those 2 minutes of my life back

 

[Bricklayer]

I don't know about you guys but I'm happy with the team that we have. Sure we have rebounding issuses and defensive problems but I don't think trading significant players is really going to make a huge difference. I think it has a lot to do with our system during the regular season. Effort, obviously has a to do with it as well, but I think we will see some real effort when the playoffs come around. This current team hasn't even practised all that much together and we have tremendous room for improvement. I like the current team we have and I think we should wait and see if we are no further in the playoffs than the previous years, to really consider some of these dream deals that are out there, if they are possible at all.

Um...how could trading significant players NOT make a huge difference?

This article is silly at best, but the whole idea of making a trade (likely smaller trade) to shore up our weaknesses is not. We may or may not do anything -- clearly has to be the right deal -- but the truth is we lack the traits championship teams have always had (defense/rebounding), and most of that is personnel. There are no all-defensive team members or rebounding champs on the team (except Webber who is still our best) who just suddenly quit playing defense or rebounding when they hit Sacto. Just one of those things where Petrie, as good as he is, has now gone out and acquired so many poor defenders and weak rebounders that we may very not be able to excel at those areas even if we want to.

I am not at all for panic, and Petrie is even cooler than I am. But on the other hand when you've played more than half the year and the problems are as obvious as they have been for us, I'm not into just giving away the season through inaction either.

 

[bigbadred00]

Matt (Sacramento): Do we trade Peja? Seems like he's not feeling it this year?

Chad Ford: I think it's an issue. I hear that the Kings would prefer to move Chris Webber, but he's very difficult to trade because of his age and his contract. Peja does seem to be a bit out of place this year. He still gets his points, but ... I don't think it would be out of the question for the Kings to move him if they got back a really special player in return. Someone on that team has to play defense.

This is from the Chad Ford Interview thing he does weekly, again he is insistant with this rumor.

 

[uolj]

I hear that the Kings would prefer to move Chris Webber

I wouldn't be surprised if he talked to Voisin and got that information from her without knowing any reason to be skeptical.

 

[Bricklayer]

Matt (Sacramento): Do we trade Peja? Seems like he's not feeling it this year?

Chad Ford: I think it's an issue. I hear that the Kings would prefer to move Chris Webber, but he's very difficult to trade because of his age and his contract. Peja does seem to be a bit out of place this year. He still gets his points, but ... I don't think it would be out of the question for the Kings to move him if they got back a really special player in return. Someone on that team has to play defense.

This is from the Chad Ford Interview thing he does weekly, again he is insistant with this rumor.

You are missing the point -- he has been insistent with one of those two rumors for literally YEARS now. The only voice he is hearing anything from is the little one in his head. The joke is if we ever do trade Peja or Webb, he'll be the first roster to crow from his dungheap despite having been wrong about it literally dozens of times before.

 

[SaCKiNgS24]

none of these trades are blockbusters. we lose on every single one. the pierce one is half decent, except i wouldnt trade away kevin martin simply because he could develop into an allstar. so we on the losing end of the stick on every one. trading webber right now is not a good idea. the dude has 4 triple doubles! 3 in 5 games.

 

[PFFFT!!]

Um...how could trading significant players NOT make a huge difference?

This article is silly at best, but the whole idea of making a trade (likely smaller trade) to shore up our weaknesses is not. We may or may not do anything -- clearly has to be the right deal -- but the truth is we lack the traits championship teams have always had (defense/rebounding), and most of that is personnel. There are no all-defensive team members or rebounding champs on the team (except Webber who is still our best) who just suddenly quit playing defense or rebounding when they hit Sacto. Just one of those things where Petrie, as good as he is, has now gone out and acquired so many poor defenders and weak rebounders that we may very not be able to excel at those areas even if we want to.

I am not at all for panic, and Petrie is even cooler than I am. But on the other hand when you've played more than half the year and the problems are as obvious as they have been for us, I'm not into just giving away the season through inaction either.

I agree wif you Brickie, this team as is will not cut it to a championship. If we are to contend some issues need to be addressed. Wish the homers would understand, like the Christie homers who I think fell on solid ground and are happy to know that there is life after Christie. Geez.

 

[PT Cruiser 9ROC]

Whoever the Bee Sports editor is needs be fired. NOW.

How irresponsible is this? How ridiculous is this? How do you allow something like this to ever go to print? Not only is it irresponsible, it pretty much destroys whatever credibility the paper had before (which wasn't much, I might add). There's a line between selling newspapers and being outright stupid. This article brings nothing new to the table at all. And worst of all, they're asking people TO VOTE???!!!?! Could the guys at the Bee make it any more obvious how much they want to break up the team? I have a feeling that publishing whatever poll results they get, however slanted, will have some type of effect on the team. Things like these can really get ideas into a players mind-- the feelings of the fans toward him can have a big effect, especially in this town.

See, we've all seen these deals proposed time and time again on these boards. Which I'm fine with. Because no matter how great this board is, it's pretty much nothing compared to the Bee, a widely distributed paper with a pretty wide range of influence. First the moron Marcos Breton writing with his bong telling the A's that Sacramento would build them a stadium when they won't even build an arena for their beloved Kings, now this. My old high school newspaper was more professional than this. Ridiculous...

 

[bigbadred00]

So what do you recommend PFFFT!! Unless we can so how deal Ostertag for Duncan or Bradley for Amare what could be a realistic trade to make us #1 contender for the title. I don't see a trade out there right now at all. Even these trades wouldn't guarantee us a title. No offence but Boozer is very overrated and get's less blocks than Webber does hurt. He is a 13/12 guy AT best and doesn't play that great of defence.

The only good defenders at the 4 position are some of the best and would be impossible for us to get. Were going to have to stick with Webber unless you want to get really young which would mean any chance of going after anything in the next 3 years as mute. Best 3 defenders at the 4 are TD-(28) Impossible to get, KG-(28) almost impossible to get, Brand-(25) Same, the rest of the guys are pretty much horrid defenders or offensive players.

The best of the rest
Amare-22 Decent Defender
Randolph-23 Worse than Webber
Boozer-23 Slightly better
Dirk-26 A wash

2 of those 4 (Amare and Dirk) are impossible to get.

Then there is the strategy that we move Brad to the 5 if we trade Webber, who exactly could work, I guess Dalembert, but next year your going to have to pay the guy and he could turn up being like Blount this year.

Our worst defender is arguably our most important piece in Bibby, and I've never heard a trade rumor about the guy. It all starts with him because he let's guys penetrate on him. I know will never move him, and I don't want him to get moved but I'm pretty sure the defensive struggles can easily be stemmed from him.

Now if we could surround the team with let's say Artest or something then maybe it would work cause he could be the one man zone guy, but I've seen stretches including the Houston game where Mobley looked like a pretty damn good defender. Maybe not as good as Christie in his prime, but good. Problem I still think is Mobley is a little hurt and when your a little hurt your O might be alright but your D is definitely going to suffer like it has lately including recent games.

Well Hopefully, the D comes out like last year in the Playoffs where I believe we did a pretty good job at. That's the only hope for a title this year, our team is healthy and they motivated to play some D. WIthout that were never going to beat the Spurs.

 

[PFFFT!!]

So what do you recommend PFFFT!! Unless we can so how deal Ostertag for Duncan or Bradley for Amare what could be a realistic trade to make us #1 contender for the title. I don't see a trade out there right now at all. Even these trades wouldn't guarantee us a title. No offence but Boozer is very overrated and get's less blocks than Webber does hurt. He is a 13/12 guy AT best and doesn't play that great of defence.

The only good defenders at the 4 position are some of the best and would be impossible for us to get. Were going to have to stick with Webber unless you want to get really young which would mean any chance of going after anything in the next 3 years as mute. Best 3 defenders at the 4 are TD-(28) Impossible to get, KG-(28) almost impossible to get, Brand-(25) Same, the rest of the guys are pretty much horrid defenders or offensive players.

The best of the rest
Amare-22 Decent Defender
Randolph-23 Worse than Webber
Boozer-23 Slightly better
Dirk-26 A wash

2 of those 4 (Amare and Dirk) are impossible to get.

Then there is the strategy that we move Brad to the 5 if we trade Webber, who exactly could work, I guess Dalembert, but next year your going to have to pay the guy and he could turn up being like Blount this year.

Our worst defender is arguably our most important piece in Bibby, and I've never heard a trade rumor about the guy. It all starts with him because he let's guys penetrate on him. I know will never move him, and I don't want him to get moved but I'm pretty sure the defensive struggles can easily be stemmed from him.

Now if we could surround the team with let's say Artest or something then maybe it would work cause he could be the one man zone guy, but I've seen stretches including the Houston game where Mobley looked like a pretty damn good defender. Maybe not as good as Christie in his prime, but good. Problem I still think is Mobley is a little hurt and when your a little hurt your O might be alright but your D is definitely going to suffer like it has lately including recent games.

Well Hopefully, the D comes out like last year in the Playoffs where I believe we did a pretty good job at. That's the only hope for a title this year, our team is healthy and they motivated to play some D. WIthout that were never going to beat the Spurs.

Its not what you or I recommend. It all falls realistically on Petrie. If he knows the players well, he knows whats out there and what is being offered and gets paid to study the scenarios. Realistically its all about wether our GM feels that this crew as is will win a championship, and if not, what is out there that can make us a real contender. If there isn't anything out there, were stuck as we are. Plain and simple. I guess I will hope we get as LUCKY as the Pistons got last year.

 

[NJKingsFan]

Whoever the Bee Sports editor is needs be fired. NOW.

How irresponsible is this? How ridiculous is this? How do you allow something like this to ever go to print? Not only is it irresponsible, it pretty much destroys whatever credibility the paper had before (which wasn't much, I might add). There's a line between selling newspapers and being outright stupid. This article brings nothing new to the table at all. And worst of all, they're asking people TO VOTE???!!!?! Could the guys at the Bee make it any more obvious how much they want to break up the team? I have a feeling that publishing whatever poll results they get, however slanted, will have some type of effect on the team. Things like these can really get ideas into a players mind-- the feelings of the fans toward him can have a big effect, especially in this town.

I agree that it is highly irresponsible reporting, but newspaper articles should NOT have a negative effect on any pro sports team. That's why they're NBA players. They have to be smart and not put too much stock into the garbage. Like I said, it's a stupid article, but stuff like that is going to be printed in every city; it comes with the territory.

The thing that should really motivate the players is the All-Star snubs. I thought they would've played with alot more fire and won the games by 5 or 10 points against Phoenix and Dallas last week.

 

[G_M]

I'm not sure you can change the core of your team midseason and contend for a championship. Outside of Detroit adding Sheed I don't remember another championship team adding a KEY piece midway through the season.

Coach Carril was talking during the Dallas pregame and said some interesting things. Essentially he said that the Kings only need to be adequate rebounders and defenders. However, he said the mental mistakes were killing the team. Those included quick shooting the ball, missed free throws, and unforced turnovers.

IMO the Kings, with the exception of San Antonio, are as talented as any team in the league. I think the Kings will keep the team in tact this year and hope to regain some focus during the second part of the year. The focus includes rebounding and team defense.

The unknown is Peja. However, I think Petrie may have a fondness for Peja. Petrie discovered Peja at a time when it was not in vogue to draft European players. He took a chance on Peja when most people wanted John Wallace. Also, at the time it wasn't certain that Peja would even come to the states. I have a hunch that Petrie will give Peja some time and hope he comes around.

 

[Bricklayer]

You know, a few weeks back I started to make a similar statement about teams not winning championships with mid-season trades, but there have actually been a few -- Detroit (Sheed), Houston (Thorpe for Drexler), Detroit (Dantley for Aguirre), Lakers picked up Michael Thompson back in the day etc.

Stability and consistency is key, and Petrie knows this. But I suspect he also knows we are going to be fighting history bigtime if we try to score our way to an NBA title. That just doesn't happen.

 

[VF21]

I saw the byline and I absolutely REFUSE to react in any way to his drivel. AND I absolutely will NOT follow the link to the poll. I will not dignify this type of nonsense by quoting it or even making specific comments about its contents.

I am continually amazed at how little support our own team gets from our "local" newspaper. There are ways to right good insightful articles (as Joe Davidson, Mark Kreidler and team cheerleader Marty McNeal have proven) WITHOUT resorting to the typical inciteful articles so typical of Ailene Voisin, Marcos Breton and Ron Wenig.

Shame on you, Sacramento Bee. SHAME on you.

If you don't think a newspaper article can have a negative effect, you obviously haven't been reading the Bee very long. There's a reason Rick Adelman won't talk to at least one reporter. There are reasons more than one member of the Kings will only talk to selected writers. Newspaper articles, especially in an area with only ONE major daily newspaper, can have a tremendous effect on public opinion and it is, after all, public opinion that creates fans, controversy, etc.

IMHO it's truly pathetic that some sports writers can't present the good side of things once in a while. Instead, it's always doom and gloom, negativity, conflict, etc.

Blech.