In defense of Geoff Petrie...

[Geoff]

In defense of Geoff Petrie...
...the man has a plan, even if we have no freakin' clue what it is. Oh ye of little faith, 'tis a sad thing to trade Chris Webber, 'tis sad to prematurely blow up the team structure that made me a Kings fan in the first place. We all wish that Webb would have remained a King and won a couple rings or three.

But even though this trade seems dumb on the surface, and below surface, and all the way to the core...I think that Geoff Petrie has earned at least the rest of this season and even a fair bit of next season before you call for his head. I'm not a local fan but you have to admit that the man's track record is very good. He doesn't make a move just to make a move, and it is only fair to give him time to see how all this plays out.

It's too soon to see if this is his first major screw-up.

For the record, I would have waited till the offseason to do any moves, dependent upon what the squad may or may not have done in the post-season.

 

[BigWaxer]

I agree and couldn't have said it better myself.

 

[Padrino]

In defense of Geoff Petrie...
...the man has a plan, even if we have no freakin' clue what it is. Oh ye of little faith, 'tis a sad thing to trade Chris Webber, 'tis sad to prematurely blow up the team structure that made me a Kings fan in the first place. We all wish that Webb would have remained a King and won a couple rings or three.

But even though this trade seems dumb on the surface, and below surface, and all the way to the core...I think that Geoff Petrie has earned at least the rest of this season and even a fair bit of next season before you call for his head. I'm not a local fan but you have to admit that the man's track record is very good. He doesn't make a move just to make a move, and it is only fair to give him time to see how all this plays out.

It's too soon to see if this is his first major screw-up.

For the record, I would have waited till the offseason to do any moves, dependent upon what the squad may or may not have done in the post-season.

ok...i'll agree with you. its too soon to call this a "major screw up," but petrie is taking a mighty big ****ing risk. the 3 players we received are basically underachievers and benchwarmers. to trade a 5 time all star and probable future hall of famer for 3 role players just seems ludicrous to me. if petrie can somehow deal any of these 3 guys in the offseason (and i dont think they can go together), and receive some real talent in return, then it may be a success. but thats a mighty big risk when he could have just waited til the off season (and not threw away our chances this season) to attempt to ship webber, and receive relatively equal talent in return.

 

[KP]

Geoff, I knew you were really Petrie this whole time.

...Your point is right though of course.

 

[PFFFT!!]

He may have pulled the trigger now before the end of the season for fear of another Webber injury. His performace in the past games is what "sold" him to Philadelphia. Had he gotten injured I can bet you anything that we would have had him again for training camp for the 2005-06 season, with a bigger fatter paycheck. I believe that this move is the only one he had to go on with no other offers.

 

[Geoff]

Geoff, I knew you were really Petrie this whole time.

...Your point is right though of course.

curses! i've been found out!

nah, i'm as far from the real Geoff Petrie as you can get. I am a real Geoff though

 

[Variant]

IMO, Petrie felt the risks of keeping Webber outweighed the benefits.

We risk Webb getting hurt and becoming completely untradeable and never finding out if this team could play like it was last year before Webb came back by keeping him.

The benefits of keeping him aren't that great either. In our current state, we're a mid to lower seeded playoff team that is out in either the first or second round. Peja and Mobley both leave as soon as they can and we're left with an aging and possibly injured Webb without the flexibiliy to do much about it.

Just trying to rationalize things out loud.

 

[Padrino]

He may have pulled the trigger now before the end of the season for fear of another Webber injury. His performace in the past games is what "sold" him to Philadelphia. Had he gotten injured I can bet you anything that we would have had him again for training camp for the 2005-06 season, with a bigger fatter paycheck. I believe that this move is the only one he had to go on with no other offers.

then that's poor general managing. if you are constantly worrying about whether or not a player is going to re-injure himself, then yer never gonna make any progress. what if peja re-injures his back or pulls his hamstring again and is unavailable for the off-season? what if bibby re-injures his ankle, or mobley catches the flu, or brad gets shot by greg ostertag while theyre hunting (more likely then webb re-injuring his knee)? please....the injury argument is lame. 3 scrubs cuz yer worried about injuries??? not a valid reason to trade a 5 time all star.

 

[whozit]

I will give him the benefit of the doubt, he has earned that much. On this trade, time will have the only answer. I can understand (maybe?) the motivations that could be behind it, but it just doesn't feel right.

 

[Gary]

We risk Webb getting hurt and becoming completely untradeable and never finding out if this team could play like it was last year before Webb came back by keeping him.

The benefits of keeping him aren't that great either. In our current state, we're a mid to lower seeded playoff team that is out in either the first or second round. Peja and Mobley both leave as soon as they can and we're left with an aging and possibly injured Webb without the flexibiliy to do much about it.

VERY well said.. Especially the Mobley/Peja part.

 

[PFFFT!!]

then that's poor general managing. if you are constantly worrying about whether or not a player is going to re-injure himself, then yer never gonna make any progress. what if peja re-injures his back or pulls his hamstring again and is unavailable for the off-season? what if bibby re-injures his ankle, or mobley catches the flu, or brad gets shot by greg ostertag while theyre hunting (more likely then webb re-injuring his knee)? please....the injury argument is lame. 3 scrubs cuz yer worried about injuries??? not a valid reason to trade a 5 time all star.

Webber is more injury prone. Look at the last 4 seasons and look at his paycheck go up every year. If Peja went down or Bibby injured his ankle, or mobley caught a flu, if you were a GM on another team, who would you rather take considering injury and paycheck? Case in point....I hope. How do you think "Glass ankles" came about in this forum.

 

[Padrino]

VERY well said.. Especially the Mobley/Peja part.

yer speaking as if webber was not liked by his teammates. peja couldnt get along with him, for whatever reason, but mobley has voiced in the media that he loves playing with webb. he is more likely to leave this offseason now than while webber was still a part of this team.

 

[Variant]

then that's poor general managing. if you are constantly worrying about whether or not a player is going to re-injure himself, then yer never gonna make any progress. what if peja re-injures his back or pulls his hamstring again and is unavailable for the off-season? what if bibby re-injures his ankle, or mobley catches the flu, or brad gets shot by greg ostertag while theyre hunting (more likely then webb re-injuring his knee)? please....the injury argument is lame. 3 scrubs cuz yer worried about injuries??? not a valid reason to trade a 5 time all star.

To the contrary... as with any business, you figure out the percentages and risks. Sure someone else on the team could get injured... but most likely would be able to recover from it. Webber has a HIGHER chance of getting injured, and in addition to that, the chances of the injury being career-ending or at the very least season ending are higher than for another guy simply because of a) what's already happened to his knee, b) his age and c) his history of managing to get hurt.

Petrie & the Maloofs I don't think wanted to bet the farm on a healthy Webber. They were more comfortable giving it a shot without him and if things don't work out having the flexibility to make moves to address it...

 

[Variant]

yer speaking as if webber was not liked by his teammates. peja couldnt get along with him, for whatever reason, but mobley has voiced in the media that he loves playing with webb. he is more likely to leave this offseason now than while webber was still a part of this team.

Not saying they disliked him. Just saying that if Webb were to get injured while still here, it would be obvious to most players that Sac wouldn't be all that desireable of a place to stay what with Webb's contract making it impossible for any other superstar type players to arrive. Would be less money for Peja & Mobley too were they to re-sigh.

Again, mostly thinking out loud here ttrying to find a way to make sense of this trade.

 

[Geoff]

Again, mostly thinking out loud here ttrying to find a way to make sense of this trade.

Maybe it's not a straight-up basketball logical reason. Maybe it was just a shakeup to try something to get everyone going again.

But why do it now?

Still, we must wait and see.

 

[sloter]

Actually, the only thing that I blame Petrie is that he waited too long to trade Webber... his value diminished to such a low level that we should be satisfied that we even got this much.

 

[Gary]

yer speaking as if webber was not liked by his teammates. peja couldnt get along with him, for whatever reason, but mobley has voiced in the media that he loves playing with webb. he is more likely to leave this offseason now than while webber was still a part of this team.

With Webber here wqe had less chance probally in the off season to sign Mobley, and Peja.. After that if Webber goes down than we are pretty much a lottery team. At least now we probally wont be.,

 

[PFFFT!!]

Actually, the only thing that I blame Petrie is that he waited too long to trade Webber... his value diminished to such a low level that we should be satisfied that we even got this much.

I dont. How can you trade a guy who has surgery during the offseason and barely played last season, only to start during the playoffs when teams kick it up a notch. I can guarantee you nobody in the league would even take Webber for a 12th man benchie. Petrie tried but found no one who could take him. Now an opportunity rose and he snatched at it.

 

[piksi]

peja couldnt get along with him, for whatever reason

On the court only. I think they were fine of the court at least till the last summer

 

[Caesar Rex]

Webber AND Peja both have a tendency to miss some games, disappear in the playoffs, and be unreliable first options, hence why we haven't won any championships.

I feel that Peja, without Webber, can return to last year's form, and I don't seem to understand why everyone is devaluing the players we have in return. They are by no means poor players. They aren't Webber, dominant, or elite players, but we don't need those kinds of players. We need players that we can depend on day in and day out and fit into our game and do things that no one else does. I personally feel that Thomas can fit into a nice niche with the Kings. What worries me is that we are giving up more size in our lineup, and Thomas will have to defend the dominant Western Conference forwards, something I'm not convinced he can do.

 

[VF21]

With all the stuff that's been posted, I know it's hard for people to read everything. Instead of reposting, I'm going to direct you guys to the thread started by 6th, The Show Must Go On! http://www.kingsfans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3373

Look at post #20. The PM I received earlier today pretty much echoes the sentiments Geoff used in his first post, and I cannot argue with any of them.

It is, after all, the name on the front and not the name on the back.

I do have one hope: With Webber gone, I hope he took the GPAM™ with him. If one thing drove me nuts, it was watching our guys stand around like they were Green Plastic Army Men just placed on the court and waiting for Webber to work his magic. Without him there, they can't do that any more.

It's gonna be different now. Good? Bad? I don't know yet. But it will be different!

GO KINGS!!!!!!

 

[Bricklayer]

Geoff's set himself up for one hell of a summer. Despite the sporadic brillaint moves over the years, this promises to be the first full scale rebuilding since 98-99, and a defining moment for him. Tearing up a lousy team is one thing -- easy to do and there is little risk because there's not much downside. Tearing up an elite squad takes cahones, and by the end of the summer if its done wrong we are no longer elite (probably are not right now either, but its just a 30 game waiting period until the real fun starts).

Will be an interesting offseason. Geoff intentionally scrapped the team in an effort to set this summer up, apaprently confident in his abilities. But he's going to have to be at his brillaint best for the whole summer not to end up wearing a freshly minted set of goat horns.

 

[piksi]

After seing D. Ainge trading back for Walker - GP is still a genius until proven otherwise

 

[Bballkingsrock]

The trade isn't bad yet.

We just have to wait and see.