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Sportsticker Pro Basketball Notebook
November 18, 2005
By Chris Bernucca
SportsTicker Pro Basketball Editor
BRISTOL, Connecticut (Ticker) - This seems as good a time as any to revisit the Chris Webber trade, doesn't it?
You remember the deal, don't you? The Sacramento Kings found a sucker in the Philadelphia 76ers, who wanted an overrated, aging forward with an extremely balky knee and $62 million left on his contract.
In return, the Kings received Kenny Thomas, Corliss Williamson and Brian Skinner, three bigs who provided depth and toughness for an admittedly soft team and - most important - future salary cap flexibility.
How's that working out?
The short answer is evident in the standings. Heading into Friday's test at Miami, Philadelphia had won six straight games to climb to the top of the Atlantic Division with a 6-3 mark. Sacramento is 3-5 with two home losses and in last place in the Pacific Division.
The long answer doesn't change the picture much. Webber, who supposedly isn't anywhere near the player he was before his microfracture surgery, is averaging 20.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists. Those are pretty darn close to his career numbers of 21.8, 10.1 and 4.5.
Meanwhile, Thomas - who declared himself a starter in training camp - has yet to start and is averaging 5.1 points and 4.1 rebounds. And he is the best of the bunch.
Skinner is averaging 2.3 points and 1.4 rebounds and Williamson has seven points and four DNP-CDs. Those are Michael Bradley numbers - who, by the way, also came to the Sixers in the Webber deal.
More important, Webber is doing in Philadelphia exactly what he no longer is doing in Sacramento - making his teammates better. The 76ers have three players shooting better than 55 percent from the field and are averaging almost 104 points per game, second in the NBA.
And most important, Webber seems to be enjoying the game again, which could not be said at the end of last season.
The Kings? Well, they certainly look different. In fact, you can get a real good look at them, because they don't move without the ball nearly as much as they did when Webber was the focal point of their offense.
However, you have to look real hard to get a glimpse of Thomas, Williamson and Skinner, who don't play much and don't produce much when they do.
Back to Webber. He was a bad fit for Jim O'Brien's offense, which was built around sprint-outs and dribble penetration to create openings in an unbalanced floor that shooters and drivers could exploit.
Enter Maurice Cheeks, who has installed a system that fits his players rather than vice versa. The Sixers are running nearly half their sets through Webber, who has the best hands and passing skills of any big man in the NBA and is using them to turn his teammates into lethal weapons.
The results have been astonishing. Andre Iguodala is shooting 60 percent from the field and averaging 12.8 points. Steven Hunter is shooting 59 percent and averaging a career-high 8.7 points. Reserve Lee Nailon is shooting 55 percent.
And John Salmons is shooting 52 percent while averaging 9.7 points off the bench. In his fourth season, Salmons is playing for his fifth coach. But Cheeks - using Webber's skills as a guide - is the first to let him find his way.
"With a guy like John and his personality, you just have to leave him alone," superstar guard Allen Iverson said. "If you leave him alone, you get the best out of him. For the first time in his career, he doesn't have someone just screaming his name every second he's in the game."
Iverson also is meshing with Webber, which has been the primary concern since the trade was made. Their ability to work the pick-and-roll seems to improve with every game, which Iverson noticed after Tuesday's win over Toronto.
"Chris even took it to another level," he said. "He hit the jumper at the top and then he drove the ball to the basket and got to the free-throw line for a couple of dunks. That's what we need."
Webber also is unlike some big men who will not throw an outlet pass because it creates a fast break they will not be a part of. Perhaps to reduce some of the pounding on his knee, Webber seems content to get the ball into Iverson's hands as quickly as possible.
"We should look for each other no matter what," Webber said. "If he misses 15 shots in a row, I'm still going to throw him that same pass because I know he can make the next shot. ... Our resumes should just say enough for themselves to pass the ball."
Passing doesn't seem to come as easy as it used to for the Kings, who got a long enough look at their new trio last season to realize it would have to upgrade elsewhere. They have tried to replace Webber's offense with Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Bonzi Wells, a pair of - to borrow a phrase from George Karl - ball-stoppers.
There is no denying that Abdur-Rahim and Wells can score. However, neither is a player that comes to mind when you think of moving without the ball, making smart and unselfish passes and thriving outside of isolation situations.
As a result, Kings coach Rick Adelman is calling more plays than he ever has and is relying less and less on the motion offense that has been the trademark of the team since he arrived. After a recent loss, he described his bench's play as "all 1-on-1," which is hard to imagine when talking about the Kings.
Detractors will point to the fact that the Kings can deal from depth, which is true. There are teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers, New Jersey and even San Antonio that could use an extra big man. Sacramento's frontourt logjam would be alleviated, even by trading big for small, usually a no-no in the NBA.
However, those who try to justify the Kings' position by pointing to Webber's knee are misguided. If Webber goes down - and he is working on a year-plus of relatively healthy basketball right now - that does not make the Kings better. It only makes the Sixers worse.
Right now, Webber is healthy. So right now, ask yourself this: Which team - Sixers or Kings - has the better chance of winning 50 games, a division title and a playoff round or two?
Sportsticker Pro Basketball Notebook
November 18, 2005
By Chris Bernucca
SportsTicker Pro Basketball Editor
BRISTOL, Connecticut (Ticker) - This seems as good a time as any to revisit the Chris Webber trade, doesn't it?
You remember the deal, don't you? The Sacramento Kings found a sucker in the Philadelphia 76ers, who wanted an overrated, aging forward with an extremely balky knee and $62 million left on his contract.
In return, the Kings received Kenny Thomas, Corliss Williamson and Brian Skinner, three bigs who provided depth and toughness for an admittedly soft team and - most important - future salary cap flexibility.
How's that working out?
The short answer is evident in the standings. Heading into Friday's test at Miami, Philadelphia had won six straight games to climb to the top of the Atlantic Division with a 6-3 mark. Sacramento is 3-5 with two home losses and in last place in the Pacific Division.
The long answer doesn't change the picture much. Webber, who supposedly isn't anywhere near the player he was before his microfracture surgery, is averaging 20.4 points, 9.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists. Those are pretty darn close to his career numbers of 21.8, 10.1 and 4.5.
Meanwhile, Thomas - who declared himself a starter in training camp - has yet to start and is averaging 5.1 points and 4.1 rebounds. And he is the best of the bunch.
Skinner is averaging 2.3 points and 1.4 rebounds and Williamson has seven points and four DNP-CDs. Those are Michael Bradley numbers - who, by the way, also came to the Sixers in the Webber deal.
More important, Webber is doing in Philadelphia exactly what he no longer is doing in Sacramento - making his teammates better. The 76ers have three players shooting better than 55 percent from the field and are averaging almost 104 points per game, second in the NBA.
And most important, Webber seems to be enjoying the game again, which could not be said at the end of last season.
The Kings? Well, they certainly look different. In fact, you can get a real good look at them, because they don't move without the ball nearly as much as they did when Webber was the focal point of their offense.
However, you have to look real hard to get a glimpse of Thomas, Williamson and Skinner, who don't play much and don't produce much when they do.
Back to Webber. He was a bad fit for Jim O'Brien's offense, which was built around sprint-outs and dribble penetration to create openings in an unbalanced floor that shooters and drivers could exploit.
Enter Maurice Cheeks, who has installed a system that fits his players rather than vice versa. The Sixers are running nearly half their sets through Webber, who has the best hands and passing skills of any big man in the NBA and is using them to turn his teammates into lethal weapons.
The results have been astonishing. Andre Iguodala is shooting 60 percent from the field and averaging 12.8 points. Steven Hunter is shooting 59 percent and averaging a career-high 8.7 points. Reserve Lee Nailon is shooting 55 percent.
And John Salmons is shooting 52 percent while averaging 9.7 points off the bench. In his fourth season, Salmons is playing for his fifth coach. But Cheeks - using Webber's skills as a guide - is the first to let him find his way.
"With a guy like John and his personality, you just have to leave him alone," superstar guard Allen Iverson said. "If you leave him alone, you get the best out of him. For the first time in his career, he doesn't have someone just screaming his name every second he's in the game."
Iverson also is meshing with Webber, which has been the primary concern since the trade was made. Their ability to work the pick-and-roll seems to improve with every game, which Iverson noticed after Tuesday's win over Toronto.
"Chris even took it to another level," he said. "He hit the jumper at the top and then he drove the ball to the basket and got to the free-throw line for a couple of dunks. That's what we need."
Webber also is unlike some big men who will not throw an outlet pass because it creates a fast break they will not be a part of. Perhaps to reduce some of the pounding on his knee, Webber seems content to get the ball into Iverson's hands as quickly as possible.
"We should look for each other no matter what," Webber said. "If he misses 15 shots in a row, I'm still going to throw him that same pass because I know he can make the next shot. ... Our resumes should just say enough for themselves to pass the ball."
Passing doesn't seem to come as easy as it used to for the Kings, who got a long enough look at their new trio last season to realize it would have to upgrade elsewhere. They have tried to replace Webber's offense with Shareef Abdur-Rahim and Bonzi Wells, a pair of - to borrow a phrase from George Karl - ball-stoppers.
There is no denying that Abdur-Rahim and Wells can score. However, neither is a player that comes to mind when you think of moving without the ball, making smart and unselfish passes and thriving outside of isolation situations.
As a result, Kings coach Rick Adelman is calling more plays than he ever has and is relying less and less on the motion offense that has been the trademark of the team since he arrived. After a recent loss, he described his bench's play as "all 1-on-1," which is hard to imagine when talking about the Kings.
Detractors will point to the fact that the Kings can deal from depth, which is true. There are teams such as the Los Angeles Lakers, New Jersey and even San Antonio that could use an extra big man. Sacramento's frontourt logjam would be alleviated, even by trading big for small, usually a no-no in the NBA.
However, those who try to justify the Kings' position by pointing to Webber's knee are misguided. If Webber goes down - and he is working on a year-plus of relatively healthy basketball right now - that does not make the Kings better. It only makes the Sixers worse.
Right now, Webber is healthy. So right now, ask yourself this: Which team - Sixers or Kings - has the better chance of winning 50 games, a division title and a playoff round or two?
