bigbadred00
Starter
At some point this coming offseason the NBA needs to circulate a memo, one addressed specifically to the league's top executives that says when your phone rings in mid-February, and the caller ID flashes a 916 area code, send the call to voicemail. If you don't, you may find yourself trading your first-born child for a second-round draft pick in 2057.
Geoff Petrie is that damn good.
Like Edward Burns in the movie Confidence, Petrie can be disarming. With that Princeton smile and a natural eye for talent, the two-time NBA Executive of the Year has spent the last 11 years building the Sacramento Kings into one of the most talent rich teams in the league, and he's done it on the backs of what some define as questionable deals. Questionable, only in the sense that the team Sacramento is dealing with often winds up with less than what they surrendered.
Look at the history.
Last month's trade of Chris Webber -- who Petrie stole from Washington in 1998 for over-the-hill veterans Mitch Richmond and Otis Thorpe -- has been a coup for the Kings, who have gone 10-7 since the deal. The three "role players" Sacramento got from Philadelphia -- Kenny Thomas, Corliss Williamson and Brian Skinner -- have played well since arriving in Sacramento, averaging a combined 10.6 points and 7.0 rebounds since the trade, numbers that don't supersede Webber's 16.0 and 7.9 averages with Philadelphia, but are more than adequate. While the deal didn't provide the Kings with dramatic salary-cap relief, Petrie was able to make the Kings younger, and more important, healthier by again unloading a fading star.
There is no question the loss of Webber hurts in the short term. Webber, one of the best passing big men in the league, was the facilitator of the offense; probably 75 percent of the Kings offensive sets went through Webber. But at 32 and still recovering from left knee surgery two years ago, he had become a shell of the player that led the Kings to the Western Conference finals in '02. What Webber could do then, no one could match. What Webber is able to do now, the former Philadelphia trio can eventually surpass.
Sacramento now has in place the pieces to a team that could compete for a title as quickly as next season, when star swingman Peja Stojakovic, now the focal point of the offense, will be playing for a new contract. While adding three workmanlike front-court players, dealing Webber has opened up time for the promising Darius Songalia, who Petrie finagled from Boston in exchange for two second-round picks in '03 and '05. Another Petrie theft, Cuttino Mobley, is a free agent at the end of the year, but has expressed an interest in returning. Give Mobley a full season playing alongside Mike Bibby, Stojakovic and a healthy Brad Miller, and Sacramento will have one of the most balanced lineups in the NBA.
This is all thanks to Petrie, who, when he's not looting another team's roster, is scouring the globe to find the next diamond in the rough. Because of the Kings success during Petrie's tenure, Sacramento often winds up with mid to late first-round picks, choices that are at best a crapshoot for most teams, yielding a Richard Jefferson for every Frederic Weiss lurking in the weeds. Petrie, however, has been masterful, turning his mid round picks into talent such as Stojakovic (drafted with the 14th pick in '96), Williamson (13th in '95) and Hedo Turkoglu (16th in '00) as well drafting players like Jason Williams (7th in '98) who was dealt to Memphis in exchange for Bibby.
So move over Jerry West. There's a new genius in town. Just be sure not to take his phone call
Geoff Petrie is that damn good.
Like Edward Burns in the movie Confidence, Petrie can be disarming. With that Princeton smile and a natural eye for talent, the two-time NBA Executive of the Year has spent the last 11 years building the Sacramento Kings into one of the most talent rich teams in the league, and he's done it on the backs of what some define as questionable deals. Questionable, only in the sense that the team Sacramento is dealing with often winds up with less than what they surrendered.
Look at the history.
Last month's trade of Chris Webber -- who Petrie stole from Washington in 1998 for over-the-hill veterans Mitch Richmond and Otis Thorpe -- has been a coup for the Kings, who have gone 10-7 since the deal. The three "role players" Sacramento got from Philadelphia -- Kenny Thomas, Corliss Williamson and Brian Skinner -- have played well since arriving in Sacramento, averaging a combined 10.6 points and 7.0 rebounds since the trade, numbers that don't supersede Webber's 16.0 and 7.9 averages with Philadelphia, but are more than adequate. While the deal didn't provide the Kings with dramatic salary-cap relief, Petrie was able to make the Kings younger, and more important, healthier by again unloading a fading star.
There is no question the loss of Webber hurts in the short term. Webber, one of the best passing big men in the league, was the facilitator of the offense; probably 75 percent of the Kings offensive sets went through Webber. But at 32 and still recovering from left knee surgery two years ago, he had become a shell of the player that led the Kings to the Western Conference finals in '02. What Webber could do then, no one could match. What Webber is able to do now, the former Philadelphia trio can eventually surpass.
Sacramento now has in place the pieces to a team that could compete for a title as quickly as next season, when star swingman Peja Stojakovic, now the focal point of the offense, will be playing for a new contract. While adding three workmanlike front-court players, dealing Webber has opened up time for the promising Darius Songalia, who Petrie finagled from Boston in exchange for two second-round picks in '03 and '05. Another Petrie theft, Cuttino Mobley, is a free agent at the end of the year, but has expressed an interest in returning. Give Mobley a full season playing alongside Mike Bibby, Stojakovic and a healthy Brad Miller, and Sacramento will have one of the most balanced lineups in the NBA.
This is all thanks to Petrie, who, when he's not looting another team's roster, is scouring the globe to find the next diamond in the rough. Because of the Kings success during Petrie's tenure, Sacramento often winds up with mid to late first-round picks, choices that are at best a crapshoot for most teams, yielding a Richard Jefferson for every Frederic Weiss lurking in the weeds. Petrie, however, has been masterful, turning his mid round picks into talent such as Stojakovic (drafted with the 14th pick in '96), Williamson (13th in '95) and Hedo Turkoglu (16th in '00) as well drafting players like Jason Williams (7th in '98) who was dealt to Memphis in exchange for Bibby.
So move over Jerry West. There's a new genius in town. Just be sure not to take his phone call
