>1) If you think the Kings were slow with Webber on the court, imagine how slow they'd be with Greg Ostertag and Brad Miller being the two best big men on the floor.
I'd rather have Songaila start at PF than have Miller move over again, but I think Petrie would be able to find somebody better than Darius either in a trade or out of his magic hat.
>2) Who would that younger, more athletic player be that we could get by getting rid of Webber [for peanuts]? We're still over the cap without Webber's contract. Doesn't that basically put us without a power forward until Doug and Peja come off the books and we can sign a starting caliber power forward? And don't we have to spend the bulk of our money re-signing Peja? About the best thing we could do is trade Webber for a blow-up doll, and I'm not sure that the salaries would match.
I don't know, but like I said, even Songaila as the starter might be enough. I do know that Petrie has consistently found a way to fill in holes in the team, so I don't see why he wouldn't be able to here. The biggest point I'm making is that trading Webber for a blow up doll is not as ludicrous of a proposition as some might say.
>3) Saying that the Kings should emphasize defense more than they did last season is, IMO, a joke, especially if you're saying that they'd be effective at doing so without Webber. We were in the bottom five in almost every defensive statistical category last season - without Webber. Season before last, we were one of the best - with Webber leading the way. Part of the reason that the Kings were better on defense in the playoffs is because they focused on it more; another part is Webber's contributions (and, to be fair, Peja's). Another part is the fact that Vlade didn't get many minutes in the playoffs. They could be better defensively just showing up without Webber, but that's not a testament to Webber's "poor defense." That's a testament to the fact that we replaced Vlade with Greg Ostertag, and we'll hopefully have a healthy Bobby Jackson, plus Mike Bibby another year removed from his foot injury. But we'll still have a gaping hole at power forward.
I'm not sure I understand what you are saying here. You seem to agree with me, so I don't know why the thought of greater emphasis on defense is a joke. As I said above, Webber made the Kings a better defensive team. I think they can be better than they were before he returned last year even without him. The team and coaches have routinely emphasized defense more in the playoffs (thanks in large part to Webber), I think they would have done so again even without him.
>Why are people acting like Webber kills our offense? Haven't we been running the same offense for six years? People are dismissing five years of beautiful offense spearheaded by Chris Webber to talk about two months of less than beautiful offense spearheaded by Chris Webber. I can't say that I understand it. You don't think that Webb will return to pre-injury form? That's fine; he doesn't need to in order for us to run the offense through him at either the high or the low post.
I get the feeling he won't return to his pre-injury days. I underestimated the surgery's effects on him last year, I don't want to do it again. I thought he played well in the playoffs, but I think the Kings offense can be: a) better without Webber despite his skills/talent, and b) effective in the playoffs without him, despite the lack of a low-post/go-to guy.
>By the way, our beautiful offense wouldn't have stood a chance against Detroit in the Finals. And we probably wouldn't have gotten past San Antonio or LA without playing any defense.
True, but last year's attempt didn't work either. Its about giving yourself the best chance at the championship.