No King Exempt from a Trade
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http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/12911212p-13759563c.html
No King exempt from a trade
'No one is sacred,' says Joe Maloof, who admits defense is a top priority.
By Joe Davidson -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Wednesday, May 18, 2005
So, you're the Kings co-owner, Joe Maloof, and you're approached nonstop by friends, family and fans with suggestions on how exactly to revamp the franchise.
About how often?
"About 100 times a day," Maloof said Tuesday, then laughed. "But it's good that people are interested. Otherwise you'd have complete apathy."
Two subjects are off-limits to just about anyone, including interviewers. Maloof offered a "I can't comment" on any chance Phil Jackson would be the next Kings coach. He also said he couldn't talk about his concerns of an NBA lockout with the existing collective bargaining agreement set to expire June 30: "I'd get slapped with a million dollar fine by the league if I did."
Maloof did say no player is untradeable.
"In this business, no one is sacred," he said. "We proved that with the (Chris) Webber deal. I once said that I'd never trade Jason Williams, and boy, I caught hell for that, but we got Mike Bibby, so ... "
Maloof also said he and his brother, Gavin, club executives and coaches will meet in Las Vegas in the coming weeks to discuss the season and map out a plan for the rest of the summer, assuming there is no lockout.
He reiterated that decisions on players and coaches will, as always, be bounced off Geoff Petrie, the team's president of basketball operations.
"We depend on Geoff for everything; he's been so good for us," Maloof said.
Maloof also praised Rick Adelman, the only coach the Kings have had under the Maloof regime, without saying if he will be the long-term coach. The Maloofs picked up Adelman's club option for next season in February, and he produced another 50-game winner despite a roster turned upside down with the trades of Doug Christie and Webber (for a total of four new players) and a rash of injuries to key personnel.
Still, the Maloofs contacted Jackson's representatives to gauge his interest in the Kings' post. Jackson has not mentioned the Kings publicly as potential suitors or even said if he would coach next season.
Maloof said the Kings have a roster capable of making more playoff runs but stressed that defense is a major concern, pointing to the team's first-round loss to the Seattle SuperSonics.
"We have to stop the ball," he said. "We can't give up 122 points in a playoff game at home. The defense definitely has to get better. Not playing hard defense gets annoying. ... We can't hide from our weaknesses. We have to face it and get better."
The Kings gave up 122 points to the Sonics in Game 5 and an average of 106.6 in the series.
Solving that is a key topic of the Las Vegas meeting, but Maloof said the team has an excellent core with Bibby, Brad Miller and Peja Stojakovic.
Maloof said he'd have difficulty trading Stojakovic because, "Where else would you find the best shooter in the world? "We never got into a rhythm this season with all the injuries and trades," Maloof said. "If we do have (most of these players) back, and we go through a training camp and preseason together, with our tremendous depth we can be very good again."
No King exempt from a trade
'No one is sacred,' says Joe Maloof, who admits defense is a top priority.
By Joe Davidson -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Wednesday, May 18, 2005
So, you're the Kings co-owner, Joe Maloof, and you're approached nonstop by friends, family and fans with suggestions on how exactly to revamp the franchise.
About how often?
"About 100 times a day," Maloof said Tuesday, then laughed. "But it's good that people are interested. Otherwise you'd have complete apathy."
Two subjects are off-limits to just about anyone, including interviewers. Maloof offered a "I can't comment" on any chance Phil Jackson would be the next Kings coach. He also said he couldn't talk about his concerns of an NBA lockout with the existing collective bargaining agreement set to expire June 30: "I'd get slapped with a million dollar fine by the league if I did."
Maloof did say no player is untradeable.
"In this business, no one is sacred," he said. "We proved that with the (Chris) Webber deal. I once said that I'd never trade Jason Williams, and boy, I caught hell for that, but we got Mike Bibby, so ... "
Maloof also said he and his brother, Gavin, club executives and coaches will meet in Las Vegas in the coming weeks to discuss the season and map out a plan for the rest of the summer, assuming there is no lockout.
He reiterated that decisions on players and coaches will, as always, be bounced off Geoff Petrie, the team's president of basketball operations.
"We depend on Geoff for everything; he's been so good for us," Maloof said.
Maloof also praised Rick Adelman, the only coach the Kings have had under the Maloof regime, without saying if he will be the long-term coach. The Maloofs picked up Adelman's club option for next season in February, and he produced another 50-game winner despite a roster turned upside down with the trades of Doug Christie and Webber (for a total of four new players) and a rash of injuries to key personnel.
Still, the Maloofs contacted Jackson's representatives to gauge his interest in the Kings' post. Jackson has not mentioned the Kings publicly as potential suitors or even said if he would coach next season.
Maloof said the Kings have a roster capable of making more playoff runs but stressed that defense is a major concern, pointing to the team's first-round loss to the Seattle SuperSonics.
"We have to stop the ball," he said. "We can't give up 122 points in a playoff game at home. The defense definitely has to get better. Not playing hard defense gets annoying. ... We can't hide from our weaknesses. We have to face it and get better."
The Kings gave up 122 points to the Sonics in Game 5 and an average of 106.6 in the series.
Solving that is a key topic of the Las Vegas meeting, but Maloof said the team has an excellent core with Bibby, Brad Miller and Peja Stojakovic.
Maloof said he'd have difficulty trading Stojakovic because, "Where else would you find the best shooter in the world? "We never got into a rhythm this season with all the injuries and trades," Maloof said. "If we do have (most of these players) back, and we go through a training camp and preseason together, with our tremendous depth we can be very good again."
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The first step is to move the team to Las Vegas. There, I said it. No one else can.
So basically what Joe Maloof told us is that no player is untradeable. He woul,d however,like to keep Peja Stojakovic. I just want to see how they want to turn Mike Bibby into a defender, but I'm glad he pointed out the Kings biggest flaw.
So basically what Joe Maloof told us is that no player is untradeable. He woul,d however,like to keep Peja Stojakovic. I just want to see how they want to turn Mike Bibby into a defender, but I'm glad he pointed out the Kings biggest flaw.
Two points:
1-Defense, Defense, Defense. We've been talking about that for 7 years and the season day we played defense worthy of winning games on it was the year that we practically stumbled upon it. Yes, in the past, the Kings defense always seemed to pick up in the post season--BUT the key words there is "in the past," this is defintely not the same team
2-The Best Shooter in the world title means nothing if you can't shoot it when your team needs it. Peja is our best-if only-bargaining piece to get back to elite status. There are no mixing emotions with basketball operations, if nothing, we've at least learned that in the past 36 months.
1-Defense, Defense, Defense. We've been talking about that for 7 years and the season day we played defense worthy of winning games on it was the year that we practically stumbled upon it. Yes, in the past, the Kings defense always seemed to pick up in the post season--BUT the key words there is "in the past," this is defintely not the same team
2-The Best Shooter in the world title means nothing if you can't shoot it when your team needs it. Peja is our best-if only-bargaining piece to get back to elite status. There are no mixing emotions with basketball operations, if nothing, we've at least learned that in the past 36 months.
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He is an entirely disposable defender. Good enough to play for a good defensive team. Bad enough to play for a bad defensive team and have no impact. It weighs neither way, except to say that he wouldn't be the first guy you would move to fix our defensive woes (unless the broader hustle/reboudning issues are included, in which case he would be right up there).
Bottomline, we aren't tough enough, and Peja is the crown prince of not tough enough. Everyone is on the table.
Bottomline, we aren't tough enough, and Peja is the crown prince of not tough enough. Everyone is on the table.
Captain Obvious Alert!!!!!
In order to be a "good" defensive team you need...............stand by...........................GOOD DEFENDERS!
Of which, the Kings have ZERO! I'm not sure Booby is still the defensive force he once was coming off the bench. Peja is adequate but other than that the team would need a MAJOR overhaul to become a GOOD defensive team.
In order to be a "good" defensive team you need...............stand by...........................GOOD DEFENDERS!
Of which, the Kings have ZERO! I'm not sure Booby is still the defensive force he once was coming off the bench. Peja is adequate but other than that the team would need a MAJOR overhaul to become a GOOD defensive team.
Defense is a matter of emphasis and hustle. Certainly the more talented will be able to block above the rim while the less talented will merely be able to stay with their man and play him within the context of the scheme devised by the coaching staff. But the same effort that makes a player an offensive threat can be channeled into making them a good defensive player as well. It is simply a matter of demanding they do so. But only certain coaches with the gravitas earned by years in the league or past success can "demand" since this is, after all, a player's league and most owners will side with players since coaches are much more readily available. I heard a quote from Larry Brown this AM saying (sic) "defensive players tend to be more team oriented", insinuating that they play better help defense and more together offensively.
I still say that if Geoff can place a truly athletic, defensive-minded big guy next to Brad on the front line, that Brad will blossom more on the defensive end of the floor, despite his physical limitations. So, for now, I say keep Brad.
If Petrie can't find that right complimentary player, though, then include Brad in the trading mix with the rest of the roster.
Whatever it takes to get better....
If Petrie can't find that right complimentary player, though, then include Brad in the trading mix with the rest of the roster.
Whatever it takes to get better....
This keeps getting brought up here and other places over and over again.
Please keep in mind that Bibby was going up against lesser players, most of whom could not play in the NBA. It was only a "regional" tournament, not a showcase of the best teams in the world. And Bibby had enough athletic freaks playing behind him to cover for a bucketful of sins.
Sorry, but that regional qualifying tourney did not convince me that Mike is really a decent defensive player that doesn't perform in the NBA because he is not pushed to defend.
Please keep in mind that Bibby was going up against lesser players, most of whom could not play in the NBA. It was only a "regional" tournament, not a showcase of the best teams in the world. And Bibby had enough athletic freaks playing behind him to cover for a bucketful of sins.
Sorry, but that regional qualifying tourney did not convince me that Mike is really a decent defensive player that doesn't perform in the NBA because he is not pushed to defend.
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They are ALL on the block...
Every player on the Kings roster is expendable. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that Peja, Brad and Bibby should be the trade bait.
They are good enough to build a team around, but let's face it, there are plenty of other players out there that are better than these guys. And don't think for a minute that the Brothers Maloof and GP wouldn't pull the trigger on a deal including any of these guys of it meant bringing in some "Super Star" talent.
I hope it happens.
I am sick of watching this team come up short in the post season.
Bring it on...
Every player on the Kings roster is expendable. In fact, I'd go as far as saying that Peja, Brad and Bibby should be the trade bait.
They are good enough to build a team around, but let's face it, there are plenty of other players out there that are better than these guys. And don't think for a minute that the Brothers Maloof and GP wouldn't pull the trigger on a deal including any of these guys of it meant bringing in some "Super Star" talent.
I hope it happens.
I am sick of watching this team come up short in the post season.
Bring it on...
Let's make one thing clear Miller , Bibby, and Peja can not play defense . They are all smart ,and talented on the offensive end ,but to be a good defender you must have some athletic ability (speed , quickness , hops) .None of which any of them possess.
To have a competitive team your starting five must have two good offensive players and two good defensive players and one who can do both regardless of positions.
Spurs parker-o manu-o bowen-d horry-d duncan both
Suns nash-o richardson-o marian-d johnson-d stoudamire-both
Pistons billups-o hamilton-o prince-d b.wallace-d r.wallace-both
You can do this with most teams still in the hunt
hopefully we have enough talent on the kings to make the trades to make that happen
To have a competitive team your starting five must have two good offensive players and two good defensive players and one who can do both regardless of positions.
Spurs parker-o manu-o bowen-d horry-d duncan both
Suns nash-o richardson-o marian-d johnson-d stoudamire-both
Pistons billups-o hamilton-o prince-d b.wallace-d r.wallace-both
You can do this with most teams still in the hunt
hopefully we have enough talent on the kings to make the trades to make that happen
I can see what you mean from an ideal perspective,and the examples you mention lend credibility to that line of thought.
But emotionally i would be really sorry to see Bibby,Miller and Peja depart.
I was rather hoping we could be title contenders with a team which had a bias for offence, yet was (obviously) going to need to be much tougher on defence.
If the three players i mentioned are my perceived core then that still leaves room to hopefully acquire quality toughness in the other two starting slots.
Or are we saying that the rest of the current roster, excluding these three wont be attractive enough trade pieces to acquire the defensive talnt we are lookng for ?
Geting back to the atricle i see the Maloofs were complimentary about RA given all the personnel / injury issues he has had to deal with. If they recognise that massive roster changes are unhelpful in making it easy to win games inthe near term, perhaps they / Petrie will not be as extreme in making the changes which some hope for.
But emotionally i would be really sorry to see Bibby,Miller and Peja depart.
I was rather hoping we could be title contenders with a team which had a bias for offence, yet was (obviously) going to need to be much tougher on defence.
If the three players i mentioned are my perceived core then that still leaves room to hopefully acquire quality toughness in the other two starting slots.
Or are we saying that the rest of the current roster, excluding these three wont be attractive enough trade pieces to acquire the defensive talnt we are lookng for ?
Geting back to the atricle i see the Maloofs were complimentary about RA given all the personnel / injury issues he has had to deal with. If they recognise that massive roster changes are unhelpful in making it easy to win games inthe near term, perhaps they / Petrie will not be as extreme in making the changes which some hope for.
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