Peja responds to trade talk (merged)

bigbadred00 · Feb 22, 2005

I'd rather have had.

C-Shaq, TD
PF-KG, JO, Brand
SF-Tmac, Marion
SG-Kobe, Lebron, Allen
PG-Bibby, Kidd

We didn't have 3 point shooters, Tmac, Kobe and Allen would bring that. We didn't have a real great PG Kidd and Bibby would bring that. We didn't have a dominate center like Shaq. This team would be 10 times better than those individuals that we brought, they were invited but didn't want to go so be it. All I'm saying is the USA has alot better team than the one that showed up.

Honestly I'm pretty sure the Pistons could have beaten the Argentian team and probally the Spurs with Manu on both teams but the team that went wasn't much of a team. Starbury and AI cannot lead a team full of superstars, you need a real PG like Kidd distrubuting it to them.

#1sacfan · Feb 22, 2005

Bricklayer said:

So what you are saying is that they have to play like a team and buy into the team concept. Thanks, you just proved our point.

LPKingsFan · Feb 22, 2005

#1sacfan said:

Yes. but the successful concept is being led by a superstar.

bigbadred00 · Feb 22, 2005

No superstar PG = No Title. AI and Starbury aren't going to lead you to an NBA or Olympic title. Sorry. We needed Kidd on that team to make things work, and without a player like Kidd things just didn't work out like they were supposed to. Next thing your going to tell me Arroyo is awesome too b/c he beat the US squad that was "so great" single handedly. Honestly the US team was a joke. Yes superstars, but not the big time superstars other than TD and Lebron.

iheartBrad · Feb 22, 2005

throughout this whole week that rumors have been discussed on trading Peja...i completely forgot about the fact that Peja can hear all these rumors as well and so can the team for that matter

it seemed like there was a little hostility in that interview by Peja...as there should be...and yes MM really did try to ask the question over and over until Peja said what he wanted him to say...but Peja was like "umm Negative not gonna happen" lol...thats one thing i said id always hate if i were famous...having to listen to the same question over and over again by reporters just cuz they didn't like the way i answered the question initially...

go peja...and i hope he stays

Ryle · Feb 22, 2005

iheartBrad said:

Peja was the one who made his trade demands known to the public in the Summer so he can't really be surprised that people are going to ask these types of questions.

piksi · Feb 22, 2005

Ryle said:

I am not sure about axact difference between "ask' and "demand" but he asked to be traded and while he did not back off publically - he also did not ask again. People would ask this type of questions anyways. Pedja was smart enough to answer the without saying anything

ovrush · Feb 22, 2005

Bricks right, the Kings are really imbalanced. We have two high post bigs who would prefer to pass and shoot elbow jumpers than to pound with their back to the basket. We have a 3 who plays along the perimeter and who isn't especially athletic but has killer range. We have a 1 who also isn't that athletic, and doesn't break people down off the dribble very well but finds space for his shot well and runs the offense well. Cat at the 2 is more athletic but is still perhaps more of a jump shooter and offensive spark than a guy who will knuckle down on D and do the hard work.

Now, I don't think he is trying to say that we don't have HOF caliber players on this team. In fact, I think the example of the US olympic team only serves to improve his point. A collection of great players who couldn't win because of the imbalance created by their superfluous athleticism and lack of shooting.

The point here really is that without a superstar and balance the team that plays the best defense wins, this is what happened last year with the Pistons. Since we don't have great balance and we don't play great defense, it just becomes very unlikely that we can win the whole thing with the group we have (even though I love every one of them), even with HOF or superstar caliber players.

bigbadred00 · Feb 22, 2005

We have 1 pretty sure HOFer in Webber. On basketballreference.com he's basically assured, I think a 132 score, 135, 95% or something players get in the HOF. No he's not better than TD, KG, etc. but he's right below that level and if he was healthy for his career might be on par with them. Problem is it takes 2 HOFers to win a title usually unless the team is pretty special IE pistons last year. The Spurs had David and Tim who are for sure HOFers, Michael and Pippen we can't forget them and Hakeem and company.

t5chris · Feb 22, 2005

Bricklayer said:

Ok, and I'll just say up front -- I don't really care what he said tonight.

For many people this is some sort of emotional issue. That's not the problem (or only exasperates it). The problem is a structural one. Our team is unbalanced, and in a way that has NEVER won an NBA championship. If Peja offered to mow the Maloofs lawn, it still wouldn't change the fact that we have too many shooters and not enough athletes or grunts.

Couldn't have said it better myself.

Bricklayer · Feb 22, 2005

bigbadred00 said:

I doubt Webb makes it without a title or some other vindication.

None of our other guys really have legit shots -- everybody falls into that good but not great category where you toss the name out but its immediately dismissed. 2nd tier.

t5chris · Feb 22, 2005

annoyablepnoy said:

Sam cassell no. Tom Brady could probably be a point guard though

bigbadred00 · Feb 22, 2005

http://www.basketballreference.com/leaders/leadershof.htm

AI is a for sure HOFer. Webb has the same score as Reggie and Reggie is probally in. Webber has been around for a while with continued success. Titles aren't everything to the HOF, Steve Kerr has 5 titles and he'll never be in the thing. You have to be the top of the league for sustained years which Webber has done. Hell if Steve Nash wins the MVP this year he'll be almost assured to be in the HOF.

bigbadred00 · Feb 22, 2005

Webber has the 63rd highest score EVER if that means much to you.

iheartBrad · Feb 22, 2005

Ryle said:

well yeah...he definetly wasn't surprised that he was gonna draw up questions like that...he knew they were coming...that would almost be as silly as Barry Bonds not expecting to hear any "steroid questions'

ovrush · Feb 22, 2005

bigbadred00 said:

Im not sure I buy this. Robinson was only an average to good center when the Spurs won. The Lakers had two great players but Im still curious to see what Kobe does without Shaq over an extended period before I annoit him a HOFer. The Rockets had Hakeem in his prime, but Clyde was really not the great Clyde the Glide of old, I dont think Cassell is a HOFer. The Bulls did have two, the Pistons only had Isaiah. Dumars was good, Lambeer filled a role. I really think its fair to say its absolutely necessary to have 1 great player surrounded by a good player at a balancing position. ie- if you have a great post up guy you need a good shooter who plays solid D. If you have a great perimeter player, you need a good big who plays good d and pounds the boards. That being said, I think we have two great players in Peja and Webb but that they don't really compliment each other very well since neither plays great D and neither can really pound inside or blow by a defender off the dribble.

bigbadred00 · Feb 22, 2005

Your probally right. That's why I've said before I think PP would be a better fit than Peja since he is more of a slasher than a shooter but alot of the others believe PP would not fit since he needs shots. But same was said about Mobley and he's fit in well. We need a slasher to complement Webber who plays well on D, Artest and PP are the only players that come to mind. Maggette also seems reasonable but less reasonable since he is in the same division as us.

bigbadred00 · Feb 22, 2005

Then again I think only Webb and Bibby complement each other well. Bibby and Mobley don't really complement each other, neither do Webber and Brad. Petrie choices right? Brad also works well with Bibby and Peja. IDK....that's how things go.

buddahead_916 · Feb 22, 2005

Peja may be relocating

THE NEWS

According to sources within the Kings organization, a swap involving Kings forward Peja Stojakovic and Lakers guard/forward Lamar Odom has been discussed, the Sacramento Bee reports. There are some concerns that chemistry between Stojakovic and Chris Webber, or more specifically, the team's inability to incorporate Stojakovic into the offense. Nevertheless, Kings management is resistant to moving their veteran small forward and are hopeful any remaining issues can be resolved.

OUR VIEW

Stojakovic has been slowed physically by injuries, and mentally by lack of involvement in the team's game plan. In the preseason, Peja went as far as asking to be traded before calming down and conceding to play out his contract, which ends after the 2005-2006 season. He is not the every week fantasy start that he was last year and at this point, only a major move is likely to change his value in the second half of the season.

http://fanball.com/ph/index.cfm

Little tidbit I found while checking my fantasy roster.

piksi · Feb 22, 2005

bigbadred00 said:

remains to be seen.

VF21 · Feb 22, 2005

buddahead_916 said:

THE NEWS

According to sources within the Kings organization, a swap involving Kings forward Peja Stojakovic and Lakers guard/forward Lamar Odom has been discussed, the Sacramento Bee reports. There are some concerns that chemistry between Stojakovic and Chris Webber, or more specifically, the team's inability to incorporate Stojakovic into the offense. Nevertheless, Kings management is resistant to moving their veteran small forward and are hopeful any remaining issues can be resolved.

OUR VIEW

Stojakovic has been slowed physically by injuries, and mentally by lack of involvement in the team's game plan. In the preseason, Peja went as far as asking to be traded before calming down and conceding to play out his contract, which ends after the 2005-2006 season. He is not the every week fantasy start that he was last year and at this point, only a major move is likely to change his value in the second half of the season.

http://fanball.com/ph/index.cfm

Little tidbit I found while checking my fantasy roster.

How many threads are you going to post this in?

Generally, one thread is enough. THIS RUMOR, which has been discussed around here for FOUR days, is all over this board.

You need to read more of our stuff first.

bigbadred00 · Feb 22, 2005

Sorry not "for" sure but very likely. There are only 6 players all time with better lifetime stats than Webber that are not in it and many guys of lesser stature that are in because they are lumped into title teams but were not #1, #2, or even #3 options in a smaller league. He's the only one even close to HOF stature on the Kings.

Honestly in the NBA of guys left there are only a couple of for sure guys.

TD
KG
Payton
Kidd
Shaq
Kobe
AI

Guys on the cusp:

Miller
Webber

And guy who will be in after this year if he wins MVP:

Nash

That's it.

In the future guys like James, Wade, and maybe even Amare can be mentioned as well as guys like Jermaine, Vince (if he keeps playing awesome with Kidd, if they stay together) might be able to join this group but after those 7 for sure, Webber is probally the next best over the last 12 years that's still in the league. If you also noticed 4 of the 7 for sure HOFers don't have rings, 3 have been to the finals though, and 2 on multiple occasions.

OptimusRhyme · Feb 22, 2005

Bricklayer said:

You are contradicting yourself -- or perhaps drawing the wrong conclusions. Championship teams DO need teamwork, but too much teamwork is just as harmful to your chances in the end as too much "me"ism. There has always had to be "the man" -- the one incredible talent powering the team, taking the big shots, the goto guy defining the team and the guy who you turn to when the going gets tough. That's not "unteam", that is simply the optimum "team" structure to win a championship with. One man takes the point, the rest of the team gets behind him and pushes.

Team does NOT equal parity.

But what makes the great teams Great is that not only do they have a defining player or players, superstars to lead and carry them, but that a) everyone else acknowledges them and follows them; and b) that the superstars understand that the path to greatness involves making everybody else better too.

The guys who never figure out b) will not win (see Kobe), and of course teams with superstars who don't put aside their individual agendas will not win either (see Lakers last year or Minnesota this year) but it does not invalidate the winning structure for every championship team except one since disco was still king. You get a Hall of Famer, and have both a) and b), it has always trumped any non-superstar structure.

word

Kingsgurl · Feb 22, 2005

Is that Peja going after a loose ball in your avatar? Nice pic, where'd you get it?
He's in a home uni too. How'd I miss that??????

VF21 · Feb 22, 2005

King Peja said:

...sigh...

Why are you even here? You dislike everything about the team except Pedja. Isn't there a PejaistheonlypersonwhomattersintheNBA.com site you could join?

VF21 · Feb 22, 2005

In a thread about Peja, you decide to bring up a general comment about teamwork and say you're "pointing out the FACT that this team does not have a superstar."

OMG. You're kidding, right? We DON'T have a superstar???? Have you told anyone else?

Newsbreak: We've been elite for several reasons, and chief among them has been Chris WEbber. You remember him, right? The guy who's been talking the talk AND walking the walk? The guy who's dropped four triple-doubles this year? You might want to read up on him. I hear he's actually fairly good.

The Freak · Feb 22, 2005

If Peja can be so defensive in speaking to reporters, why can't he defend in the games?

We already got a response from Geoff Petrie....The media is kind of pushing this whole rumor thing a tad bit. (I can see why Peja is a little bit annoyed).

The Freak · Feb 22, 2005

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/allstar2005/columns/story?columnist=stein_marc&id=1996494

Peja not likely to be traded:

Don't know if this was posted...but here it is:

"You will hear plenty this week about Michael Redd, Gary Payton, Lamar Odom, Carlos Boozer and even Peja Stojakovic changing teams. Just don't expect any of them to actually move. It's been a busy-enough trade market as it is, and in most cases the employers of the names above (especially Milwaukee and Sacramento with Redd and Peja) don't plan to deal away the assets in question"

Kingsgurl · Feb 22, 2005

King Peja said:

So your telling me Chris Webber is a superstar? Come on, everybody in this league knows he is a talented player but not a superstar, at least not anymore. Ask any coach, fan, player, a very large majority will tell you the same thing. Also, The main reason he has been able to get so many rebounds assists, triple doubles is becuase he is always controlling the ball, maybe the only players in the league who dominates the ball that much and gets it almost everytime down the court. Dont get me wrong he is a good player but dont let those stats fool you, any other team would never allow Webber to dominate the ball as much as he does with the Kings. There is a reason why he wasn't chosen on the All-Star team, coaches can see through stats and know what type of player Webber is.

Yes, VF, don't you know the BEST way to get rebounds and assists is to control the ball? Get with the program.

iheartBrad · Feb 22, 2005

alright lets sim simma

Peja responds to trade talk (merged)

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