Peja

[Hoovtrain]

Watching Peja against the Lakers the other night got me thinking. One of our biggest deficiencies is outside shooting, in particular 3 pt shooting. I know that Peja has had a history of health problems, but in watching his stint with DAL, it is clear he still has something left in the tank and can definitely still shoot the rock. Now I am not talking about bringing him in as a starting SF, but rather as a shooter off the bench. Now this would also be contingent on signing him at a relatively cheap price, which I think we could do. Petrie still loves him, Peja still loves Sacramento and with his injury history, no one is going to give him a big contract. What are Kings fans thoughts on Peja this offseason? By the way, it is really nice to see him out there contributing for DAL. I knew if he could stay healthy that he would help them a great deal.

 

[Glenn]

What would you do with our three other bench quality shooting forwards?

 

[Hoovtrain]

What would you do with our three other bench quality shooting forwards?

From my count we have maybe 1 quality shooting small forward and that's Casspi, and I don't know if I would go as far to call him a quality shooter. I like Donte, but he is way too inconsistent and are you referring Garcia the 3rd forward? I consider Garcia a 2. I guess I should have stated that this would also be contingent on Casspi being traded, because if we do sign/draft a starting SF, there will certainly not be room for everyone.

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

I brought up Bibby in another thread, but Peja fits that same catagory.

I would be fine with us bringing back one or both of them in reserve roles. In Petries wish list he mentioned the need for shooting depth and ball handling. Bibby gives you both of those and Peja can still shoot.

And in no way am I saying these guys should be starting or getting big time minutes. Bibby would be behind Beno, Evans, Thornton, and Garcia at the guard spot ( and having your 5th guard shoot .440 from 3 is pretty damn good IMO ) ... some may ask why Bibby would accept that role, well .. Im not sure any team will want him as a big time piece next season... and Garcia is always hurt, so minutes will be there for him.

And with Peja .. he'd be behind Casspi ( if he isnt traded ) Donte, and hopefully a FA, and thats probly best for him. He wont play unless he needs to, and if we DO need him he can still be pretty effective if he is fresh.

But the biggest reason I make these moves is for off the court stuff. First, everyone loves a comeback. It would be a good PR move for the Maloofs who sure could use it. You bring in Peja and Bibby to usher in the next 'core' .... you can market them as the mentors and fans in Sacramento would eat it up.

Plus, this team clearly struggled with no veteran leadership last season. Bibby and Peja will never be the leaders Cwebb and Vlade were, but at least they are vets who were extremely successful with THIS team with THESE owners and THIS GM.... in this arena with these fans. As much stuff that has changed since the glory days .. a lot has stayed the same.

Plus they will both sign for cheap money and 1-2 years max.

And seeing Peja, Bibby, and Bjax on or around the bench talking to these young guys would just be cool.

 

[Bricklayer]

And seeing Peja, Bibby, and Bjax on or around the bench talking to these young guys would just be cool.

I'm not sure having old slow completely washed up guys whispering in our players ears about how to conserve energy on defense so you have more on the other end of the court exactly qualifies as "cool".

 

[MassachusettsKingsFan]

I'm not sure having old slow completely washed up guys whispering in our players ears about how to conserve energy on defense so you have more on the other end of the court exactly qualifies as "cool".

Sure, thats how they play now .. how they have to play to be in the league at there age ( Bobby aside obviously hes retired .. ) If Bibby or Peja start busting there *** on defense now in there 30's they wont be in the league. They are there to shoot and thats about it. No matter how hard they try on defense .. its not going to happen, just too slow. And having your teams second unit ( or third in there cases ) full of defensive stoppers (Or anyone who cares about defense at all) is unrealistic.

Im assuming your saying that because of how they play, not what they would actually say to the players. Even if those guys dont play hard on the defensive end, they would never admit it and they certainly wouldnt tell anyone else to play that way... Its not something I would worry about if this did ( although very unlikely ) happen. But I get what your saying.

 

[RookieOfTheDay]

I'd love to see Peja back but as someone else mentioned, they already have too many bench quality small forwards as it is. If Peja comes then clearly Donte or Casspi has to go. No way there's enough minutes for all three.

 

[ParniValjak]

What would you do with our three other bench quality shooting forwards?

While I would not be overly interested in signing Peja in the off-season, I am confident in saying that none of our other shooting forwards are fit enough to tie up his shoe laces as far as shooting is concerned.

He is one of the all time great shooters and our shooting forwards can only dream about being as good as Peja in that department.

 

[Sac.1989]

Nikola Mirotic - euro sf/pf with a great shooting touch.

we could potentially adress this need through the draft

 

[ParniValjak]

Now that Igoudala is potentially in the picture, if we get him we might need more shooting on the team coming off the bench. In this role, at a reasonable price, Peja could well be a solid vet option. In a way it would also be nice if he could finish his career here.

 

[bajaden]

I love both Bibby and Peja. But there's an old saying. "You can never go back". Its just never the same the second time around. Plus, if Dallas continues on to a championship, and I'm Peja, I'm retiring right then and there. Maybe he'll finally get the ring he should have had years ago.

 

[Gary]

I am sure Dallas will re-sign him. He's good friends with Dirk, and they wouldn't have won 4-0 without Peja... He hit clutch 3s in the 1st and 3rd game in the 4th quarter. He's a great bench player / spot starter for Dallas.