SacTownKid said:
Bottom line is either way it was a gamble. The Maloofs and Petrie thought that it wasn't a sure bet to win it all this year and record wise it showed that it very well might have been that it wasn't. They needed to get rid of Webber's deal so they did. They would never have been able to overcome the liabilities in the future otherwise. This trade is obviously more for the future than it is now. I just happen to believe that this team has just as good a shot at winning it all this year as before the trade. Of course that is if, in this very limited time, these guys can get it together. Will they? we shall see. Its going to be a very interesting last quarter of the season.
Agreed. We seemed to be struggling more this year and were less consistent (I think Webber sitting out every practice and every other game when we had multiple back-to-backs didn't help much). I do not think we had as good a chance as last year to make the finals with the improvements in the west and now was the time to start making adjustments for the future. How this impacts this year's PO? Nobody can say because we don't know:
1. What would our seeding have been with Webber?
2. What is our seeding going to be now?
3. How these changes of seedings impacts the rest of the seeds in the west and who plays who in the first rounds and obviously every round after?
4. Does Webber get injured again before the PO this year (or just wear down too much to where he can't play even if he doesn't "reinjure" anything as he is not taking games off now like he did here)?
5. Does this team "gel" before the PO?
6. Possibly more importantly, does this team get healthy before the PO?
I think this trade makes us more competitive against some teams (the more athletic, active ones) and possibly less competitive against others, but until this team gets some practice time and more games under the belt, this trade is impossible to really analyze.
Gut instinct - I like the trade as we get the potential liability that is Webber (knee and contract) moved and get faster and more athletic. Yes, we lose some capabilities and consistency (although some of his shooting nights were not that great, either). I think this trade will make this team work harder to be good and forge a new identity for themselves.
The full ramifications of this trade will not be determined until this season is over and we see what happens with everyone involved. It may not be until Webber's contract has expired (or he gets injured again - and I hope he doesn't) until we'll get a grand view of what went right and wrong as a result.
If we get bounced in the second round - same result as last year. If we make it to the Finals? If we get bounced in the first round? If we win the whole thing? Who's to say where we would have been w/o the trade? If Webber is injured at the beginning of next year (no matter how we would have done this year) and we are hamstrung for the next 2 with his salary? NOBODY KNOWS, AND CANNOT KNOW! In the end, we all have our opinions, but they don't mean much without the knowledge about how the next 3 seasons play out.