The Big Picture: Has GP Failed?

[NevadaWolfpackStudent]

The Maloofs have failed Petrie.

I think Smills says it full on right. When the Maloofs werent trying to help with the GMing Petrie was doing a great job, but now since they have been involved with a lot of the moves, the team has gone down hill. They need to let Geoff do his thing and rebuild this team. Instead of trying to build on the fly.

 

[Jerichoholic]

To really get a good idea to see where Petrie stands is first ownership needs to be on the same page as the GM then you see what he can do. I'm not sure that is what's been happening, the Kings need to rebuild, I believe Petrie knows this, I don't believe the Maloofs want to face it.

That being the case though, Petrie did tend to hand out some unnecessarily high contracts in the glory days that still affect us now. Bibby still had another year under contract when it was extended and he probably wouldn't have gotten that on the open market. The sign and trade with Brad Miller got Brad a contract that he wouldn't have come close to. You add in the terrible Webber trade and Petrie has made his share of mistakes. However if Webber doesn't get hurt then this is all probably a moot point so Petrie is not completely at fault.

Anyway, with all that being said it really doesn't matter. Petrie is our GM and it is his job to fix this mess and if he can then I would have no problem calling him one of the best GMs in NBA history...time will tell.

 

[beb0p]

Am I the only one who thinks that Bibby and Miller don't have bad contracts? They're not bargain basement, but overall they are getting paid market rate. Miller's $10.5 millions (this season) is reasonable when you consider that Adonal Foyle and Resho Nesterovic are each making about $9 millions. Is Foyle or Resho 90% as good as Brad Miller? Not even close, Brad's injury et al. I mean, even Raef LaFrentz make more $$ than Miller. All in all, centers are paid more than other positions, that's just the nature of the beast.

As for Bibby, his last two yrs' salary is comparable to Tony Parker's last two yrs. Which lead me to think this is the pay rate for championship calibre PG. Sure, Bibby is paid more than Billups and just a litte more than Arenas, but both those guys are underpaid. Marbury, Francis, and Baron Davis are paid more than Bibby, and I still rather have Bibby than those three guys. Well, in Davis' case, he's just too injury-prone for my taste. Overall, Bibby is one of the top PGs in the league and he's being paid like one. But I don't consider that overpaying.

 

[whozit]

I think Smills says it full on right. When the Maloofs werent trying to help with the GMing Petrie was doing a great job, but now since they have been involved with a lot of the moves, the team has gone down hill. They need to let Geoff do his thing and rebuild this team. Instead of trying to build on the fly.

When the purse strings were opened and decisions were made from a basketball perspective, Petrie did really well. However, when the purse closed and the decisions were beginning to be made from what appeared to be a bottom line or cost cutting mode, the results have been less than stellar. I believe there are very few GMs that operate well in a cost cutting mode. For the most part, he has shown good insight on when to let a player go before they fall apart with one glaring exception. He has also shown the knack to recover from mistakes, at least the minor ones.

It will be interesting, at least I hope it will be, seeing how things transpire going forward.

 

[kupman]

Am I the only one who thinks that Bibby and Miller don't have bad contracts?

I share this opinion with you. I have argued this opinion with others in other threads. We brought both of them here because they were good with the Grizz and Pacers and they produced for us as expected until the past 1-2 years.

I further argue that they have full capabilities to produce like they have before for the next 2-4 years. Therefore, IMHO it would be unwise to place them in a Kings garage sale. These guys are worth their full-price.

 

[Bricklayer]

I share this opinion with you. I have argued this opinion with others in other threads. We brought both of them here because they were good with the Grizz and Pacers and they produced for us as expected until the past 1-2 years.

I further argue that they have full capabilities to produce like they have before for the next 2-4 years. Therefore, IMHO it would be unwise to place them in a Kings garage sale. These guys are worth their full-price.

At their BEST they weren't worth their current price.

And their best was working as part of a superior system designed to compensate for their inadequacies.

And for us, now, today, with no grand plans for stormning the castle for years, their presence is not only pointless, but counterproductive. If they are mvoed now for prospects and picks, then those prospects and picks can be coming into their own by the time we are ready to emerge.


I don' think th inital contracts were mistakes -- they were the price you had to pay to keep a top team togethere. But once the top team is gone, and the contracts continue to swell, what once was reasonable no longer is, and the art is in dumping those swelling contracts on somebody else having gottent he best and most cost effective years out of the deals and moved them on to another team for the years of payroll busting with declining productivity.

 

[PoundForPound]

the idea that Bibby is a top PG in the league is fading, surely but slowly it's becoming almost laughable. Kings fans won't tell you that because that's just the way we are, and we've watched the things he's done year after year. But to the media and other fans who maybe don't watch Mike game after game, it's a different story.

 

[beb0p]

I don't think it's fair to say Bibby is no longer a top-notch PG when he played a major part of the season with a pretty bad injury. He has definitely stepped up since Webber left and I still think the 04-05 and 05-06 seasons when he averaged around 20 and 5 is the norm.

Note that I'm not saying we shouldn't trade Bibby for the right pieces.

 

[NoBonus]

I think you cannot judge Geoff without judging the Maloofs at the same time; they are a team and this team did the improbable of taking a wild, fast paced team from Sacramento a hair from a championship. On the other hand, once the team decided to make getting under the cap a top priority, all bets were off.

I think of it this way: you are working at Pizza Hut making $10 per hour. With this money, you can afford to make payments on a car (5 year commitment), rent an apartment (2 year commitment), just barely scrape enough cash together to finance a speed boat (4 year commitment), and buy food/pay bills. As long as you keep working at Pizza Hut making $10 per hour, everything will be fine... unfortunately, you are fired and can only find work at Joe's Crab Shack washing dishes at $8 per hour (this, is the point in the metaphor where the Maloofs decide to get under the cap at all costs). All of the sudden, your long term commitments are like a noose around your neck; you cannot afford them, but you are stuck with them. Your food and bills must be decreased significantly, new acquisitions or upgrades are years away, and you have a real significant financial problem. Additionally, the boat needs regular repair, the apartment is getting run down, and, though the car runs, it is close to giving up.

The Maloof/Geoff team's decision to change spending priority prematurely made the rebuilding process incredibly difficult. Additionally, all of the nice players they picked up in the "spendy" years cannot be afforded comfortably in the "tight" years and the commitment to winning made in the "spendy" years was essentially flushed.

Hopefully, once Bibby and some other pieces are gone, the Kings can get back on track and rebuild.

 

[kennadog]

What? No Burger King?