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http://www.indystar.com/articles/8/209889-3598-179.html
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Trade breaks up relationships
By Mark Montieth
mark.montieth@indystar.com
January 16, 2005
Orlando's surprising trade with Sacramento last week broke up long-running and complex partnerships on each coast. When the ground had settled, only Cuttino Mobley emerged with a smile, but both teams thought they had improved by ending dangerous liaisons.
The Magic sent Mobley and Michael Bradley to the Kings for Doug Christie, a deal that ended the six-year backcourt partnership of Mobley and point guard Steve Francis, and the five-year relationship between Doug and Jackie Christie and the Kings.
Francis was upset to lose his running mate, but their cozy partnership was part of the reason Magic general manager John Weisbrod made the trade. Francis too often looked for Mobley on the perimeter at the expense of other teammates who were in position for better shots.
"We're trying to get Steve into a totally new way of playing basketball, a five-man outlook, and obviously that becomes difficult when you have someone there that you are so accustomed to and familiar with," Weisbrod said. "Sometimes Cuttino and his familiarity could be a crutch for Steve. It's hard to lose that, but I think (Francis) will be better for it."
Weisbrod also was motivated by a desire to improve his team's league-worst defense, the fact Mobley can and probably will opt out of his contract at the end of the season and a desire to get backup Hedo Turkoglu more playing time.
"There were storm clouds on the horizon," Weisbrod said. "Cuttino's minutes were going to go down and not up and I'm not sure he would have been happy with playing 20 to 24 minutes a night."
The move paid immediate dividends for Turkoglu, who scored 26 points in his first start of the season Wednesday at Minnesota. Orlando is 17-8 when he scores in double figures.
The trade went down even harder in Sacramento, where the Christies had been entrenched in the organization and the community -- for better or worse.
His teammates seemed genuinely hurt by the trade. Fans, however, were not. A poll on the Kingstalk.com Web site gave 67.8 percent approval to the deal.
Christie had to cut short a radio interview after 10 minutes when he became too emotional to talk, and his wife took over.
"This is a real trying time," she said. "It hurts our heart, but we understand. Orlando will be our new place, but Sacramento will be our home."
Jackie Christie's role with the team was so intense that some in Sacramento believed she was part of the reason for the trade. She occasionally upbraided team employees for not performing as she wanted and occasionally traveled to road games on the team plane. The joke in Sacramento was that Jackie Christie had been traded to the Magic, and Doug was included in the deal.
Christie was the Kings' best defender, so the trade will hurt them on that half of the court. But they aren't a defensive-oriented team, anyway, and Mobley should allow them to do what they do best -- score -- even better.
"This is a reasonable gamble, if you want to call it a gamble," Kings president Geoff Petrie said after making a rare in-season move. "We give up some size and versatility, but we got a guy who can drive and pass, can break his man down, can finish at the basket. And I think Cuttino can be adequate defensively."
Christie took the maximum allowable time to report to the Magic. He had two points and three assists in 26 minutes in his debut Saturday against the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse. His delay prevented Mobley from playing for the Kings until Saturday.
Mobley, however, is happy to have moved to a better team where he'll have more opportunities to flex his shooting elbow.
"I score," he told Sacramento reporters upon his arrival. "I can play a little bit of D."
A little bit is all they'll ask.
http://www.indystar.com/articles/8/209889-3598-179.html
nba
Trade breaks up relationships
By Mark Montieth
mark.montieth@indystar.com
January 16, 2005
Orlando's surprising trade with Sacramento last week broke up long-running and complex partnerships on each coast. When the ground had settled, only Cuttino Mobley emerged with a smile, but both teams thought they had improved by ending dangerous liaisons.
The Magic sent Mobley and Michael Bradley to the Kings for Doug Christie, a deal that ended the six-year backcourt partnership of Mobley and point guard Steve Francis, and the five-year relationship between Doug and Jackie Christie and the Kings.
Francis was upset to lose his running mate, but their cozy partnership was part of the reason Magic general manager John Weisbrod made the trade. Francis too often looked for Mobley on the perimeter at the expense of other teammates who were in position for better shots.
"We're trying to get Steve into a totally new way of playing basketball, a five-man outlook, and obviously that becomes difficult when you have someone there that you are so accustomed to and familiar with," Weisbrod said. "Sometimes Cuttino and his familiarity could be a crutch for Steve. It's hard to lose that, but I think (Francis) will be better for it."
Weisbrod also was motivated by a desire to improve his team's league-worst defense, the fact Mobley can and probably will opt out of his contract at the end of the season and a desire to get backup Hedo Turkoglu more playing time.
"There were storm clouds on the horizon," Weisbrod said. "Cuttino's minutes were going to go down and not up and I'm not sure he would have been happy with playing 20 to 24 minutes a night."
The move paid immediate dividends for Turkoglu, who scored 26 points in his first start of the season Wednesday at Minnesota. Orlando is 17-8 when he scores in double figures.
The trade went down even harder in Sacramento, where the Christies had been entrenched in the organization and the community -- for better or worse.
His teammates seemed genuinely hurt by the trade. Fans, however, were not. A poll on the Kingstalk.com Web site gave 67.8 percent approval to the deal.
Christie had to cut short a radio interview after 10 minutes when he became too emotional to talk, and his wife took over.
"This is a real trying time," she said. "It hurts our heart, but we understand. Orlando will be our new place, but Sacramento will be our home."
Jackie Christie's role with the team was so intense that some in Sacramento believed she was part of the reason for the trade. She occasionally upbraided team employees for not performing as she wanted and occasionally traveled to road games on the team plane. The joke in Sacramento was that Jackie Christie had been traded to the Magic, and Doug was included in the deal.
Christie was the Kings' best defender, so the trade will hurt them on that half of the court. But they aren't a defensive-oriented team, anyway, and Mobley should allow them to do what they do best -- score -- even better.
"This is a reasonable gamble, if you want to call it a gamble," Kings president Geoff Petrie said after making a rare in-season move. "We give up some size and versatility, but we got a guy who can drive and pass, can break his man down, can finish at the basket. And I think Cuttino can be adequate defensively."
Christie took the maximum allowable time to report to the Magic. He had two points and three assists in 26 minutes in his debut Saturday against the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse. His delay prevented Mobley from playing for the Kings until Saturday.
Mobley, however, is happy to have moved to a better team where he'll have more opportunities to flex his shooting elbow.
"I score," he told Sacramento reporters upon his arrival. "I can play a little bit of D."
A little bit is all they'll ask.