http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/13412499p-14253742c.html
Ailene Voisin: Deals have Kings' star rising again
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Columnist
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, August 14,
Just look what else the wind blew in. All those dark questions hovering over Kings camp these past several months - so what about that revision and renewal of a formerly elite franchise? - have been whisked away with all the stealth and potency of a late-night mosquito misting.
Close the doors and windows for a few hours. Wash off the plants and the plastic lawn chairs. Stay indoors during dawn and dusk.
But by tipoff for 2005-06, it should be safe to return to Arco Arena. Turns out Geoff Petrie was ruminating, not merely resting.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim wanted to win?
Petrie wins. Once again, so will the Kings.
With the recent moves providing solid support around Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakovic and Brad Miller, the retooled roster is starting to look vaguely familiar. Starting to look like a team on the rise. At very little risk, the Kings have morphed into a more interesting and competitive club, and of utmost importance, better-positioned for that creative, critical, final stroke.
To be sure, this remains an unfinished rendering, not the masterpiece Petrie sketched back in 2002-03. There still are no 7-footers to intimidate defensively and rebound in double digits, or in the alternative, create like a point guard, score in the low post and flop like a Hall of Famer. But even the Kings' best-ever roster required revisions, among them the trade of Jason Williams for the less spectacular but eminently more valuable Bibby.
History hints it will happen again. That Petrie will strike one more time. He seldom suffers fools (J-Will) and never suffers anything for long.
Indeed, consider what has transpired since the disappointing opening-round loss to Seattle: Petrie experiences chest pains and undergoes angioplasty. Contacts the best available coach (Phil Jackson) and inquires about his interest. Acquires Bonzi Wells, one of the league's more problematic but gifted shooting guards. Signs backup point guard Jason Hart, a solid defender and role player. Signs journeyman forward/center Jamal Sampson, who is young and long and athletic, and with everything to prove, including whether a long-term NBA career is warranted. Insinuates himself into the discussions for Abdur-Rahim, then loses the former Cal star to New Jersey.
Then wins him back.
Thus, wins again.
"I think this puts us right back in the thick of things," Kings co-owner Joe Maloof said Saturday. "When we met in Las Vegas a few weeks ago, Geoff told us the two players he wanted were Bonzi Wells and Shareef Abdur-Rahim, and we got them. It is pretty amazing."
Obtaining Abdur-Rahim is a little like earning bonus points for good behavior. When the Nets reneged on their original deal for the Portland power forward, eager to trim the contract length because of sudden concerns about his knee, Petrie was right there in the background, ready to pounce. If the nine-year veteran wanted to win, wanted to taste the playoffs, wanted to join a starting lineup, where else but Sacramento?
And forget about the knee. At five years and $29.5 million, the price was right for his type of talent. A tad undersized at 6-foot-9, 230 pounds, Abdur-Rahim is a desperately needed low post presence who collects almost nine rebounds per game. His 19.8 points largely come off hook shots, curls across the lane for one-handers, dunks off the drive and mid-range jumpers in the lane.
Scouts rate his passing and defense as adequate, and he is considered a decent, not exceptional, athlete.
"Shareef is the consummate professional," Trail Blazers general manager John Nash said Saturday, "and the way Bibby, Stojakovic and Miller make perimeter shots, he should be a terrific complement. The only issue we had here was that he wanted to be our starter. With Zach Randolph, that was going to be difficult. I also understand his desire to go to a winning team. He is in the unique situation, at age 28, of never having been in the playoffs." That figures to change. Provided the Kings genuinely embrace the defensive concepts common to championship squads - this is the most pressing issue - Abdur-Rahim should enjoy many postseasons to come. Those heightened expectations just flew back in.
Reach Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or avoisin@sacbee.com.
Ailene Voisin: Deals have Kings' star rising again
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Columnist
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, August 14,
Just look what else the wind blew in. All those dark questions hovering over Kings camp these past several months - so what about that revision and renewal of a formerly elite franchise? - have been whisked away with all the stealth and potency of a late-night mosquito misting.
Close the doors and windows for a few hours. Wash off the plants and the plastic lawn chairs. Stay indoors during dawn and dusk.
But by tipoff for 2005-06, it should be safe to return to Arco Arena. Turns out Geoff Petrie was ruminating, not merely resting.
Shareef Abdur-Rahim wanted to win?
Petrie wins. Once again, so will the Kings.
With the recent moves providing solid support around Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakovic and Brad Miller, the retooled roster is starting to look vaguely familiar. Starting to look like a team on the rise. At very little risk, the Kings have morphed into a more interesting and competitive club, and of utmost importance, better-positioned for that creative, critical, final stroke.
To be sure, this remains an unfinished rendering, not the masterpiece Petrie sketched back in 2002-03. There still are no 7-footers to intimidate defensively and rebound in double digits, or in the alternative, create like a point guard, score in the low post and flop like a Hall of Famer. But even the Kings' best-ever roster required revisions, among them the trade of Jason Williams for the less spectacular but eminently more valuable Bibby.
History hints it will happen again. That Petrie will strike one more time. He seldom suffers fools (J-Will) and never suffers anything for long.
Indeed, consider what has transpired since the disappointing opening-round loss to Seattle: Petrie experiences chest pains and undergoes angioplasty. Contacts the best available coach (Phil Jackson) and inquires about his interest. Acquires Bonzi Wells, one of the league's more problematic but gifted shooting guards. Signs backup point guard Jason Hart, a solid defender and role player. Signs journeyman forward/center Jamal Sampson, who is young and long and athletic, and with everything to prove, including whether a long-term NBA career is warranted. Insinuates himself into the discussions for Abdur-Rahim, then loses the former Cal star to New Jersey.
Then wins him back.
Thus, wins again.
"I think this puts us right back in the thick of things," Kings co-owner Joe Maloof said Saturday. "When we met in Las Vegas a few weeks ago, Geoff told us the two players he wanted were Bonzi Wells and Shareef Abdur-Rahim, and we got them. It is pretty amazing."
Obtaining Abdur-Rahim is a little like earning bonus points for good behavior. When the Nets reneged on their original deal for the Portland power forward, eager to trim the contract length because of sudden concerns about his knee, Petrie was right there in the background, ready to pounce. If the nine-year veteran wanted to win, wanted to taste the playoffs, wanted to join a starting lineup, where else but Sacramento?
And forget about the knee. At five years and $29.5 million, the price was right for his type of talent. A tad undersized at 6-foot-9, 230 pounds, Abdur-Rahim is a desperately needed low post presence who collects almost nine rebounds per game. His 19.8 points largely come off hook shots, curls across the lane for one-handers, dunks off the drive and mid-range jumpers in the lane.
Scouts rate his passing and defense as adequate, and he is considered a decent, not exceptional, athlete.
"Shareef is the consummate professional," Trail Blazers general manager John Nash said Saturday, "and the way Bibby, Stojakovic and Miller make perimeter shots, he should be a terrific complement. The only issue we had here was that he wanted to be our starter. With Zach Randolph, that was going to be difficult. I also understand his desire to go to a winning team. He is in the unique situation, at age 28, of never having been in the playoffs." That figures to change. Provided the Kings genuinely embrace the defensive concepts common to championship squads - this is the most pressing issue - Abdur-Rahim should enjoy many postseasons to come. Those heightened expectations just flew back in.
Reach Ailene Voisin at (916) 321-1208 or avoisin@sacbee.com.
