What kind of contract would you give Pedja?

[Venom]

Those are reasonably blockbusterish. But I doubt Chicago would give up Heinrich. Maybe Chandler and Deng. Maybe. I wouldn't if I were them, but maybe we could at least talk. And when Toronto did its bizarre draft day thing I had a little voice in the back of my head asking whether any of that could have been for us, or if we could at least make it for us. Seemed like picks that would be logical for us (although I would still have to assume that dumb as Babcock may be, Bosh would be untouchable).

But either of those deals assumes two things I am not at all sure of:
1) that Petrie/the Maloofs will trade Peja under any circumstances -- the lovefest will be tested now, but if they pay him max it will confirm my suspicions
2) that the Kings are willing to actually launch a real rebuilding project.

I will say that if the Kings were able to pull off the Nene deal, and made either a Deng/Chandler or Villanueva/Graham trade as well, I would watch the upcoming season with MUCH more enthusiasm and interest to see how a kiddie core of Martin/Garcia/Nene/Villanueva/Graham or Martin/Garcia/Nene/Chandler/Deng did. That would be fun. But its a reach, and I'm not at all sure our front office shares my sense of adventure there.

Wow, I like that Chandler/Deng idea a lot more. I said Heinrich because I thought Deng might be untouchable and they have such a glut of 1/2 combo guys, with Gordon being such a stud. It's funny that we had the same thought about the Raptors first round; good picks for them, GREAT picks for us. Graham fills the 3 nicely, and Charlie would be sweet in this system alongside Brad. Throw in Nene, starting at the 4, and we would be a real nice combo of high IQ players, toughness, and athleticism.

I really think Peja needs to go. Redd and Allen set the market, and Peja has maxed out his talent. Let's get a youth movement going, and hopefully by the time those kids are coming into their own Bibby and Miller will still be solid contributors of the wily vet variety, and some of these WC teams will be on the downslide. The Suns certainly have youth, but that squad hinges on Nash, and his back is a timebomb. The Spurs have been consistently good, but not dominant, and the fate of the Rockets rests on whether or not Yao can develop a mean streak. Denver would be the only other team with the same parabola as us, because of their mix of vets and youth.

 

[C Diddy]

That is what I do not get trade him for Matt Harpring. How does trading Pedja for Matt improive the team? If I see Pedja traded we have to get equal or greater value back or it is not worth it. The idea I get from most posters is they like Pedja but if we can improve the team they would trade Pedja in a secound and you know what I would too. But what I do not get is the people who would see Pedja go for free or trade him for garbage. This is something we can not do, we lost already when we lost Vlade, Doug(assuming that Mobley signs somewhere else) and Chris and got little or nothing in return. If this happens agian with Pedja I see us being a lottery team in the future. If we going to trade anyone on this team we need equal or greater value that can address our weakness if that means trade Pedja or anyone then so be it.

Defense, rebounding and hustle would improve. The only thing we'd lose with Harpring is 3 point shooting. My point was if Peja isnt gonna take what he is worth and expects more in terms of dollars then trade him for a guy around his salary level that will actually address our needs at that position. Harpring hustles and rebounds and can score the basketball. We already are stacked from 3pt range as it is with Bibby, Jackson, and Garcia. Why not pick up a guy that addresses our needs in terms of toughness and rebounding?

 

[ParniValjak]

Yes, we are admittedly not as constant in our affections as those who follow players based on nationalty. Odd how we get confused and actually want what's best for the franchise rather than what's best for our favorite player. Silly us.

Spare me please. For your information, I have followed Kings well before Peja came along. I jumped on the kings well before the actual Webber/Divac era started so I find it extremely offensive that you actually thing I support the Kings because someone of my nationality plays for them. What a load of crap. If that were true I would be following all the other teams that have Serbs on the. Oh how about Cavs, they are heading somewhere and they have a serb on their roster, lets jump on their bandwagon He isn't even my favourite Serbian player.

 

[piksi]

and Peja has maxed out his talent.

The sad and frustrating part is that he has not maxed it out mostly due to his nature

 

[AleksandarN]

Defense, rebounding and hustle would improve. The only thing we'd lose with Harpring is 3 point shooting. My point was if Peja isnt gonna take what he is worth and expects more in terms of dollars then trade him for a guy around his salary level that will actually address our needs at that position. Harpring hustles and rebounds and can score the basketball. We already are stacked from 3pt range as it is with Bibby, Jackson, and Garcia. Why not pick up a guy that addresses our needs in terms of toughness and rebounding?

Matt is not better talent wise than Pedja. MAtt defence is not greater than Pedja's. Getting Matt for Pedja is a rip off and does not makes up a lot better team. The onluy way we are going to trade Pedja is if we can equal or greater value. You do not trade a player like Pedja and not get equal value unless you want to be a lottery team. Contrary to what people believe SF is not our weakest position. So trading Pedja for a less talent player at same position does not improve our team.

 

[Londonking]

Spare me please. For your information, I have followed Kings well before Peja came along. I jumped on the kings well before the actual Webber/Divac era started so I find it extremely offensive that you actually thing I support the Kings because someone of my nationality plays for them. What a load of crap. If that were true I would be following all the other teams that have Serbs on the. Oh how about Cavs, they are heading somewhere and they have a serb on their roster, lets jump on their bandwagon He isn't even my favourite Serbian player.

Carolija, no doubt Brick is better equiped to respond to your post than me. However, my observation (for what its worth) is that he wasnt saying that you support the Kings because a Serb is on the roster. He's making the point that there are a contingent of the the fanbase who do relate their loyalty to a specific player and in some cases can (misguidedly) put that player and his well being ahead of that of the team as a whole...you know..name on the front vs name on the back slogan...

It shouldnt surprise us that there is a perception that some fans who are based in Europe could feel more attached to the fortunes of their countrymen than the team as a whole. But IMHO that is a generalisation, not a finger pointing at you...

 

[tyrant]

i would trade him.

 

[AleksandarN]

i would trade him.

So would I but would not trade him for less than equal value

 

[BigSong]

Spare me please. For your information, I have followed Kings well before Peja came along. I jumped on the kings well before the actual Webber/Divac era started so I find it extremely offensive that you actually thing I support the Kings because someone of my nationality plays for them. What a load of crap. If that were true I would be following all the other teams that have Serbs on the. Oh how about Cavs, they are heading somewhere and they have a serb on their roster, lets jump on their bandwagon He isn't even my favourite Serbian player.

Peja was drafted in '96, so saying that doesn't prove anything, not that i doubt your sincerity.

 

[tyrant]

So would I but would not trade him for less than equal value

they way peja dissapears in the playoffs, i wouldn't mind trading him straight up for a defensive stopper like trenton hassell.

 

[Zorgat]

i think he should be paid in ruples, that way not only will he be happy with his cool sounding money, but he will also grow 2 extra arms....


not only will this help with his 3 point shots...but his free throws will improve dramaticly

 

[C Diddy]

Matt is not better talent wise than Pedja. MAtt defence is not greater than Pedja's. Getting Matt for Pedja is a rip off and does not makes up a lot better team. The onluy way we are going to trade Pedja is if we can equal or greater value. You do not trade a player like Pedja and not get equal value unless you want to be a lottery team. Contrary to what people believe SF is not our weakest position. So trading Pedja for a less talent player at same position does not improve our team.

Not sure if you are responding to me or not, as you are referencing several things I didn't say. I didn't say Harpring was more talented then Peja. I didn't insinuate SF was our weakest position. I didn't advocate trading Peja just for the sake of it.

Let me try and be a little more clear. If Peja does not accept an extension for a reasonable dollar amount and demands the max, we have to move him. Keeping him, IMO, would be the worst scenario. My point was is that Harpring is a very suitable replacement for Peja if the alternative is him walking out the door to a bigger contract from another team.

Contrary to popular belief, Peja is not a superstar. He is a marginal all-star. Teams trade or let walk marginal all-stars all the time and they don't instantly become lottery teams.

 

[AleksandarN]

Not sure if you are responding to me or not, as you are referencing several things I didn't say. I didn't say Harpring was more talented then Peja. I didn't insinuate SF was our weakest position. I didn't advocate trading Peja just for the sake of it.

Let me try and be a little more clear. If Peja does not accept an extension for a reasonable dollar amount and demands the max, we have to move him. Keeping him, IMO, would be the worst scenario. My point was is that Harpring is a very suitable replacement for Peja if the alternative is him walking out the door to a bigger contract from another team.

Contrary to popular belief, Peja is not a superstar. He is a marginal all-star. Teams trade or let walk marginal all-stars all the time and they don't instantly become lottery teams.

Still if we are to trade Pedja then I would not trade him for Matt. But if we were to get Matt by other means then he would do a good job at SF. The thing is like Brick said we half to decide before it is too late either resign him to a contract extention or trade him. Trrading him we need to address our other weaknesses on our team. We need to get better and if tradeing Pedja to do it is by all means I am for it. HAving him on the team is better then having nothing. This last year we have gone through a talent drain and would hate to see it continue and yes we are going to be lottery team if this trend continues

 

[thesanityannex]

If Peja is replaced, it better be for someone who can not only shoot three's, but defend and make SOME buckets in the fourth quarter.

 

[whozit]

Wasn't really sure where to put this post. It could have gone in the trade thread, the Kings interested in Simmons thread, must get better defensively, the Mobley threads or a number of other threads. I will put this disclaimer in first, I don't understand the articles or inference that the Clippers are missing out in SG chase (or are even interested in Mobley) because they do have Maggette. I am putting it in this thread mainly with the motivation of escaping a max contract with Peja considering how that would hamstring the team going into the future given their other "large" contracts. This involves several S&T and if it were to happen it could(?) even set a record with the number of S&T done by one team in one off-season. (translation: not a snowballs chance in hell of happening)

I would do a S&T using Mobley including Peja with the Clippers for Marko Jaric and Bobby Simmons. (the Clippers could absorb the little bit of extra salary) The Kings would do this one to escape the next to sure demand for the max and with the recent salaries given who could blame for the request. Simmons would be a step down in shooting while a step up in athletism (however better than losing for nothing). Secondly, the Kings would get the needed defensive minded large PG that they could use (can also slip over to SG if problems with the youngsters arise) The Clippers would do this because they are likely to lose Simmons for nothing and Peja is a improvement in shooting. They would also get their ~top-notch SG the covet (don't know why) and appearantly their PG future is with Livingston. This I believe would be a fair trade on both sides. They both get while giving. For the Kings, they also get younger athletic defensive players tied up to lower salaries going into the future.

I would secondly do a S&T with Portland, them exchanging a resigned Shareef Abdur-Rahim for Corliss with the Kings using some of the trade exemptions realGM reports that team has. Portland does this because they stand to lose Shareef for possibly nothing otherwise and Corliss is a solid citizen who accepts whatever role he is given on a team, a true profesional and in that something they are sorely lacking. His salary is also just for the coming season and the one after. The Kings do this because they need some size and offensively he fits their system to a tee, including the ability to play around the basket. His defeciancies on the defensive end are covered by the other moves that are being proposed here. He also has the ability to slide over to the SF position depending on match ups or injuries. Shareef is willing to do this to come to a winning situation (hopefully) and that the Kings would be able to pay the most in comparision to other winning teams.

The third S&T that I would do is with Milwaukee, them exchanging a resigned Zaza Paculia for Kenny Thomas. Milwaukee does this because with the drafting of Bogut and the max contract given to Redd, they would probably not be able to keep Gadzuric, Pachulia, Booth and Bogut as centers. Of the restricted FA centers they have Pachulia is probably more obtainable than Gadzuric. Milwaukee also only has Joe Smith for the PF slot and Thomas' near mid-level salary wouldn't be damning in the short term. The Kings would do it to get a young defensive minded back-up center signed up long term and to get out from Thomas' long term contract since it is questionable if he fits the teams needs. The size of Thomas wouldn't be as detrimental in the Eastern conferance.

This also assumes that the Kings sign Barnes to a minimum contract, and the resigning Mobley and Songalia to reasonable contracts.

If these were all done, the Kings lineup would be:

Mike Bibby PG
Marko Jaric PG/SG
Bobby Jackson PG/SG

Kevin Martin SG
Mo Evans SG
"Cisco" Garcia SG/SF

Bobby Simmons SF
Matt Barnes SF

Shareef Abdur-Rahim PF/SF
Darius Songalia PF
Brian Skinner PF/C

Brad Miller C/PF
Zaza Pachulia C
Greg Ostertag C

This does not kill the Kings too bad (IMHO) salary wise especially with players locked up long term and Ostertag and Jackson coming off the books in the amount of around 8 million the following year.

 

[thesanityannex]

simmons is on the bucks now. so none of this will work.

 

[whozit]

Well, I did say not a snowballs chance in hell. Blankey-blank dial-up. Spend all that time and end up a day late.

Not that is matters, back to regular programming.

 

[Bricklayer]

I wouldn't do Peja for Harpring straight up, and I think Peja is still worth considerably more than that. But I certainly wouldn't mind having Harpring land on the team as a replacment after all the trading was done -- one tough S.O.B., and just as having too many soft players can really bleeed over and create a sioft team identity/chemistry, adding in tough S.O.B.s can help tilt the scale back the other way.

Mike Miller -- eh...not sure how that would help. Rather have Peja, although I guess the money difference would be the key. Still, Peja is a considerably better player, and Miller does nothing really better than Peja.


If we end up trading Peja to dodge the salary bomb headed our way, we really have to get it right and get large chunks of talent back the other way. It can't just be a dump, and there is no need for it to be. As long as we make the move this summer, Peja has considerable trade value. Think the best way to go about thing, if we were serious here, would be to move Peja for either young pieces to make a full fledged youth movement (I really wish management would just suck it up and consider this approach -- Martin, Garcia, Nene, + kids for Peja = a young core for the future), or to try to move him for a big. There is obviously not much reason for a team to trade its talented SF for Peja in a lateral exchange unless we're talking about Artest or Pierce (whihc are obviously interesting thoughts).

 

[AleksandarN]

I wouldn't do Peja for Harpring straight up, and I think Peja is still worth considerably more than that. But I certainly wouldn't mind having Harpring land on the team as a replacment after all the trading was done -- one tough S.O.B., and just as having too many soft players can really bleeed over and create a sioft team identity/chemistry, adding in tough S.O.B.s can help tilt the scale back the other way.

Mike Miller -- eh...not sure how that would help. Rather have Peja, although I guess the money difference would be the key. Still, Peja is a considerably better player, and Miller does nothing really better than Peja.


If we end up trading Peja to dodge the salary bomb headed our way, we really have to get it right and get large chunks of talent back the other way. It can't just be a dump, and there is no need for it to be. As long as we make the move this summer, Peja has considerable trade value. Think the best way to go about thing, if we were serious here, would be to move Peja for either young pieces to make a full fledged youth movement (I really wish management would just suck it up and consider this approach -- Martin, Garcia, Nene, + kids for Peja = a young core for the future), or to try to move him for a big. There is obviously not much reason for a team to trade its talented SF for Peja in a lateral exchange unless we're talking about Artest or Pierce (whihc are obviously interesting thoughts).

That what I was saying all along we need to get value from any trade of the core we make.

 

[slugking50]

Id give him another Folsom Lake Toyota/Ford deal and an old lady on a Harley

But what about his Good Feet deal?





I changed my mind. I think Peja deserves 6 - 40 Max. PFFT's post on NHL-izing is a good idea.