<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Geoff Petrie had a very difficult decision to make, undoubtedly the most angst-ridden determination of these past six years. His Kings have become the team with the perpetual itch, their late-season collapse and repeated postseason stumbles straining relations with an adoring community, perhaps even infecting a once-cohesive locker room. Someone has to go. Something has to change. And Petrie, the team president who transformed the Kings into one of the league's elite franchises, has decided to move forward with Rick Adelman as head coach - and without saying so explicitly - with Chris Webber on the trading floor. </div> Webber on the Block?
Panic time in Sac? It was a great article, but I think the Kings are in the driver seat as far as shaking up their roster. They had a legit chance at beating the TWolves, and I still consider them an elite team in the league, capable of winning a title. The problem was rushing back C-Webb into the lineup, but I think any team and coach would do the same thing to get their star player ready for the post-season. If you read all the big name rumors surrounding the league, it all favors the Kings. In the West, the Lakers are a huge question mark as to the team they will put on the floor next year. Malone, Payton, and Kobe might not be in the Purple and Gold next season. In Minny, Cassell isn't getting any younger, and the Kings will be better inside the paint with Webber and Miller playing together for an entire season. The Mavs are ready to blow up their team with Nash, Walker, Finley, and Jamison all being rumored to be out of Dallas. The biggest threat will probably be the Spurs next season. They will likely re-sign Ginobili and they have the cap space to get another impact player and scorer. If I were the Kings I would wait to see how the landscape of the West looks after the draft and free agency and then decide on whether or not to pull the trigger on Webber. At this point teams are going to low ball the Kings because of Webber's contract and knee problems.
Its certainly not panic time in sac yet. The core group of players is young with the exception of Webber and Christie. Bringing in some solid defense would bring much to the kings. The problem is where are you going to find the caliber of player that can bring the defense when you are already overloaded with talent and over the cap? I don?t think that Webber is really in that much danger of being traded. Petrie came out a couple days ago and said that trading Webber "would not be his first choice" and that he is looking forward to having the core players under contract for next year. Year after that though? All bets are off if they don?t win the WCF though
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting harbingerofdoom:</div><div class="quote_post">Its certainly not panic time in sac yet. The core group of players is young with the exception of Webber and Christie. Bringing in some solid defense would bring much to the kings. The problem is where are you going to find the caliber of player that can bring the defense when you are already overloaded with talent and over the cap? I don?t think that Webber is really in that much danger of being traded. Petrie came out a couple days ago and said that trading Webber "would not be his first choice" and that he is looking forward to having the core players under contract for next year. Year after that though? All bets are off if they don?t win the WCF though</div> Well of course he will say that it isnt his first move, you dont say stuff like that to the media, it causes turmoil. I think C Webb is done in Sacremento, I think the fans were disgusted by his play this year, ownership didnt like it too much, and changes are needed in Sactown. Rumors have it that it is either C Webb out, or Peja. If I was a King fan I would much rahter have C Webb gone, but I am not.
Still, he has an 80million contract over the next four years. Who is going to want to take that chance on someone that may or may not be back to his former self? I can see the kings giving one more year to this group of players to see if it can pan out. The fans on whole, are not so much disgusted with his play this season as they are frustrated with the situation and striking out at him. I wasnt disgusted with his performance as much as I was upset by everyone saying the kings cant win the championship without Webber. I dont believe that to be true. If the Kings can get some solid defense at the 4 spot with modest offensive (at least 12-15 ppg) output, they have the scoring at other positions to make it all work.
Forget Webber. He's done, he's gone. He's lost what he was so good at, his toughness and his ego, it's not even there anymore. We need someone better in his position category, someone strong who still has a lot of himself and his time. Webber just doesn't do that anymore. Try to go for K-Mart or Brand instead.
im sucha a rumor/gossip hound...but when it comes to the NBA im no fan....all it does is cause more pain to the fans to the players...i wish no one would say anything until a high up source confirms the trade/release or whatever my feeling is i don't think any of the core players will be gone this year....next year is an entirely different story if they don't get to the finals....but i think most of the changes will come from the bench...which is exactly what we need i will never lower myself to say Webb is done or that he sucks or that he should be traded or will be traded...Chris Webber is the reason i am a Kings fan and im not gonna turn my back on that....i have his back til the end
I'm no kings fan but that team & C Web deserve another year together. I'm surprised they didn't dump Adleman though. If they could get a defensive minded coach and stay healthy that would be a scary team. C Web may not be a top player anymore but he's still a solid player. He's untradeable because of his health and contract. It's not panic time yet but it's well past coach firing time.
Chris Webber is NOT the player he use to be,but i feel he can contribute still to the team..I'll go along with this...If Webber doesn't have a good year next season,than i think we might wanna get rid of him,but i'd give him another year..if he doesn't do well,i think it would be best to trade him,but Webber still deserves another shot in my eyes!!
I am thinking next year is going to be the do or die season. if they cant win the WCF, the team will be blown up & put back together. Including coaching staff. Adelman is a much better coach than most people are giving him credit for being. If you would like, just say so and ill put together a year by year comparison of his post season coaching to show you what he has had to deal with all the way back to Portland. Im not trying to make excuses for the guy, but when you take an objective look at him he really has done some great coaching work over the years.
If I can add an outsider's prospective to this, I think it would be a mistake at this point to "blow up" the Kings. First, CWebb was injured for a significant portion of the team. During that time, you got to learn some things: 1. This team was even better than you thought it was. 2. Peja can really play (moreso than even most thought) CWebbs return was at a bad time and to be honest, Adelman dropped the ball in trying to reintroduce him back into the rotation via big minutes. It hurt your team chemistry alot. I'd really like to see what this team could do with CWebb and a much more respected Peja could do with a whole season of play together. At the end of next year, if you have nothing to show for it, or feel the teams been a disappointment, then CWebb only has 3 years left on that monster contract and that seems to be the benchmark amount for being able to move big contracts as it usually take at least one year to evaluate and adjust to a new team, the second year is the decider and the last is usually an option year.
Darkcloud is right on. Adleman needs to go and they need to replace him with someone who gets his team to play D. The problem in Sactown in nobody thinks it's panic time, but it is. A couple years ago they had promise. That WCF series was something to learn from, but what have we seen this year? They have learned nothing and are the same team that will choke under pressure. Webber is not done, he will be back to his 20-10-5 form. He will not be the mvp candidate he once was but that stat line is all they need from him. I don't think he'll be traded because, who would they get? The Kings have made no progress from 2 years ago and their big problems remain lack of defensive intensity and some heart for the big games.
