I've gotten a lot of criticism for my remarks about Peja being a choker during the playoffs the past couple years. And I've gotten even more crap about trading him away for an agressive swingman. How about trading one proven shooter for another. With Ray Allen apparently on the market, why not try picking up Allen in exchange for Peja. Then, package Bobby Jackson and another player to be named (or future picks) in exchange for Ron Artest. Starting Lineup would be: C-Webb, Miller, Bibby, Allen, and Artest Bench: Christie, Vlade, Rookies, and a couple free agents (i.e. Hedo, Bob Sura, Marcus Camby or Antonio McDyess)
I'm not so sure the Sonics would be all that interested in a player who is exactly like Ray though. I think the main knock on Ray is his leadership ability, and Peja doesnt bring that to the table either..
IMO, id rather have Peja and Bobby Jackson in Kings uniforms next year again than to trade them off. I think that they are good fits for the Kings and work well in the system. Peja was an MVP contender during the regular season, and if he can find half of that form in the playoffs, then Sacramento will go far.
Trade away Peja? Never that. Peja is a guy that you want on your side. Can you imagine what it would be like to have Peja busting threes on us the way he does our opponents? That lineup that was posted previously looks good, but I wouldn't feel good about breaking up the Kings. What we're missing right now is a killer instinct in the playoffs. And about packaging Bobby Jackson, give me a break. There's not another guy I'd rather have coming off the bench.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting sactown_dyme:</div><div class="quote_post"> Can you imagine what it would be like to have Peja busting threes on us the way he does our opponents?</div> would only hurt you untill the playoffs (heh... kiddin) as for the rest of it all... i wouldnt really mind trading Stojakovic IF I got proven solid defense in return other than that there is no way I would trade him. as for Jackson, too much experience and too valuable off the bench at the moment.. no way I would trade him this season.
Peja is the man................during the regular season,when it comes play-off time he gets D'd up every year,so I think a Ray Allrn trade would deffiantly help the Kings especially come play off time.
if they brought in artest an ray allen that would be big for them. Peja never steps up plus jackson is a bench guy. Having a guy like allen an a shut down guy like artest would do wonders for the Kings. Throw in a healthy Webber. Bibby an Miller. They could make a run at the west. Depending on how T Mac an Yao come together. An if they Mavs get Shaq.
I think it would be stupid to mess up the Kings team. They have one of the best offenses in the league. They know how to play together and doing cuts and screens, etc. I would leave them alone. I think they're gonna have an awesome season this year. NBA Finals probably, in my predictions.
Offense doesn't win championships. It doesn't matter if you can drop 150 on any given night, the fact is, you have to be able to stop people. And for 4 straight years, the Kings have proven lack luster on the defensive side. Peja is a great player, but he's slow on D, goes cold for long stretches, and isn't playoff tough. The guy is always hot during the season and goes cold during the plaoffs. He's one dimensional, if he can't shoot, he won't score more than 10 pts a night. That's horrible for a starting small forward of his calibre. Trading Peja to either get a young more athletic swingman allows Webber to stand outside and gives Bibby and Christie another option off the ball. Defenses will have to respect the small foward position if a more athletic player fills the spot. While Bobby Jackson has proven to be a viable bench player, he's the only trade property the Kings have at this moment. Using Jackson as trade bait allows the possibility of strengthening the bench and possibly getting another lock down player who isn't injury prone. Most likely, it'll never happen simply because Jackson has proven to be injury prone himself. The simple fact is this team lacks toughness and a killer instinct. Teams know that the Kings won't play D all game, and can always make a run to close the gap. Miller is tough, but not a scorer. Getting younger and more athletic opens more options both defensively and offensively. I don't think leadership on this team is a problem, I think having the guts to go out and lay it on the court each and every night (on both sides of the ball) is a huge problem which must be addressed.
I wouldn't mind either. Peja has the advantage if being more intimidating due to his size. However Allen has that awesome ability to create for himself and is a much better cutter, slasher and creater, for himself of course. Although his D's not that great, he tries hard, someone with effort is never bad, unselfish as well. Good rebounder and passer, that would compensate for his lack of size compared to Peja. I say get him, but I'd rather the Nets or TWolves get him.
When I saw the name of this post I was thinking they should trade Peja for Allen, but I thought Kings fans would all disagree, but the guy who started the post suggested this, and I agree r4shox 100%, ray allen for peja would be awesome for the kings, i don't know about salary cap stuff though, but i doubt the sonics would want peja unless they trade rashard lewis. the past few years i thought the kings would win it, and they might have gone to the finals this year if bobby jackson wasn't injured. Bobby Jackson and some others for Artest, would be good for the kings, but i think the pacers could get better offers, though I would like to see that lineup r4shox mentioned earlier. Allen is better then Peja, ray had a few injury problems last year, but came back and played great... Hopefully the Kings can finally win a championship..
The core of the team includes: C-Webb, Miller, Bibby, Christie, Peja, Jackson Trade commodities: Peja, Jackson (simply because Miller has long term contract and C-Webb is an uncertainty) It's disappointing year after year. SOMETHING has to change. Realistically, I would say trade Christie and get younger but no team, other than maybe Charlotte would want Doug Christie (especially because he has a large contract). Peja and Allen mathematically would work. I'm not sure about Artest and Jackson. I just think that getting more athletic both at the 2 and 3, as well as depth on the bench are critical to winning in the west. With Kobe, McGrady, Ginobli, Rashard Lewis, Marion, Carmello, J-Rich, and a number of other athletic players in the west, you have to make some sort of move. Most likely though, Petrie won't do anything and we'll see the exact same team as this year, except for some minor changes on the bench. If anything is going to be done, the bench has got to get deeper. Especially at the the 3 and 4.
We need DEFENSE. That's it. We're great on offense, best in the league last year. We need defense and a killer instinct in the playoffs and that's not something you can get in the market. We need to learn it. The Pistons showed that defense wins championships. So it would make my day if the Kings would pick up a defensive player.
You can't teach defense to bad defenders. Plain and simple. Things have to change, meaning personel moves must be made in order to bring in better defensive minded players.
I agre with you guys. If Im the Kings the only way I would trade Peja is if I got a defensive stopper in return. Artest would be good. Right now though I think the Kings should be shopping around Webber. He is beginning to get injury prone and isnt the superstar he used to be.
The reality is no one wants to take on a large contract for a guy who has serious problems with injuries (and not just his knee, he's had how many different injuries the last couple years. Ankle, wrist, shoulder...). Webber won't be packaged in any deals unless it involves getting the Diesel into Arco.
