11/21/24
February 24, 2005
Webber Traded to Philly: Petrie didn't just end an era Wednesday night when he agreed to trade away the face of the Sacramento Kings' rise from laughingstocks to NBA elitists. By sending Chris Webber to Philadelphia for three forwards with long-term contracts, one of the most respected minds in the game put himself in line for some rare criticism.
posted by mayerkyl to basketball at 11:15 AM - 13 comments
I agree that this move, although great for Philly, is not enough to make them serious contenders for the Eastern Conference Championship, unless Shaq is unhealthy and the Pistons somehow fall apart. It is nice to see A.I. get a high-caliber cohort. Maybe he can stop wrecking his body on a nightly basis.
posted by mayerkyl at 12:35 PM on February 24, 2005
Sixers just moved Glenn Robinson to the Hornets for Rodney Rogers and Jamal Mashburn (retiring). I think Billy King may have just saved his job.
posted by rosey8810 at 12:38 PM on February 24, 2005
Why in the hell would the Kings make that deal!? I was reading an article yesterday (I can't find it now) about the unintended consequences of the salary cap. Basically management making moves that are counter-intuitive and do not improve the team. Players with huge expiring contracts become valuable commodities even if their play is terrible or non-existent (everyone say hello to Glenn Robinson). Welcome to bizarro world. Back to the trade, Webber is putting up near triple-doubles every night and he gets traded for a bunch of third-rate forwards? The only this makes any sense is if Webber is missing a kneecap, and all his tendons and cartilage and the Kings know he's going to collapse in two minutes.
posted by dusted at 01:05 PM on February 24, 2005
But what's this going to do to my fantasy team, dammit?
posted by smithers at 01:21 PM on February 24, 2005
Ah yes, smithers, the important question.
posted by dusted at 02:06 PM on February 24, 2005
My guess is that Iverson's assists go up slightly as he has someone who can bang the high-post spot-up when he penetrates, but other than that, not much will change.....and I pray that C-Webb's knee holds up.
posted by smithers at 02:26 PM on February 24, 2005
My guess is Iverson's points go up too. He's never had a comparable star like Webber commanding double teams down low. And Webber in the East will face far worse competition for the most part.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 03:08 PM on February 24, 2005
Well we all know who one out of this trade what is the damn NBA owners doing your kidding?? the world is nutty. I was concerned when Golden State moved him on due to the fact he was a rookie I can understand you can be happy with yourself, Washington he was moving on in his career and they took a big punt not to keep him but Sac he was a damn All-Star. the only way i can see that this is smart is on the grounds he has had a lot of niggling injuries over the past 2-3 seasons. the EAST suddenly are now a force int he NBA as the big men shift so does the power i think
posted by bballcoachreid at 05:15 PM on February 24, 2005
Antoine Walker traded BACK to the Celtics? Somebody please tell me what Ainge is doing.
posted by usfbull at 07:07 PM on February 24, 2005
You can get a good feel for the Celtic fan opinion here, which has become the de facto Celtcs blog. I make no claim on partiality: I'm a huge Walker fan and I think for all his flaws he may bring back the old Paul Pierce. Plus they gave up the lesser of their #1s this year. And there's the suggestion they may resign Payton since he didn't show and Atlanta cut him. If he doesn't resign, it does seem like Danny played dirty pool with Payton given GP's misgivings about coming East to begin with.
posted by yerfatma at 07:22 PM on February 24, 2005
well I think that philly got the best out of the trade because I mean Chris Webber took them to the playoffs like how many years with or without mike bibby he even took them when they had jason williams so I mean to me it was a stupid trade for the kings but philly with Iverson and Webber it's going good for them
posted by Doeboy at 12:46 PM on February 25, 2005
The trade not only gives Iverson his most taleneted teammate of all-time but it adds some seriously needed size down-low. The acquisition of Webber along with the addition of Rodney Rogers solidifies the Sixers as a serious contender to represent the East in the Finals. Besides Wade and O'Neal, the Heat are lacking talent and the Sixers match-up well against them. The Sixers most challenging opponent are the Pistons but they're inconsistent and have the difficult task of defending an NBA title.
posted by game-winner31 at 12:49 PM on February 26, 2005
I think its probably easier for Petrie to flip any of the three power forwards, than it would be for him to move Webber for more cap space. I mean, that's all I can think in his defence - just an awful deal. Worse than the Vince deal on paper (though in the end they may be very similar). But Webber and AI? This should be fun, yet certainly not long term. Webber is the oldest 32-year old I've ever seen. He plays on one leg. Still averages 21 a game though. Phily might win the 'Humiliated by either the Pistons or Heat' lottery in the East.