Every NBA general manager knows the importance of February 22. This day, the NBA trade deadline, offers one final chance for playoff contenders to shore up their holes and for basement dwellers to dump high-salaried veterans for cost-effective youth with potential.
This season, perhaps the most provocative dilemma looms in Sacramento. It is common knowledge that blossoming superstar power forward Chris Webber's contract expires at season's end. In a recent ESPN The Magazine interview with Webber, the Sacramento King's leader in scoring, rebounding, field goal percentage, and blocks said, "I'm bored to death here every day." Webber has given all indications that he won't re-sign with the Kings in the off-season.
While Webber has received criticism for voicing a desire to leave a winning franchise in Sacramento, the place where he turned his career around, his departure really does make sense. First, he's gone on record to say he is bored out of his mind in small potatoes Sacramento, which, aside from being a state capitol and a nice rest stop for San Franciscans on the way to Lake Tahoe, isn't much of a town. Second, while the Kings have a great foundation and are playing great basketball, so are their competitors.
The Los Angeles Lakers have two very young superstars, in the form of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant, who have few equals in the league, and the Portland Trailblazers have enormous depth and a good mix of veteran leadership and young talent. There is no indication that either team will be fading back anytime soon, so Webber's chances of winning a championship, let alone a conference or division title, may be better if he ventures east.
At 31-15, the Kings are second in the Pacific Division (two games behind the leaders in Portland) and have at least a reasonable chance of winning the title this year. But if Webber leaves at season's end and the Kings don't receive anything in return, the effects would be disastrous. The team would have to replace an MVP candidate who averages 27.3 points per game (fifth in the NBA) and 11.4 rebounds per game (sixth overall).
One rumor has lingered, and it is a bold one. The Kings could trade Webber to the Orlando Magic for all-world athlete Grant Hill, who is out for the season with an ankle injury. It would take serious guts on the part of Kings GM Geoff Petrie to make this deal now, and that is one reason why it probably won't happen. But it should.
This is a deal that makes a lot of sense for both clubs. Tracy McGrady has come into his own, and while Hill would undoubtedly be an excellent compliment, Webber would better fit Orlando's needs on the floor. The Magic would be a serious force with a good low-post power forward, especially one with adept passing skills like Webber, who is second on the Kings in assists with 4.2 per contest.
By making this trade, Sacramento would be scrapping its season. While the Kings are definitely in the thick of things, their front office has to realize they are fighting an uphill battle. Sacramento has come a tremendous distance from its days as a perennial lottery finisher. If they lose Webber at the end of the season and get nothing in return, the team's fate will ride on the shoulders of sharp-shooter Peja Stojakovic and flashy point guard Jason Williams - both of whom compliment Webber well, but won't make it anywhere without him.
But outside of the pre-deadline realm of rumors, it's questionable whether the Magic will offer Grant Hill to any team, and even more unlikely that the Kings will break up what may be their best team since they settled in Sacramento. But such is the beauty of February rumors.
Teams that already have issues with chemistry rarely dare to alter the balance so drastically in mid-season. Trade deadline time is an exciting time in the NBA, but more often than not, the month of February is filled with talk rather than action.
In the ESPN interview, Webber went on to discuss his interest in a collection of teams. He spoke most favorably about playing for the Magic, New York Knicks, Houston Rockets, or the Phoenix Suns. Also, there is speculation that he may wish to play for his hometown Detroit Pistons, or join the Lakers, where he'd be fitted for a championship ring before his plane landed in LA.
What the NBA has shown in recent seasons is that the midseason trading deadline is only one component of the transaction trail, and a relatively minor one at that. Seemingly more significant, in recent seasons, have been the period just before the late-June draft and just after the Aug. 1 start of the free-agent signing period. In all likelihood, that's when Webber will start packing the U-Haul. Unless he gets anxious and just needs something to do.
