In the summer of 2001, the Sacramento Kings put up billboards along the highway trying to catch Chris Webber's eye on his drive home from the arena. "JOE WILL MOW YOUR LAWN IF YOU STAY - GAVIN".
These were the lengths that owners Joe and Gavin Maloof went to in order to retain their franchise player. And now just last week, the Kings unceremoniously shipped Webber to the Philadelphia 76ers in one of the busiest deadline days in the history of the league.
The Kings continued their effort to go in a more youthful direction, but this kind of an overhaul was totally unexpected. They had severed ties with dinosaur center Vlade Divac in the off-season and dealt defensive stopper Doug Christie to the Magic in exchange for the younger, more offensive-minded Cuttino Mobley.
While Divac and Christie were staples of the upstart Kings teams that once took the Lakers to overtime in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, the team was by no means in disarray without them. A starting backcourt of Mobley and Mike Bibby is impressive, and a frontline of Webber, Peja Stojakovic, and Brad Miller is better than most than you will find in the league. With players like Bobby Jackson and Darius Songaila coming off the bench (although Jackson is an injury waiting to happen) you had a rotation on this team that could easily win over 50 games per season, and could at least give San Antonio a fight in the playoffs.
Apparently the prospect of being very good, with a slight chance to win a championship, was not good enough for the Sacramento brass, and they should be commended for that. Teams like New York have ownerships in place that would rather be pretty good for a while than take the risk needed to become a contender.
This was a major factor that ultimately triggered the trade of Webber. The Kings saw their window of opportunity for winning a championship with Webber as shut, and were not going to wait around to get another opportunity. In the mind of Kings GM Geoff Petrie, Webber had taken them as far as they were going to go, and it was time to make a change.
It's also no secret that Webber and Stojakovic do not get along well at all. As with the Kobe-Shaq feud, the Kings traded their aging superstar in order to appease the younger star with a lot more miles left in the tank. It's a sad commentary on the world today when a suave, once-aspiring rapper like Webber cannot coexist with a pasty-white, tight jeans-wearing European like Stojakovic.
The trade makes sense from an age and injury perspective. For one, Webber was by far the oldest member of the Kings nucleus at 32, while Bibby, Stojakovic and Miller are 26, 27 and 28, respectively.
Webber also badly injured his knee during the 2003 playoffs, leading to the same chronic knee problems that Allan Houston and Jamal Mashburn have - an injury that has more or less ended the careers of those two players. At an undesirable age with a pair damaged knees, the Kings wanted to unload Webber before he really deteriorated or broke down, leaving his contract un-tradable (see: Allan Houston).
But while Webber is getting into his early thirties and the knees are a concern, his numbers have shown no signs of decline. He is averaging 21.0 points per game, 9.6 rebounds per game and 5.3 attempts per game in 36 minutes, compared to career averages of 22.0 ppg, 10.1 rpg, and 4.5 apg in 38 minutes. With his numbers still of all-star caliber, there is no reason to believe that Webber might not be able to be very good for two or three more seasons - which is why Philadelphia made the trade. The Kings, though, wanted to trade Webber while his value was high in order to get maximum value for him - and herein lies the rub.
If you have not noticed, I have not even mentioned who Webber was traded for. When I first heard about the trade, the ESPN broadcasters did not mention who Webber was traded for. That is because he was traded for - brace yourself - Kenny Thomas? Brian Skinner? Corliss Williamson? This is who the Kings got for their franchise player? Was there a tuna fish sandwich involved with this deal? I was stunned.
When I first heard about the deal, I thought "Well, the Kings must have gotten Iguodala," and that might have actually made sense had the Kings acquired the promising rookie in the trade. But instead they got a decent player in Kenny Thomas and some luggage featuring a "Big Nasty" that is more of a "Slightly Unpleasant" with his glory days of Arkansas long behind him.
The reasons for wanting to trade Webber - his age, his health, his contract, his problems with Stojakovic - are all sound reasons. But you still have to get either equal talent or cap relief in return, and the Kings did neither. They feared if they did not move immediately they would be stuck with Webber, so they hastily pulled the trigger on this deal. I have some doubts that when Kenny Thomas becomes a free agent, Joe and Gavin Maloof will be offering him lawn care service.
