| Webber Trade Rocks This Town Authored by Bob Souza - February 24, 2005 - 9:02 pm
Can we come up for air now?
No, wait – duck. Here comes another one.
On a day when the newest plan for a replacement arena takes a dive, loyal Sacramento fans hear the stunning announcement that their marquee player has been dealt away. Talk about your one-two punch.
“The Kings may be history in Sacramento, I really feel that way,” said somber former City Councilman Jimmie Yee in a last minute news conference. Yee is the spokesman for a group that has been trying to put together private financing for a new facility. They have concluded they cannot raise enough money.
The latest plan is the third to crap out in the last two years. Without a new arena in the next few years, the team will be forced to leave. “We’re not discouraged, and we’re not going to give up”, owner Gavin Maloof said.
We’ll see.
The crying over this latest arena snafu was barely a trickle, had yet to gain any real momentum, when the atomic blast hit – Chris Webber for… Who? Why?
While all of us were trying to come up with an intriguing, workable Peja Stojakovic solution (the guy who really wanted to go), Geoff Petrie was plotting a different route. Whether you are for or against Webber, he is unquestionably the most talented piece of the trade.
The 76ers land the possible missing ingredient, the item that maybe gets them into the playoffs and more. The Kings get additional new players they must now bond with – all while in the middle of the longest road stretch of the year. Whew.
If you didn’t know better, you’d swear the Kings were in a rebuilding process, and not one of the elite teams in the NBA. Maybe they are. Maybe Petrie didn’t think he had the horses to get it done. Can he pull a rabbit out this time?
Despite the remaining firepower, there will be a void left with the absence of Webber’s 21.3 points and 9.7 rebounds a game. He is an excellent passer, and it’s nice to have a player who has the potential for a triple-double on any given night. He was having his best season in some time.
Many have seen him as the divisive force on the team, and there may be some merit to that. The last two regular seasons show the team with a record of 38-31 with him, 51-16 without him. The new guys may help the defense, and that can only be a good thing.
What this means is that Stojakovic will have to ramp it up, and if healthy, should have no excuses. Perhaps he’s changed his mind about leaving.
Webber has been an enigma his whole career. Strange things just seem to follow him around. His legacy in Sacramento is an important one: as part of the team that finally came from obscurity into consistent, legitimate contention. But his followers have always been split – half love him, half don’t.
Half love this trade, half don’t.
With talk radio buzzing and water coolers draining, it’s apparent this season has reached a higher than normal level of local interest. Unfortunately, most of it has been about ugly officiating, player rants, penalties, new arenas, and big trades.
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