| The Winds Of Change Are Blowing Authored by Bob Souza - June 17, 2005 - 6:00 pm
| Current Featured Columns | | Merry Christmas, Raptors Fans The Raptors might not be playing good basketball right now, but there are plenty of things for Toronto fans to be thankful for this holiday season.
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What else can he do?
While not exactly shoveling out loads of specifics, it was obvious from his tone there will be quite a few new faces in the locker room. None will have the slightest resemblance to Phil Jackson.
The enormously successful coach has decided to cast his lot with the Lakers again, and without Shaq – well, good luck bro. His chances with the Kings would have been better, but maybe he can’t handle loud arenas. From here it appears to be an ego decision, one based on bigger bucks and greater limelight. Have fun with Kobe.
Put in an awkward situation with the screwy flirting of Jackson by the Maloof boys, Petrie must have been relieved to find out he would not be changing coaches. Rick Adelman had just been given an extension, for crying out loud.
Considering the revolving door due to trades or injuries, Adelman’s wringing out of 50 victories probably makes him deserving of one more shot – one last chance to get it right. He talks a lot about defense, but his teams rarely seem to play much of it. And his “disrespected” feelings over the Jackson thing, while understandable, should not have been an item.
It’s part of the game, Rick. Get over it.
The most likely people to be moving on will be Cuttino Mobley, Darius Songaila, and possibly Maurice Evans, all free agents. Kenny Thomas and Brian Skinner could find themselves packaged in trades. Greg Ostertag may be retained in order to weigh down the far end of the bench.
There is no sense in breaking up the team nucleus of Mike Bibby, Brad Miller and Peja Stojakovic. Bobby Jackson is a bargain, so he stays. And the snicker put forth by Petrie over the idea of trading Peja for Ron Artest pretty much said it all. That means it’ll probably happen.
The Kings need to get tougher and bigger inside, and may also be looking for a shooting guard for the present and/or the future. With their draft pick at number 23, this would be a great time to get lucky.
Wayne Simien of Kansas or big-body Sean May from North Carolina are two attractive options at power forward, but will probably be gone when Sacramento gets its turn.
Jason Maxiell of Cincinnati should be more likely, and could help as a shot-blocker and offensive boarder. Although he is a bit small at 6’6”, his wingspan makes up for it. He also has a nice little shooting touch.
With a possible need for a long-range two guard, the best candidates would be Tiras Wade of Lafayette or Salim Stoudamire of Arizona. Franscisco Garcia of Louisville will be gone.
If you want to get crazy, how about Texas prep stars, 6’8” Gerald Green (33 points, 12 rebounds), or C.J. Miles (23 and 10)? No… probably not for this team.
What it boils down to is an overhaul of the roster through slick trades and free agent signings. Always fun hoping for a solid draft, but help from there immediately is a bonus if it happens. Retooling this team could be Geoff Petrie’s biggest challenge ever -- we’ll see if he’s up to it.
Of course, if there is a lockout and we don’t get basketball next year… |
