Xiki, we gave up a lot more to get the Chuckster than we'd be giving up in this (unlikely) scenario. So I think that's a major difference. Additionally, we were three halfs away from the NBA Finals that year we lost to Utah in the Western Conference Finals. In my opinion, we lost because Barkley got injured, not because he didn't fit. IIRC, he was the only one on the team giving the Jazz fits the first half of Game 6, but then he went done, and it was downhill from there. I would agree that the Dream Barkley combo wasn't a great fit at all, but I don't think the trade was necessarily a mistake in that I believe we could have won a championship with that core. I'm not sure how healthy Webber is, and that's critically important. But if he's able to knock down shots, rebound a decent amount, and play some defense, I would be willing to make serious offers to acquire him. The things that he would bring to the Rockets (passing, mid-range shooting, as opposed to banging, low-post play) are things that he could still do even if not 100%.
I'm not superstitious or anything but C-Webb seems jinxed or something Anytime he's on the verge of winning something big , some weird freak thing seems to happen that keeps him from winning We don't need that kind of luck on our team!
I LOVE Weber's game when he's healthy, but 4 years and 80 million dollars for a guy that is admittedly not the player he used to be doesn't seem very reasonable to me. There aren't many people in the league that make more bonehead comments than him either. And that's saying something.
the only reason i'd be excited if the rockets traded mo taylor and cato for c-webb is because i think c-webb would be easier to move. i think c-webb is a lame horse at this point but history has proven that team after team are willing to gamble on lame horses like mcdyess, grant hill and alonzo mourning so i'd be willing to do it only to turn around and trade him again. i would be very upset to see c-webb in a rockets uniform because you just don't get much production out of him.
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/9399378p-10323675c.html Ailene Voisin: Did Petrie make the right call? By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Sports Columnist Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, May 23, 2004 It's not too late to get into a Fantasy Sports League. Sign up here. Geoff Petrie had a very difficult decision to make, undoubtedly the most angst-ridden determination of these past six years. His Kings have become the team with the perpetual itch, their late-season collapse and repeated postseason stumbles straining relations with an adoring community, perhaps even infecting a once-cohesive locker room. Someone has to go. Something has to change. And Petrie, the team president who transformed the Kings into one of the league's elite franchises, has decided to move forward with Rick Adelman as head coach - and without saying so explicitly - with Chris Webber on the trading floor. This clearly is an either-or situation, the team dynamics in need of a shakeup. Adelman or Webber. One was the enabler who provided too little direction, the other the enabled, physically limited former superstar whose dominant presence ultimately divided and conquered. The only question is this: Is the right person being eased toward the door? The pressure suddenly is heaved onto Petrie, who having weighed all of the variables, is shopping Webber and his four-year, $80 million deal. The prospect is certainly daunting - swap a 31-year-old with a massive contract and a bum knee? - and the very possibility a polarizing, controversial development. Petrie's skillful leadership will be tested as never before, and for the sake of this small-market treasure, he had better be both prudent and bold. But he also needs to execute another of his masterful moves for another reason, because a powerful, contrasting argument can be made for keeping the roster intact, injecting a fresh voice and turning a different direction. An argument, say, that Webber's return was mishandled and unrealistic expectations fostered, and that, ultimately, the responsibility rests with the coach. Though Webber's experience here has been a protracted theatrical production, this latest drama began when he returned March 2 and declared that the Kings were "still my team." In reality, having matured and morphed into more of a collaborative entity during his 10-month absence, the Kings were no longer his team. They were no one's team. They were just a damn good team. Storming to a league-best 43-15 record, they became the darlings of the community with their passionate play, unique passing skills, coordinated offense and occasionally frisky defense. Their offseason free-agent acquisition, Brad Miller, provided muscle and an All-Star presence. Their ability to exploit a soft schedule, overcome Bobby Jackson's balky knee and uncharacteristically erratic contributions, nurture Peja Stojakovic into an All-NBA performer, and squeeze nearly 30 productive minutes per game out of Vlade Divac, thrust them into the role of delightful overachievers and legitimate contenders. Could they have reached the conference finals without the wounded Webber? One now has to wonder. The more pressing absence in fact might have been that of Jackson and his energy and acrobatic shotmaking off the bench. And interestingly, it wasn't the oft-maligned defense that failed the Kings in the postseason but an increasingly stagnant, disjointed offense, a simple inability to score. Yet it became apparent much earlier that force-feeding Webber into the starting lineup for 36 minutes per night to prepare him for the playoffs was an ill-advised approach. It changed the entire character of the team, forcing everyone else to adjust instead of requiring that Webber do the accommodating. Miller was thrust into a reserve role. A rejuvenated Divac, who had conducted the offense like Michael Tilson Thomas, no longer directed from the high post; his stamina went away with his minutes. Mike Bibby became less aggressive and predictable, consumed by the two-man game with Webber on one side of the floor. Stojakovic, who feasts on transition opportunities but depends on teammates to free him up in the halfcourt, was deprived of the burly screens and precise passes from Divac and Miller. The result was an agonizingly painful, brutally apparent, mental and physical breakdown (11-12 with Webber to close the season). The Kings stopped moving and started standing. They stopped passing and started shooting jumpers. Their energy level fluctuated between quarters as they quietly accepted Webber's presence and anticipated his attempts to dominate. And they never recovered. And certainly some of this is on Adelman. By turning the team back over to Webber, Adelman in essence turned his back on his other players, breaching the trust formed during the first three-fourths of the season. Asking players to sacrifice is one thing; asking capable players to sit while someone else noticeably falters, and on several occasions (see April 9 at Phoenix), adversely affects the team's fortunes, can shatter a club's confidence faster than an airball. Webber, too, though both moody and mercurial, needed firmer guidance, not benign acquiescence. Coming off the delicate microfracture surgery, his movements were wildly erratic, at times astonishingly fluid, other times shockingly labored. Nonetheless, his persistence was admirable, and not unlike other aging or ailing stars who refuse to acknowledge deteriorating skills or only reluctantly embrace a reduced role, his reaction at the least was understandable. No, far more surprising were Webber's parting inferences that one or more of his teammates "float through it" and lack a work ethic and commitment. Of whom was he speaking? By failing to cite names, he uttered a collective indictment, and how fair is that? How quickly he forgets. How they all had his back. En masse, his teammates became riled when he was booed, publicly supported him following that 2-for-21 outing against Golden State, that 4-for-18 performance against Houston, those five-turnover games against Washington and Minnesota, and never once griped about their own altered roles. Even after one bizarre postgame rant during which Webber is said to have targeted everyone but himself, no one uttered a rebuttal. After all this, they still deferred. No, for the first time in this six-year reign, significant change is vital. The Kings have to become younger, deeper and definitely more athletic. But they also have to recapture their zest for the game and their commitment to the common cause. Someone has to go. Let's see if Petrie made the right call.
Even if Web doesn't get any better or any more healthy, he is and was better than all of our fowards comined. If you can upgrade this position it completly changes the ability of this team. Look at all the western playoff power houses they are strong at pf. Webber arguebly outplayed the MVP in the playoffs; and we couldn't use a player like that, please. The rox would do it in a second.
No thanks. I don't trust Webber's health. If it was CWebb for MoT + Spoon or the TE, yah, sure, but that's not going to happen.
I would pull that trade off in a heartbeat. Yes, Chris Webber was injured, and quite badly with a knee injury. Yes he wasn't as effective as he was in the past. However, Chris Webber with a noticable limp and was obviously slower than normal still managed approximately 17 points and 9 rebounds in the playoffs! Now give him an offseason where he can fully rehabiliitate his knee and regain his flexibility to where he can lift off of both legs, and you'll have the Chris Webber that we're accustomed to seeing. I don't like the value we get with having a 6 million dollar center platooning with our supposed to be starting forward whom makes 8 million dollars. That's 14 million dollars to mix and match with good defense and rebounding (Cato) with just offense with the other (Taylor). That is not good value. Cato is our best value because he was interchanged with backup center and starting power forward. Having Chris Webber stand in for both and couple that with his excellent passing skills, and we hit the nail on the head. Our offense will exponentially improve. Sacramento is in a time of transition, at least its looking that way. Vlade is becoming more ineffective. (He sat out an entire series against Dallas) They obviously need a center. Cato fits their bill and could fill the seems. Mo could fill in for Webber and hit the same jumpshots that he would get naturally with Sacramento as opposed to forcing the issue of shooting with the Rockets. Having Mo come in for "instant offense" stagnates our offensive rhythm in my opinion, even though thats what he is told to do. Having Webber makes us that more potent.
i did not like the idea of aquiring CWEBB, but you make a great point. CWEBB could fill Cato and Mo's shoes. Trade them for CWebb. It's growing on me. Could it grow on Ball-SacK-Town? Then trade Mobley and Francis for TMac. Sign a couple of FA like Damon Jones & Brent Barry. We would have one awesome line up.
there are better options out there......if the rockets take this on, its just another bad contract to add to our list of bad contracts.....
With two bad contracts coming off the books. The big trouble comes in years 3 and 4. 4 in particular. First two years are OK.
I hear that, although I must say, having been a Houston fan through Renfro's TD, the Sampson-Sichting boxing match, Buffalo's comeback, the 86 Mets, and the cathartic Dream of the 94 Rockets, I can fear no evil. If Webb wants to play for us, I'd take him. We're Clutch City, remember? We come back from 3-1 deficits, 2-0 deficits after losing 2 at home, and we win titles as a 6 seed. If anything can heal Webber's untimely misfortunes, Clutch City is it.
HECK YES !! I thought about it, even though he is on the decline. Because on this team with Francis and Yao, Webber can be a complimentary piece. Trade Cato, Mo Taylor and the TE for him.... DD
