what's funny is that you are proving Charvo's point. peja is sac's best player...hands down. and yes, that team was built around c-webb. that's exactly why sacramento won't win the nba championship...and they never will unless a) c-webb changes his game to complement peja; or b) they acquire a big man that can do the dirty work and score - consistently - down low. until then, they are a heavily loaded team, talentwise, that will never win the Big Dance.
if sac traded c-webb for elton brand they'd be a dynasty. hard working, post scorer, good defender, doesn't need the ball to be effective, doesn't have a huge ego, does the dirty work. talentwise, cwebb's superior to brand. chemistry wise, brand would be a better fit.
I did not start this thread to be a trade Steve thread but rather a discussion of a potential roadblock with Yao on a roster full of veterans that were here long before he was. Even worse, the tenured players do not fit with Yao's strengths on the court. When Steve has to get his points, Yao will do his best to help Steve out. Yao sets picks and gets out into the high post. What the heck is this? Whenever the team goes away from Yao in the low post, the shot percentage for the attempt goes down bigtime. However, Yao will do what it takes to make sure Steve and Cuttino get their shots too. He's stuck in the roleplayer mentality inadvertently. Look at Shaq. He might set a pick for Kobe maybe twice in a game because he knows he's the man on the team. Let's say that Steve's primary offensive weapon was the outside shot like Bibby. The attention that Yao gets in the paint drawing in defenders would actually make it easier for Steve to get his points. Yao doesn't even need to touch the ball to be a factor. Watch the cheating defender on the weakside when the defender guarding Yao is trying to prevent Yao from getting the pass. The cheating defender is flashing into the paint bigtime. This means someone is out there on the perimeter who can make a wideass open shot if the ball is swung around quickly. Very good outside shooters would love to play with Yao because it would make their numbers look great. That's not the case with so many players on this team except for JJ. He's the only guy who is having a career year playing off of Yao. Because Steve and Cuttino have to get shots THEY ARE COMFORTABLE WITH, Yao has to get out of the low post.
Peja might be Sacramento's best player, but he feeds off the big men in the post. Vlade and Peja has been one of the best NBA tandems this year. Webber is the guy the team was built around. Having Peja develop into one of the best shooters in the game is incidental. Look at JJ. When JJ came to the Rockets, he was a decent shooter. How in heck did anyone think he was going to be such a good shooter feeding off Yao in the paint? JJ is to Peja as what Yao is to Webber. Kings made the decision to dump Jason William's butt and get Bibby who fit Webber's game better. Did it anger the fans at first? Jason Williams has a highlight a minute, but Bibby was acquired because he fit Webber's game.
What's with this soft issue? The issue I brought up about respecting elders is similar to the army in which there are levels of command. If a platoon goes into battle, there's the leader and then there's the subordinates. Even if one of the subordinates is a young hotshot, it doesn't mean he automatically ascends to leadership. It's only when the leader is somehow disposed of that the hotshot then becomes the leader. It's even worse when the leader and the hotshot's styles don't mesh.
Charvo, sacramento is a structurally flawed team for the very reasons that you touch upon. peja's development was, in fact, not incidental to webber and his team. peja's development was unexpected and completely unrelated to the success of webber in the post. this has been proven by peja's 25+ppg average without c-webb. peja is the modern day drazen petrovic. the reason sacramento is able to win so many games is that they are ridiculously talented. they are, in fact, more talented than the portland trailblazers teams of the previous 7-10 years. that same portland team that could never go the distance. people always said it was because they had too much talent. i disagreed then, and i disagree now. you CANNOT have too much talent, as long as those talented players understand and perform their roles, and as long as you have ONE player that can truly be called the "franchise" player. the player that, when it's time to "put up or shut up" WANTS the ball. portland never had that player. they were a team full of Robins desperately in need of a Batman. sacramento is very similar, except they DO have a batman. his name is mike bibby. unfortunately, batman (bibby) is not their best player...peja is. and the generally accepted batman, chris webber, is truly Robin...just an extremely talented one. one that is so talented, that his teammates are fooled into leaning on him to carry them to the promise land. at least up until now. sacramento can win the Big Dance. they can. but, to do so requires changes that are, imo, unlikely to happen. webber? accept a lesser role than being "the man"? rebound like a fiend, defend like a fiend, and keep your ass in the post? i don't know. bibby? be the man down the stretch, but defer to peja to carry the team through the majority of the game? i don't know. you may get one out of three things to happen. maybe even two out of three; but, imo, they'll need all three things to happen to win it all. at least all three of those...because the health of vlade divac, the nerve of doug christie, and the mettle of brad miller are other issues that are definitely questionable. if sacramento faces the spurs in the playoffs, they'll get dusted. it pains me to say that, because i don't like the spurs. but the reality is that the spurs are, simply, structurally a better team. they are a 351 Cleveland. sacramento is a souped up Ford 302. one should compete with the other, but there really is no contest. the Cleveland is simply built better. oh, and you're wrong about jim jackson. great 3 point shooting is not unreasonable expectation for him. in fact, it was expected of him before the season started, and (when he started slowly) many were puzzled as to why he wasn't performing up to his usual standards.
Vlade and Webber are very similar in their play on the court. Vlade creates many open shots for Peja. A large part of Peja's shooting percentage is attributed to the ability of the big men to create shots for him. The same goes for Bibby. JJ would not be shooting 3s like he is doing now if Cato was in the low post. It's a symbiotic relationship.
Verse, GREAT POST and right on target. No way JVG could rearrange the nucleus of the team in midflight, for all the reasons you have articulated. SF is giving it his all, he just doesn't have the skills and decision making ability that really fit and complement Yao. If we go deep into playoffs this year, which is unlikely, mgt. will be forced to rethink which way to take the team. Should be an interesting stretch run and summer. D R
oh, we won't go deep in the playoffs this year. the reasons are obvious. i just hope management has the foresight to make the necessary changes in the offseason - regardless of us getting a favorable matchup (minny) in the 1st round.
