Gun For Hire

(Where section214 finds the lure of creating his own far-fetched trade impossible to resist…)

I want to make sure that this post has at least one credible item in it, so I will start with this: The Simpson’s ride at Universal is the greatest ride ever created by man, with the possible exception of Jessica Alba. Now, let’s proceed with the nonsense.

I keep noodling with this idea that we deal Brad Miller with no regard as to what we receive in return, as long as it is expiring contract. I think this because it would make us players in the 2009 free agent market, giving us the jump on the 2010 crowd.

Of course, the problem with jumping into the pool a year early is that it won’t quite be filled yet, and that could cause great injury if you dive in head first. David Lee of the Knicks, Marvin Williams of the Hawks and Paul Millsap of the Jazz will be restricted free agents, and Brandon Bass is an unrestricted free agent. Almost everyone else on the ’09 list is too old or too “meh” to help us shape our future, with the notable exception of Carlos Boozer.

Carlos Boozer is an NBA all-star, a career double-double man (21/11 over the past two plus seasons). He is a low post beast that finishes at the rim with either hand, and he can hit the mid-range jumper. He runs the pick and roll with the best of them, and he is currently 27 years old. He has already told the Jazz that he is opting out of the final year of his contract.

Oh yes, that. Carlos Boozer has the reputation of being a “mercenary,” a gun for hire, a player with no loyalty. This was born out of his nasty exodus from Cleveland. And there is no way to candy coat this – when an agent thinks that you’re too sleazy to work with, well, that’s sayin’ something. Add to that the announcement to opt out and the fact that he has missed significant time to injury in three of his seven seasons, and you have all of the ammunition that you need to call this guy a selfish pr*ck.

Except that his teammates have never really castigated him for any of this. It is the nature of the beast of the modern day athlete. They all play in glass arena’s and none of them will throw stones, as they are all prepared to take a similar path if the opportunity presents itself. Boozer played out the required length of his first contract, as smarmy as the termination of that contract may have been. And now he has nearly played out the second contract, and he will be available to the highest bidder.

Carlos Boozer is on the shelf right now, and with a just announced arthroscopic knee surgery, he will miss at least another month. Millsap has filled in for Boozer admirably, and the Jazz are currently 1.5 games out of their division lead (the rank 9^th in the west right now, but only 2.5 games out of the #2 spot).

This brings me back to Miller (and then some). Miller, John Salmons and the Rockets 1^st round pick (top 10 protected the first year, top 3 protected the next) for Boozer and Jarron Collins.

Why the Jazz do it: Boozer is gone for the next month or so, and then he is gone again at the end of the season (Jazz owner Larry Miller has already blasted Boozer for announcing his intentions of opting out). Miller and Salmons help the Jazz right now, and Miller provides great insurance to Utah if/when Okur opts out at the end of the season. Why the Jazz don’t do it: They think that Boozer in March-April will help them more than Miller/Salmons in January-April, or they think that they can get more for Boozer from someone else.

Why the Kings do it: It solidifies the PF position for the next 6-7 years, albeit at a hefty price. Boozer’s Bird rights come with him, so the Kings will be able to offer him somewhere in the neighborhood of $25 million more for his services than anyone else. He’s a “merc,” right? Why the Kings don’t do it: He’s not where you want to spend max dollars.

So, is Carlos Boozer worth the money? Someone is going to come up with max money for him (see Lewis, Rashard ). Should it be the Kings? Is Carlos Boozer in the hand better than the 2010 crop in the bush? Could Boozer, Hawes and Thompson become a formidable front line rotation? Could Boozer and Martin develop a two-man game? Could an up and coming rookie PG eventually become the missing piece of the puzzle? Or should the Kings check to the raiser and wait for 2010?

A pre-emptive thanks to the thread jockey’s here at StR, who provided the inspiration (and much of the material) for the following post –

I’m not advocating for Wallace (not sure I want him to be honest), just pointing out that in any deal that the Kings could get significantly better in, there will be a lot of risk. - smgmatt

Conjecture is conjecture, and as of this moment that is all that the Brad Miller for Gerald Wallace trade talk is – conjecture. It has no more basis than the Miller to Chicago rumors, or the Douby to the Knicks rumors, or the Bibby to the Cavaliers rumors. It’s all a guess, a goof, a wish and a dream, up until the time that Geoff Petrie determines that he has the right deal in his hands. Until then, it gives us something to think about, write about, debate about. It takes our minds off of double digit losses and injured key players.

But the Gerald Wallace talk is different, because Gerald Wallace himself is…different. He was drafted a Sacramento King, but his greatest accomplishment here was a runner up finish in a slam dunk contest. Wallace sounded like Barry White but shot it like Betty White while he was here, and he wrapped up his three years in Sacramento averaging about 3 pts. and 2 boards per game, mired behind wing players named Peja Stojakovic, Doug Christie, Hedo Turkoglu, Jim Jackson, Anthony Peeler. He ranked 10^th/11^th/11^th in minutes over his three year stay, the bi-product of being a project player on a championship contending team.

The Kings lost in the 2004 Western Conference semi-finals to the Minnesota Timberwolves 3 games to 4, with three of those losses coming by four points or less. With that as a backdrop, the Kings decided to protect the core rotation and expose Wallace in the 2004 expansion draft. It did not take Charlotte long to determine that they had the time to develop a project player, and they snatched Wallace up.

Guys, Wallace is very versatile…I can say with certainty that Wallace would average 18/8/4/2/2 without taking away from any other players. – Doubl3Dos3

Tossing out G-Dub’s first year in Charlotte, he has gone on to average 17.5 pts. on 12.8 shots, 7.0 rebs., 2.2 stls., and 1.2 blks. over the past 3+ years. His assist/turnover ratio is about 1/1. For comparison sake, John Salmons this year is at 19.9 on 14.9/3.6/1.1/0.2, with about a 3/2 assist to turnover ratio. Wallace is a versatile baseline to baseline player, though one could question why a high flyer feels the need to toss up two 3-pointers per game when he barely averages 30% from the arc lifetime.

Remember the chants of “Wallace” @ ARCO? Reminded me of a scene from Braveheart. – avishai

This is what makes Wallace so different from (say) Tyrus Thomas. The ability to reminisce, even if there is little to reminisce about. How can we really applaud GP for the prudent selection of Wallace (selected with the 25^th pick of the 2001 draft) if we never benefited from it? Bring the kid back, so that we may drink from the chalice that is the brilliance of Geoff Petrie. Have (some of us) ever pined for a player this way? We may miss a guy like Hedo a little, but he did contribute here before leaving via a trade that made sense for the franchise at the time, netting us the 2^nd coming of Vlade in Brad Miller at the time. Wallace is different, the opportunity to cash a long misplaced check.

People who suffer concussions become more susceptible to them, and each one creates a greater possibility of doing real damage. – Mucho Moss

Gerald Wallace has missed 12, 27, 10 and 20 games over the past four years, plus another four so far this year. That’s about 21% games missed. As a member of a fan base that has seen their past and present crushed by injuries, it has to make one nervous to bank its future on such an injury prone player. This in no way is to label Wallace as soft, as that is in no way, shape or form the case. It is his style of play that makes him a high injury risk, and if you change that style of play, you change Gerald Wallace, and not for the better.

Cap space is flexibility. – High Tops                                      

G-Dub is not really going to make the Kings that much better. Donté Greene? Now let’s have a conversation about that cat first (You know, since, like, the Kings already have him on the roster?). - pookeyguru

The acquisition of Wallace and his salary probably takes you out of the Carlos Boozer sweepstakes next year, but it would set you up pretty good at the wings for next few years, with Wallace, Martin, Garcia and Greene making a combined $29 million in 2011-12. That does leave you some coin to spend up front or at PG. On the other hand, do you want to commit that kind of cash to Wallace (even with him being a fair to good value) when your deepest talent lies at the wings and your roster needs help everywhere else?

Wallace is a tremendously entertaining and talented player, but I wouldn’t have signed him to a 4 year, $40 million deal before this season. I won’t be pissed if Petrie trades for him, but I wouldn’t make that trade myself. - Carl

Rec’d! Carl’s comments mirror how I felt when we made the Artest for Peja deal. I wouldn’t have done it, but I wasn’t pissed at the deal and I supported it almost immediately. Desperate times call for desperate measures, right? And Gerald Wallace risk is not Ron Artest risk (kind of like going into the pool less than 30 minutes after eating is less risky than surfing in shark infested waters). I do not advocate the Miller for Wallace trade, nor do I detest it.

To recap, this is the third post (including fanshot) on a deal that will most likely never happen. But I found the back story here fascinating and the thread comments inspired. It is a microcosm of what makes being a Kings fan so special/great/painful/torturous/unique.

As chosen by you, of course (ha, made you look!).

Geoff Petrie has given you permission to hire the new coach, but he must start tomorrow. Choosing from the list on the poll -

The identities have been digitally obscured at the request of the players, their loved ones and their legal counsel.

Nineteen years ago, the 1989-90 Sacramento Kings fashioned a team that went 23 up and 59 down. This was the team that extracted 34 games out of rookie Pervis Ellison, this is the team that replaced Jerry Reynolds with Dick Motta half way through the season, this was the team that tried to pick up the pieces after trading the face of the franchise during the prior season. Harold Pressley was the team's 6th man. Greg Kite(!) was the team's 7th man.

32 of the squad's 59 losses were by more than 10 points. Of those, 7 were by more than 20. Of those, two were by more than 30.  The team dropped 10 straight in December and 13 of their last 14 at the end of the season.

23-59. The worst team in Sacramento Kings history. Until perhaps now, and we may just be seeing history in the making.

Today, the 2008-09 Sacramento Kings are on a pace to finish 20-62 (or 21-61 if you are an optimist). They are on a pace to lose 34 games by 10 or more points, with 17 of those being 20+ lossses and 7 of them being 30+ point losses.

The depths (not depth) of this current team did not really strike me until I sat through every minute of the 85-118 loss to Denver (at home!!!). This may very well be the worst team that we will ever see wearing Sacramento Kings uniforms. It is a combination of raw youth and aged former talent of varying degrees. The talents don't seem to mesh well but for brief passages here and there. The team can't stay healthy, they can't stay on point, they can't stay on task, they can't stay out of last place in the Pacific (Hey, what has 24 legs and lives in the cellar? Your 2008-09 Sacramento Kings!).

Now, I'm not saying that we're in for another decade of famine before the ship gets righted. The 89-90 club was more old than young, and the front office was rudderless. That does not change the fact that you will probably be able to one day tell your grandkids that you not only witnessed the worst team in Sacramento Kings history, you followed the team religiously and even posted about them frequently on a blog (your grandchild won't understand what you're talking about until he gets to junior high and reads about blogs in his history class).

So how do we proceed? How do we get through the next four and a half months without killing ourselves or each other? How do we survive 58 more games, not knowing whether we're going to get the rare gem (@ New Orleans, home vs. the Lakers) or the Oliver Miller-sized kidney stone (@ Philly, home vs. Denver)?

Here are a few starter ideas -

• Drinking Games  Quite some time ago I shared the genesis of the Joe Kleine drinking game. Well, it's time to drink to a new generation. How about tipping one back every time Brad gives the bitter beer face? Or a shot every time Quincy Douby front rims a jumper (recommended for 4th quarters)? Or if you really want to get sh*t faced, your choice of taking a drink every time we turn it over or every time they hit a 3 pointer.
• Supplement By Watching College Basketball  Get to know the college crop, as a couple of them will be holding up Kings uni's come next summer. Drool over Blake Griffin, Ricky Rubio, Brandon Jennings. Spend hours pouring over stats. Revel in their prime time heroics at the NCAA tourney. Breathlessly await their official measurements from the pre-draft camp. Join me in tracking and creating tasty but useless mock drafts. Then watch as we get screwed at the ping pong ball draw. Rail when Kevin Pritchard (seemingly) hoses us again. And go nuts when Geoff Petrie drafts a player that was not even on our board.
• Don't Trust Anyone Over 27  Cisco turns 27 in December. If you're older then him, you're not part of our future and we don't want to see you. Sorry, John Salmons, it's nothing personal. Brad, Mikki, B-Jax, you might have had an hourglass figure, but your time is up. Pick up your AARP card, take your discount at Denny's and hurry home - Matlock comes on at 4 PM.
• Wear The Team Colors With Pride  No one can accuse you of being a bandwagon fan now. And take it to the next level. No Webber or Divac jersey for you. Sport a Hawes, a Thompson, a Donté. But a Kenny Thomas jersey is taking it a little too far - even he doesn't wear one.
• Try To Quit This Team - Go Ahead - Try  The Kings are crack and this place is the pipe. The next time the Kings get blown out (you won't have to wait too long, I promise), make a pact with yourself to not post on or visit StR. You're sweating just thinking about it, aren't you? This damn team gets in your blood, in a way that the average fan just can't understand. You're a sick, twisted puppy, and you belong right here, with the rest of the sick twisted puppies.
• Fight The Power  I mentioned this in a thread. The Lakers and Celtics are superior, but their fans are not. The same Celtics fans that rub it in your face today wanted Danny Ainge fired two years ago. They thought that Paul Pierce was a chucker that couldn't close out a game. And they wanted anybody, anybody to come in and run the team instead of Rajon Rondo. And Lakers fans? Arrive late, leave early Lakers fans? They can't handle traffic. How do you think they would handle a 41 game road losing streak? Lightweights! Give me a Clips fan any day.
• Write A Creative Yet Ludicrous Fanpost  Writé an articlé on Donté Grééné and alt0233 évéry "é." Whééé!!! Or maybe a three way trade involving LeBron James, Brad Miller and Tim Lincecum (we get James, though we might have to throw in a 2nd round pick).

Trust me. We're going to need stuff like this if we are going to get through the season. I've been there. I know.

JOOOOOE!!!

85-118. Wow.

Pregame

No K9(woof!) or Douby tonight - who are we going to blame this loss on? Give me an "R," give me an "E," give me a "G"...

Hawes is the "DJ" for the warmup music this evening. It starts with Journey and "Don't Stop Believin'," later moves into Nirvana and "Smells Like Teen Spirit," and wraps up with Lee Greenwood and "God Bless The USA."

Player intros, and this crowd loves them some Spencer and Kevin.

1st Quarter

An early dunkfest, and we're the dunkees.

Pearl Harbor survivors are introduced during a timeout. Have these gentlemen not witnessed enough carnage in their lives already?

It took us six minutes to post our first assist, but we are on a pace for 32 turnovers.

I don't think that there are 10,000 people here, and that has led me to come up with the Bizarro Monarchs seating chart - close the lower bowl and let everyone sit in the second deck. The Kings must look better from up here than they do up close.

18-37 at the end of one, with the Nugs shooting 70% from the floor to our 29%

2nd Quarter

Harlem Globetrotter Curly Neal is in the house.  Good Lord, I saw him perform 36 years ago at the Memorial Auditorium. He still looks great. We need a point guard that can handle, don't we?

39-60 at the half. Take your choice of telling stat - 60% FGP for Denver to our 27%, 10 turnovers for us against 6 assists.

Halftime

Junior High and High School cheerleaders. Though not here, my daughter is a high school cheerleader, so suddenly the comments that I hear all around me are not as funny as they used to be.

3rd Quarter

How can we get called for illegal defense when we don't play defense?

Fans are already starting to file out with nine minutes left in the 3rd and us down by 25.

Six minutes left in the 3rd and we're finally halfway to a chalupa.

Sparked by Shock and Hawes, the deficit is again trimmed to a mere 25.

62-89, and we're down to 26% shooting.

4th Quarter

Maybe 1,800 people left with five minutes left to play.

It does not appear that we will eclipse the 30% plateau from the field tonight.

A Hawes alley to a Bobby Brown oop has the exiting-room-only crowd on it's feet.

Hey, where's B-Jax going? I had to stay until the end. How come he got to leave early?

And there is booing at ARCO Arena as the clock ticks down to zero.

Postgame

A chillingly easy ride out of ARCO.

I seem to recall watching the Kings lose to Utah 107-71 some 15-20 years ago, as well as an 88-66 loss to the Detroit Pistons. This one is right up there with those games.

Right or wrong, these are the types of performances that get head coaches fired.

Until the next time, (mercifully) end transmission...

World Map On A Cow = Ironic

One of the bi-products of the "Welcome Wagon" post was the reminder that we are truly a global community. It is absolutely amazing that there are Kings fans worldwide. Some are Sacramento transplants, while others only know The River City from overhead shots provided during Kings telecasts.

So, where are you and where are you from (born here/raised here/gonna die here)? How did you come to be a KIngs fan (The Solons left town)? And what in the world is keeping you a KIngs fan (two words - Kenny Thomas).

And you?

 
Website, yay! Witch hunt, boo!

Shortly before/during/after the Portland games, we were inundated by new members. It was sort of like somebody building a sub-division on that big patch of farmland that had always been behind your housing development. Traffic increased, it got a little louder, some of us greeted our new neighbors while others longed for the good old days.

With most communities, there are growing pains when a community expands. The demand for services can temporarily outrun the provided services, and growth invariably and inevitably increases the number of crimes (if not the percentage) suffered in that area. But sometimes bigger is better (does Sacramento have an NBA franchise if this is 1978?).

This brings me (finally!) to a couple few several points that I would like to make in regards to our ever growing community -

• New Members  Our new members deserve the same protection as the rest of our citizens. That is, they are innocent until proven guilty. They are not automatically trolls just because we don't recognize them. This is not to say that we live in Paradise - trolls do exist. But if you think you encounter a troll, email TZ or me or give us a chance to research the individual. This may not always solve the problem during a game thread if TZ and/or I are not available. In that case, do your best to ignore the cretin (physician, heal thyself!!!) and try to enjoy the game with the rest of the community. Helpful hint - If you encounter what you think may be a troll, imagine yourself sitting on his/her head and passing gas until the urge to respond to him/her passes.
• Finding A Voice  Give our new members time to assimilate. I remember that I "lurked" for a few months before I got up the nerve to post, and it took me a while to find my voice and style and pace...and I was a jounalism major! There is a rather high level of intelligence amongst the STR membership, and it is not just KIngs knowledge. This place can be a little intimidating to the new member, especially while they learn the neighborhood (where the FanPosts and FanShots are located and how they differ, how to link, reply, recommend, etc.). New members, be sure to review the "Welcome Guide" for helpful tips. Also, proper spelling and grammar are not a must, but it is always appreciated. The occasional paragraph during long posts is also greatly appreciated. Helpful hint - Saying that Peaches is a tool is like bringing double fudge brownies to the community picnic. It is a sure fire "in."
• Visitors From Out Of Town  When folks from other websites drop in to offer their opinion, do your best to keep an open mind. They can often bring a fresh perspective, and they are usually here only when their team is involved, unless they also truly have an interest in the KIngs. Again, give them the benefit of the doubt at first while they get used to the new surroundings. That being said, it is our neighborhood and no one is saying that we have to put up with people that have no respect for our community. Helpful hint - Remember, some of these people actually think that Channing Frye has game. Show them some pity.
• The Occasional Monster Game Thread  This may only occur during Blazers games for awhile, but once a game thread approaches the 500 mark, it begins to bog down (remember the draft threads?). When this occurs, TZ and/or I will do our best to get another thread open, at which time we will post in the original thread that a new thread is open. Helpful hint - Either move to the new thread or stop posting every time the Kings commit a turnover/give up a 3-pointer.
• Making A Difference In Your Community  We have seen an increase in FanPosts and FanShots since the season began, and that is awesome! Without your contributions this site would be two pet lovers posting stories to each other (and rbiegler tossing in his two cents in between breaks at the state). There are two good rules to remember. First, check the front page, FanPost and FanShot areas before posting your item (especially FanShot items) to be sure that it is not already on the site. Second, try to get the item posted in the proper location. You opinions, your own trade ideas, "yours" goes into FanPost. A link to an article or video, something that was done by someone else is usually better as a FanShot. Helpful hint - If it's yours to boast, it's a FanPost. If it's not, then FanShot. OK, that's more "lame" than "helpful," but you get the idea.
• CC&R's  The community rules are pretty damn simple. You can park as many cars as you want on the street, leave your basketball hoop out front, don't mow your lawn...we don't care! The only rule is do your best to not make it personal. Disagree with the opinion but don't resort to calling the other community member an idiot just becuase you don't agree with him/her. Of course, this can be difficult if someone suggests a LeBron James for Brad Miller trade and is serious about it, but do your best to rise above it. Also, derogatory and insensitive comments are the surest way to earn banishment from the community. It just won't be tolerated (and this is an area where enforcement may be stepped up, so everyone please be aware). Helpful Hint - Just say no to bigoted comments.

I think that's it. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to get my car off the lawn and back on concrete blocks where it belongs.

The turkey was safe until it ventured inside the 3-point line...

I'll try to be brief. It is Thanksgiving, after all. I have Christmas lights to hang and football to watch.

The Kings are on a pace to win 24 games this year. And while that pace has been set without mostly without Kevin Martin and with the perceived starting lineup playing only two games together (they won both, beating Minnesota and Golden State at home), 24 wins is 24 wins. The Kings have allowed shorthanded San Antonio and Phoenix teams to come to ARCO and win, and last night they spit the bit against a not too particularly talented New Jersey club.

Half of the team's losses have been by more than 10 points. I guess that you could also say that half of the team's losses have been close enough to win.

I guess what is on my mind this morning is this - It is OK for me to think that Reggie Theus sucks right now without wanting him fired. Like last year, he has this team playing very hard. But also like last year, this is a turnover prone team that cannot finish out quarters or games. The plays that are drawn up coming out of timeouts are either unimaginative or poorly executed.

Now I'm not saying that Reggie Theus is solely to blame for any of these losses, particularly last night. A couple of made free throws down the stretch and maybe we go home with a "W." But Reggie played a role. The team got down 17 and then came roaring back via the youth on this team, and much of that youth did not see the floor for the final six minutes of regulation or overtime. And while I stress that a made free throw could have been the difference, the fact remains that this team blew a six point lead with 34 seconds left in the game on their home floor.

So I may be in the "Bash Reggie" camp for awhile, at least until somebody gets a hand in the face of a three point shooter (The Nets shot 46% inside the arc last night, while their 43% 3-point percentage adjusts to a 64% yield), and at least until they consistently take better care of the ball (last night's 22 assist to 10 turnover output was a welcome exception to what we have seen in the Theus era).

Two final points. First, I agree that Reggie does not guard the three point shooters or handle the ball (insert "NOBODY DOES!" joke here). But he coaches this team, so he is responsible for the performance of this team. And I think that this team can play better than it has. Second, the "Bash Reggie" camp is not the "Fire Reggie" camp. I still believe that Theus should continue to coach this team through the rest of this year.

But I'm done cutting him slack because his star player is out or the team is young or someone missed a free throw. I want to see better execution on both ends of the floor. I'm fine with us losing a game because someone got a wide open look but couldn't hit the shot. But the recent lack of execution in late game situations has got to stop. And yes, it would be different if Kevin Martin were playing. But he's not, and the games keep ticking away.

Bash! Bash, bash, bash!

Oh, and Happy Thanksgiving.