Sixers @Kings tonight.

[rickortreat]

This is the second meeting between the two teams since the trade.  The first one happened so quickly, it wasn't reasonable to evaluate who go the better end of the deal.

Philly has won 3 in a row, but they've come against suspect teams.  Sactown is no longer considered an elite team, and I think tradeing away Webber had a lot to do wth that.

Philly is in need of some wins quick, since they would like to avoid a quick elimination by playing Miami or Detroit in the first round.  Everyone else in the conference is catcheable, and I think a first-round matchup the Sixers should win.

The team is starting to develop, even when Iverson has a bad shooting night, the team can win, thanks to scoring from Webber and the role players.  Igoudala is becoming a star this season, he has all the skills and a great court awareness.  Dalembert is physically gifted and continues to develop, and Kyle Korver is more than just a 3-pt. shooter.

With less than 20 games to go we're in the stretch run for the NBA season.  Nice for the Sixers to be in it.  

[Reality]

Philly has won 3 in a row, but they've come against suspect teams.  Sactown is no longer considered an elite team, and I think tradeing away Webber had a lot to do wth that.

 

Losing B-Rad Miller is substantial.  Seymore Skinner is filling in admirably, but at 6'9" it doesnt compare to Miller/Skinner on the floor together.  I think just as the 76ers were and are given time to gel, the Kings at this point will be judged next year on how the trade went.

Philly could easily climb to 6th if they keep the win streak up.  Even 4th and home court R1.
 

[Derek Bodner]

the 3rd seed's not out of question either.  2.5 games back from boston with 2 games left against them.

9-5 since the trade.  starting to consistently play well, rather than before when we'd play well then throw a clunker.

This is about what i expected when the trade happened.  Not elite territory but substantially better than what we were.

[JoMal]

Reality is right. The Kings can't be evaluated accurately until Miller can play, and even then it would take a week or two of regular games to do it justice. I can say that, while the new players are all contributing, the Kings are noticably undersized now without Miller. This season is not going to prove much of anything for this team, but the trade certainly allows the Kings flexibility they did not have to make additional moves.

Most of the take on this trade was regarding the immediate benefit each team received. While appropriate for the Sixers, that was absolutely the wrong interpretation of this trade on Sacramento's part. The Kings had to do something about their aging team. Vlade, Christie, Webber (post knee injury) all were now on the downward slide of their careers. The Kings and Petrie managed to do something with their contracts and acquire youth in return. This was the whole purpose of the moves.

The Kings never assumed anything more with their existing team going into the season then they should be able to make the playoffs. It was obvious no championship would be achieved with that team. It is still not going to happen with the team they have now, but the pieces are in place to make additional moves now that Webber's huge contract is no longer their problem. It was going to hinder the team for years to come, and now a light at the end of the tunnel magically appeared.

To evaluate this trade, we have to wait to see what Petrie and the Kings do this summer.

[Laker Fan]

JoMal nailed the point on why I think the Kings got the better end of this deal, they dumped a crippling salary and opened up some serious manuevering room in the offseason.

[Derek Bodner]

Dan, none of the 3 contracts expire this season.

They got some trading flexibility (3 smaller contracts is easier to trade that one large one), but they took on more salary, both from a total dollars amount and from a years perspective.

[JoMal]

Yes, dbodner, after this year, the Kings took on more salary, but I just can't complain about the value of play we are getting for our bucks.

Skinner and Thomas combined versus the Sixers - 33 points on 15-31 shooting, 34 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 blocks (all Skinners), 4 steals, and 6 turnovers (all Thomas) in 73 minutes. (Williamson sat out this game due to migraines)

Webber's line - 20 points on 8-26 shooting, 10 boards, 3 assists, 1 block, 2 steals, and 3 turnovers in 40 minutes. Of course, it would help if Barnes were also playing, but JOB once again has absolutely no clue as to what he has sitting at the end of his bench.

Combined salary for 2004/05 for the new Kings = $9,998,437, even with Williamson's salary, this total is $15,498,437, compared to Webber's $17,531,250 or to combine it with Barnes and Bradley's 2004/05 salaries, $18,871,702. So this season, the edge in salary goes to the Kings.

The salaries after the 2004/05 season, (the combined salaries starting in 2005/06 of all parties to the end of the contracts), the Kings have to pay out $65,356,249, while the Sixers pay essentially Webber $62,156,250, unless they resign either Bradley or Barnes after the season, which is unlikely.

So for the next five seasons, out till Thomas' contract runs out in 2009/10, the Kings have to pay out an extra $3,199,999, or pro rated over those five years, $639,999.80 annually.

I think I would be willing to pay a bit more each year to be getting 33 points, 34 rebounds, 9 assists, 3 blocks, 4 steals, even with the 6 turnovers on any given night. Even when you consider those numbers WITHOUT Williamson's contributions.

By the way, didn't Webber come with a set of instructions, stating that he should never play any where near 40 minutes in the second of a back-to-back, if you want to keep him fresh and available later on? You know, when you will really be needing him? In the playoffs? His last shot, he came down so wobbly I thought he would fall over.

On another point, are you sure JOB could not find some minutes to play Brian Skinner? That just boggles my mind.

[Derek Bodner]

O'brien's an idiot.  What can I say.

But I do like how we're playing.  I'm not upset about last night, I didn't expect to win that game.  Sweeping a back to back on the road this late in the season is a tough thing to do, especially on western conference swings.  We're 9-6 with Webber in the lineup, which while not great, is considering our prior record.  And that includes some adjustment time.  Webber and the teammates have looked much more comfortable the last 2 weeks, and it's shown in the W/L column.

[JoMal]

O'brien's an idiot.  What can I say.

But I do like how we're playing.  I'm not upset about last night, I didn't expect to win that game.  Sweeping a back to back on the road this late in the season is a tough thing to do, especially on western conference swings.  We're 9-6 with Webber in the lineup, which while not great, is considering our prior record.  And that includes some adjustment time.  Webber and the teammates have looked much more comfortable the last 2 weeks, and it's shown in the W/L column.

Also, knowing Webber, he probably was anticipating the Sacramento game quite a bit leading up to it. My point is, now that it is over, he can relax more and put his history with the Kings perminently behind him and give his full concentration to his new team.

[Derek Bodner]

Yeah, it was bad timing to have both games against the kings so relatively close together.