Mobley for Christie trade rumored on NBATV

[Yuma]

Christie going to Miami, could potentially make them stronger. However, it may make it where we don't have to face Mobley or Christie because of the timing of the deal. I think Christie helps Miami a lot. I think Sac Town gets a little weaker defensivly.

 

[boondockdrunk]

Orlando has Mobley not Miami.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=1964051

 

[jibikao]

The Queens finally decided to get rid of their Core players? Wow...

I wonder what Kingsfans think about it. Christie is their only good defender on the team... something tells me Kings is undergoing some major change. We shall see.

Jimmy

 

[elindholm]

According to NBA.com, the deal is basically finalized.

It seems like both teams lose. Christie's weird, wife-whipped act isn't going to play with the struggling Magic (although it will probably make Dwight Howard a friend). And it's not like he'll still be around to steer the team through a long rebuilding process. Mobley is a capable scorer, but does he know how to be a third or fourth option? I don't think so. And he doesn't come close to replacing Bobby Jackson's heart, which is what the Kings are missing the most.

 

[George O'Brien]

This sounds like the first of several trades by the Kings. Mobley is younger.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Typical Offense for Defense trade. I agree that Mobley will have a hard time adjusting to a 3rd option. The trade may actually help the Magic, they could really use the extra defense and have been shopping Mobley off an on.

I agree with George though, this is likely the first in a line of moves for the Kings over the next year or so.

 

[goldseraph]

As an Orlando resident, this move was very interesting. I think this was a very shrewd move by GM John Weisbrod, as Christie provides more of what the Magic really need at this point. The Magic are loaded with shooters - Francis, Turkoglu, Garrity, Stevenson, Grant Hill, and Jameer Nelson. Mobley provided little really, and is in the last year of his contract. The Magic weren't going to resign him, so they made this deal now to shore up their hustle and SG defense. Sacto gets another scorer to replace the firepower lost by BJax's season ending injury. This is a good move for both teams.

 

[F-Dog]

The Magic included Michael Bradley for salary-matching purposes.


When you fit "John Weisbrod" and "shrewd move" into the same sentence, you need to double-check to see where your mistake was. Sure enough, this looks to me like the dreaded 'double dump'--an ugly deal for both sides, which the Kings probably 'win' by saving money on the deal.

Doug Christie should be a great fit for the Magic; a quality defender at the two, with point guard skills to allow Steve Francis to shoot first. Of course, if Christie really was that guy, he'd still be playing for the Kings. DC's problem is that his defense has vanished, and the Kings weren't stopping anybody with Christie, Peja and Bibby on the perimeter--see New Orleans' 121-point explosion last Saturday, where Baron Davis, Dan Dickau and J.R. Smith all had big games. Maurice Evans had been steadily eating into Christie's minutes before the trade. (Who? Exactly.)

I'm not sure that Cat Mobley has defended anybody, either, since last year's playoffs, and he's not exactly ideal for the Kings' Princeton offense. I guess the Kings figure that Bobby Jackson is gone, so there's room in the offense for another gunner...besides, they're saving money. And it's not like they were going anywhere when they had Christie.


Anyway, I'm happy to see this, because it's evidence that the Kings are in serious trouble. It would be nice to get the Pacific Division wrapped up quickly, so the Suns can give Steve Nash a well-deserved vacation before the playoffs.

 

[George O'Brien]

Have the Suns ever had an 8 game lead in their division this early in the season. Or ever?

 

[goldseraph]

you don't think Weisbrod has made shrewed moves thusfar?
They have gone from worst team in the league to possibly home court in the first round of the Eastern playoffs..

 

[devilalum]

you don't think Weisbrod has made shrewed moves thusfar?
They have gone from worst team in the league to possibly home court in the first round of the Eastern playoffs..

They've done a nice job.

They also got lucky with Hill. Everybody had written that guy off.

 

[F-Dog]

you don't think Weisbrod has made shrewed moves thusfar?
They have gone from worst team in the league to possibly home court in the first round of the Eastern playoffs..

This is what Weisbrod started out with:

Tracy McGrady, a consensus top-5 player
A healthy Grant Hill
The #1 overall pick, consensus was Dwight Howard
Drew Gooden
Juwan Howard
The #31 pick, consensus was Anderson Varejao
A lightly-protected draft pick from the L.A. Clippers--I believe it comes due this year, but it might be protected for one more year
The MLE, and the money to offer a six-year contract
A wide-open head coaching job


This is what he's got right now:

Steve Francis, a consensus top-30 player
Grant Hill
the smoking remains of Doug Christie
Doug Christie's wife
Kelvin Cato, who's hurt
Tony Battie, who's old, and hasn't been productive
Dwight Howard
Jameer Nelson, who's short, and hasn't been productive
Hedo Turkoglu, who's soft
Head Coach--Johnny Davis

On the plus side, everybody wears a tie now.


It's going to take a while for people to figure out how much Weisbrod sucks, but when he gets bent over on a trade by one of the Paxson brothers, that doesn't speak well for a GM's competence.

 

[goldseraph]

F-Dog! That's a bit harsh IMO...

I would dispute several of your claims.
McGrady is top 5 in talent perhaps, but if I were starting a franchise
I would place at least 10 players ahead of him. He is lackadaisical on
the court at times, and is not a great defender. He also can't lead a team
and doesn't make his teammates better. Take this from someone who watched at least 100 magic games while he was here.

This year there is a completely different energy about the team, the 'heart and hustle' are back and Francis has played and led great. He is a top 20 player, and thrives in the new running style of the Magic, which suits him more than the plodding, comatose style of JVG's Rockets.

Gooden was also not a hustle guy, and took many nights off. He is playing now getting big minutes with Lebron, he definitely has talent. However, he is not the kind of character guy Weisbrod wanted. I think you discount the value of Cato and Battie. Cato is a tremendous shot blocker and a solid low post defender. Battie is a very smart veteran big who rebounds well and can make the 10 foot jump shot. They are not stars, but in the east they are plenty formidable. They also can mentor Howard as they are both veterans and smart players.

Turkoglu is soft? Nobody would say that if he wasn't white and 6'10". He is a swingman, what is he supposed to be doing to be 'hard'? He is an excellent shooter, can drive to the basket and run the floor. His defense isn't great, but he fills a nice role as 6th man.

Who knows what would have happened if we had kept all of last years pieces, and added Grant Hill. We will never find out, but I know that this year's team plays much harder and is going to the playoffs. Their core of Francis/Howard/Hill looks to be together for years. I can't complain about the job Weisbrod has done, and there is more excitement in Orlando about this team than during any of Tracy's years.

 

[jbeecham]

I think Orlando got raped in this deal. Mobley is a much better player than Christie and is also much younger. I really would've thought they'd get something much better than an old Doug Christie.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

I think Orlando got raped in this deal. Mobley is a much better player than Christie and is also much younger. I really would've thought they'd get something much better than an old Doug Christie.

Age doesn't matter. Both players are FA after this season. Orlando had no desire to resign mobley, and there is a good chance Christie is a one year filler.

 

[George O'Brien]

My read on the Magic is that last season they had a deadly atmosphere. McGrady has admitted he did not play hard all the time. Juwan Howard has always been overrated because he can score but doens't play good defense and disappears too often. Gooden is another guy who didn't play hard last season but has benefited greatly by joining a winning team. Trading these guys may have been necessary in order to change the team chemistry, but that kind of deals rarely brings in more talent.

Weisbrod errors last season:

-- Letting Armstrong go without having a solid point guard to replace him
-- Drafting Gaines
-- Signing Juwan Howard
-- Trading Giricek for DeShawn Stevenson

Drafting Ike Howard was hardly a brilliant move since he was very highly rated. I'd prefer a lineup of Okafor and Gooden over Battie and Howard, but that's just me.

I think I was a minority of 1 as someone who felt the Rockets came out the loser on the McGrady trade, but that was mostly because I don't like Juwan Howard's game. Still I'm not sure this deal was a brilliant move by Weisbrod or just a dumb one by the Rockets. (BTW, I think I predicted that Mobley would get traded again, but I expected it would be for a younger player).

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

I dont like Weisbrod that much.

I didn't agree with trading TMAC (after pushing him out the door) but I can understand it. I however really didn't like the package they got back for him. I am not a big Francis fan, and to top off he is a perrennial loser (1 playoff appearance for his career), he wasn't coming in with the shine of a winner either. They basically took a backcourt that had already proven it didn't work well in the team game.

What I did have a big problem with is how he handled the situation. It was probably the worst handled trade in the past decade. If I were a GM, it would definitely make me nervous in future deals.

The Gooden deal didn't bother me at the time, but has turned out to be a bad one.


If last year's Magic had Hill and Howard, they would be a lock for homecourt advantage. It will take a few years to get enough deals under Weisbords belt, but I think the early indication isn't in his favor.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

George,

It is DWIGHT Howard


Also, Weisbord did not select Reece Gaines. He took over as GM mid year. John Gabriel was the old GM, however Rivers got a lot of credit/blame for personell moves.

Edit: Just looked at the rest of your list, almost all of it was John Gabriel. Also, at the time Juwan Howard looked like a deal. He had multiple teams lining up for him at the MLE after he acted like a professional in his last season at Denver.

 

[George O'Brien]

George,

It is DWIGHT Howard


Also, Weisbord did not select Reece Gaines. He took over as GM mid year. John Gabriel was the old GM, however Rivers got a lot of credit/blame for personell moves.

Edit: Just looked at the rest of your list, almost all of it was John Gabriel. Also, at the time Juwan Howard looked like a deal. He had multiple teams lining up for him at the MLE after he acted like a professional in his last season at Denver.

Like Ike Eisenhower.

I have to admit I forgot when Weisbrod come in. I don't pay as much attention to Eastern Conference teams.

As for Juwan Howard, I find it hard to believe that teams still fall for "contract year" performance rather than looking at the guy over his career.

BTW, I didn't mention Weisbrod's biggest blunder - Steven Hunter. Of course every other GM not in Phoenix made the same mistake.

 

[thegrahamcrackr]

Minny was the biggest competition for Howard IIRC. From what I remember, people were not impressed with his production, but more of his behavior and leadership on the rebuilding Nuggets.

 

[hcsilla]

Weisbrod errors last season:

-- Letting Armstrong go without having a solid point guard to replace him
-- Drafting Gaines
-- Signing Juwan Howard
-- Trading Giricek for DeShawn Stevenson

I agree that Weisbrod made a mistake with Armstrong but he is hardly blamed for the other listed issues.

I agree with thegrahamcrackr that Howard showed a lot of heart in Denver and he seemed to be at least an asset at the MLE.

Giricek is just a jump-shooting role player, I do not think that he is a better player than Stevenson.

About the Mobley-trade: I was never a fan of him. He is a talented scorer and that's it. I would take the "old" Christie over him on any day of the week and twice on Sunday. However Christie has a career-low year.
Weisbrod obviously doesn't care about the age of their players see the Gooden, Varejao for Battie trade.

 

[F-Dog]

F-Dog! That's a bit harsh IMO...

I would dispute several of your claims.
McGrady is top 5 in talent perhaps, but if I were starting a franchise
I would place at least 10 players ahead of him. He is lackadaisical on
the court at times, and is not a great defender. He also can't lead a team
and doesn't make his teammates better. Take this from someone who watched at least 100 magic games while he was here.

This year there is a completely different energy about the team, the 'heart and hustle' are back and Francis has played and led great. He is a top 20 player, and thrives in the new running style of the Magic, which suits him more than the plodding, comatose style of JVG's Rockets.

Gooden was also not a hustle guy, and took many nights off. He is playing now getting big minutes with Lebron, he definitely has talent. However, he is not the kind of character guy Weisbrod wanted. I think you discount the value of Cato and Battie. Cato is a tremendous shot blocker and a solid low post defender. Battie is a very smart veteran big who rebounds well and can make the 10 foot jump shot. They are not stars, but in the east they are plenty formidable. They also can mentor Howard as they are both veterans and smart players.

Turkoglu is soft? Nobody would say that if he wasn't white and 6'10". He is a swingman, what is he supposed to be doing to be 'hard'? He is an excellent shooter, can drive to the basket and run the floor. His defense isn't great, but he fills a nice role as 6th man.

Who knows what would have happened if we had kept all of last years pieces, and added Grant Hill. We will never find out, but I know that this year's team plays much harder and is going to the playoffs. Their core of Francis/Howard/Hill looks to be together for years. I can't complain about the job Weisbrod has done, and there is more excitement in Orlando about this team than during any of Tracy's years.

McGrady is better than Francis; even you aren't disputing that. There's no way you can make up the difference with throw-ins, not in the NBA at least.

Gooden for Battie is barely justifiable if you're desperate, but there was no excuse for including Varejao in the deal. Paxson was also desperate, remember, for an undersized PF to replace Carlos Boozer.

Turkoglu is 'soft' because he missed a bunch of wide-open 3-pointers in last year's playoffs. That's why the Spurs dumped him and spent the same money on the declining Brent Barry.


The real problem with Weisbrod's moves is that he's giving away talent, money and trade value without rhyme or reason for what he gets in return. Are the Magic built to compete now (then why draft Howard)? Are they built for the future (then why the trade for Battie)? Are they supposed to be tough-minded (Turkoglu)? Smart (Francis)? Big (Jameer Nelson)? Quick (Doug Christie)? Well-coached (yeah, right)?

It looks to me like Weisbrod is throwing random players at a wall and keeping the ones that stick.


Look at it this way, though: if you can find a cardboard cutout of Rich DeVos topless in a Vegas showgirl's outfit, the Magic might still put aside their differences long enough to win the pennant...

 

[coloradosun]

Looks like the Kings want to keep pace with the Suns and add more firepower, defense will be thrown out the door.

The Suns have set a new standard and the Kings know it.