http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/8442033p-9371248c.h
tml
誰該被保護？
文中說到Doug的合約是個蠻大的問題 但是他的防守能力是國王不可或缺
不過我個人是偏好Peeler給山貓......
--
※ 發信站: 批踢踢實業坊(ptt.cc)
◆ From: 192.83.167.44
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------- <
Scott Howard-Cooper: Whom will the Kings protect?
By Scott Howard-Cooper
Published 2:15 am PST Sunday, March 7, 2004
Quick, before Chris Webber's elementary school gets in trouble, too. ...
The possibilities have already become endless for the startup Charlotte
Bobcats, the 30th franchise but one unlike any other as the expansion
draft nears and they prepare to become the temporary center of the NBA
universe.
The draft is in mid-June, in case anyone wants to mark their calendar.
That means you, Gerald Wallace and Doug Christie.
Because the Kings have options as well. Every active franchise - and
the Chicago Bulls - still has three months to decide whom to protect,
but time flies, and that's practically yesterday for good personnel de-
partments already formulating the 2006 draft. This process is far along.
Not only that, it's becoming later all the time with the unique single-
entrant situation this fall, unlike when Toronto and Vancouver (1995),
Orlando and Minnesota (1989), and Charlotte Part I and Miami (1988) rea
-ched shore as a package deal. The Bobcats alone will control the expan
-sion draft, without worry of strategizing alternating picks or, just as
importantly, with the benefit of having an endless amount of potential
deals.
They will, at once, be the newcomer and in the middle of everything. Doing
nothing to act with a poker face, Bobcats management has sent word that it
will be open for business in ways beyond making selections, encouraging
teams to bring shopping lists while also sending along discards.
The Bobcats will be open to picking someone to immediately trade him, fair
warning to clubs thinking of exposing a veteran in hopes an expansion team
building for the long term wouldn't need him.
It will be a cyclone of a week and a half, played out at the same time as
the Finals. The list of protected players from teams is due June 12, exce
-pt for the two involved in the championship series, who must declare the
day after it finishes. The Bobcats can then begin lining up deals leading
up to the draft, either June 22 or 23, depending on the Finals' end date.
Every team can hold back eight players but must leave at least one unpro-
tected, creating the potential a club will sign someone before the end of
the season to a contract that includes a partial 2004-05 guarantee solely
to sacrifice someone to Charlotte. If he isn't picked, a prearranged buy-
out lets the original team off the hook.
Teams can offer the Bobcats draft picks and cash not to take a player,
something they will consider. Teams can also make the same tender to have
Charlotte take a specific player, either to clear a contract or as protec
-tion money to stay away from another exposed player the team would prefer
to keep. This will also be considered, although Charlotte has no intention
of taking on a long-term contract if it can't immediately trade the player.
One year at big money is acceptable, helping a new team manage its payroll
while for the first season being limited to two-thirds of the salary-cap
limit that will be established in the summer.
The Bobcats can draft someone to trade him to a team needing to win now.
They can take a restricted free agent as a salary-cap move of their own,
knowing that player immediately becomes unrestricted and can sign anywhere
without compensation. The benefit to Charlotte is picking someone in the
later rounds to satisfy the requirement of 14 selections, but in reality
taking a pass with the intention of investing the roster spot and money to
a draft or free-agent prospect.
The Kings have nine protectable players: Mike Bibby, Christie, Bobby Jack
-son, Brad Miller, Anthony Peeler, Darius Songaila, Peja Stojakovic, Wall
-ace and Chris Webber. Vlade Divac, Tony Massenburg and Jabari Smith will
be unrestricted free agents. Rodney Buford is on a 10-day contract.
Most are easy choices. Bibby, Jackson, Miller, Stojakovic and Webber will
stay.
Songaila will be a restricted free agent, but it's difficult to imagine the
Kings divesting themselves after an encouraging 2003-04. Peeler has an op-
tion for next season and wants to stay.
And then there were two.
The Kings aren't looking to dump shooting guard Christie, but he's an
intriguing strategic fit for the moment. He'll be 34 in June and have two
seasons and $15.85 million remaining on his contract, a bad fit for the
youth-minded Bobcats. They might take him to trade him, but Christie would
also be a tough fit elsewhere - a defensive-minded player at a position
where most teams want scoring and with enough money due that finding a
trade partner with available space would be a challenge.
It would be a calculated gamble that Charlotte takes a pass. It could also
come after the Kings tell Christie of their thinking, ensuring he wouldn't
be offended at being left unprotected and conveying the message that they
want him back.
Wallace being exposed is more likely. It's nearing the end of Year 3 in
what management knew from the start would be an investment until his skill
level came within sight of his athleticism. But Wallace still struggles
woefully on defense, even continuing to be lost in scrimmages, as if he
has never seen Stojakovic before. Wallace's shooting has improved in prac-
tice, but it doesn't translate to games. Unlike almost every other Kings
wing, he can play only one position, small forward. Most frustrating to
the Kings, while Wallace is a willing worker, he remains unfocused, having
to still be told when to put in extra time to improve.
No decision has to be made until June. It's three more months of evaluat-
ing, with the Bobcats watching and everyone else waiting to see who comes
out on the 29 lists, guaranteeing the Finals will not be the only frenzy
of the moment.