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Now is no time for Webber to leave Kings

Sporting News, The, July 9, 2001 by Sean Deveney

Whew. Some party last night. My head still is beating like the back line of the USC marching band. I am not quite sure where this sombrero came from, and if anyone sees my shoes, let me know. My stomach is telling me I probably was one pig-in-a-blanket away from a serious pork overload, and somehow two boiled shrimp are lodged in the folds of my shirt. Leftover food in the shirt ... yup, some party.

It was about midway through this little soiree, around the time the chain saw-juggling midgets arrived, that a friend turned to me and said, "Well, this party sure has gotten good." And though it was late, and I had a column to write, something struck me: You just don't leave a good party. This is a fundamental rule.

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But even a good party cannot stop my thoughts from turning to the NBA, so I began to wonder if forward Chris Webber is aware of this rule. I hope he is, for his sake. Because, as one NBA player agent said the day after last week's draft, "That party just got a whole lot better."

The party in question is the Kings' They were made a whole lot better by shipping out point guard Jason Williams for Grizzlies point man Mike Bibby, a move that will resonate through Sacramento's next few seasons. Bibby will have an immediate, tangible effect on the Kings because he simply is a better point guard than Williams, whose inconsistency is obscured only by his showmanship.

Watching Williams play is like watching a very fast animal run into a brick wall. It can be graceful and exquisite, at least until the crash. Bibby, on the other hand, is calm and dependable; plus, he is two years younger than Williams.

Bibby ranked fourth in assists per game last season (8.4) and has worked to develop a reliable midrange shot. His scoring and shooting percentage have improved every season, and last year he was up to 15.9 points per game and 45.4 percent from the field. He is Dr. Jekyll to Williams' Mr. Hyde.

But the lasting effect Bibby will have on the Kings is off the floor. Webber, of course, is the free-agent soup du jour, hotly pursued by Houston and Detroit, and desired--though less hotly--by New York and Orlando. He is not a dumb person. Though Webber and Williams are friends, Webber surely sees the advantages of Bibby's lunch-pail style over Williams' circus-geek act.

Remember, you just don't leave a good party, especially not at the moment when the juggling midgets show up.

Acquiring Bibby also signals that the Kings' ownership, the Maloof family, is preparing to spend freely to help the team. Bibby was drafted in 1998 and is in the final year of his original contract. You don't have to be superagent David Falk to figure out Bibby can get the NBA maximum salary as a free agent next summer. Bibby's agent happens to be superagent David Falk, so you can be certain he will get the maximum.

The Maloofs will be willing to pay it, even if they are paying Webber the maximum and even if it means paying the league's luxury tax. Having two players making the maximum almost will guarantee the Kings go over the tax threshold. If they sign Webber this summer and Bibby next summer, they will pay them roughly $24 million combined. That will be half the team's cap money.

The Maloof clan was fond of Williams and treated him as family. Trading him was difficult, but the family did not pawn off one of its adopted members to have Bibby make a cameo appearance.

Strangely, it was not long ago that it seemed Williams, with his electric, up-tempo style, would develop into a better player than Bibby. Only last year, after the All-Star Rookie Challenge game in which Williams made his oft-replayed elbow pass to Raef LaFrentz, one newspaper headline declared, "Young Grizzly plain vanilla next to White Chocolate."

You can figure out who was the young Grizzly, and who is White Chocolate. Bibby is not as marketable as Williams, and the Grizzlies made the trade because they think Williams will sell tickets as the team moves to Memphis. Give credit to the Kings for sacrificing sales for wins.

Those wins will come easier if Webber returns, but the addition of Bibby means losing Webber wouldn't hurt as much. If Webber left Sacramento with Williams still the point guard, the team would be in a tough spot. The Kings would have a difficult time convincing free agents to come to Sacramento.

"I don't think a lot of good, scoring forwards want to play with Jason Williams," says the player agent. "I would advise against it, anyway. I think with Bibby there, the Kings solve that problem. Many more players would be happy to play with Bibby.

"(The Kings) would like to keep Webber, obviously, but if they lose him, they are still a pretty good team, with Vlade (Divac), (Peja) Stojakovic, (Hedo) Turkoglu, Bibby, (Doug) Christie. Maybe they add some players and get better without Webber."

That pretty much sums up the dynamic behind the rule. You don't leave a good party because there is the chance the party will get better once you leave (no matter how enchanting you think your conversation skills are). The Kings have a pretty good party going now. It's going to get better, with or without Webber. Why leave?

Now is no time for Webber to leave Kings

Sporting News, The, July 9, 2001 by Sean Deveney

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