Kings Changing on the Fly

From their courtside seats, Joe and Gavin Maloof could see the Sacramento Kings’ shortcomings as well as anybody.

Sure, the millionaire brothers owned one of the NBA’s most consistently successful teams, and they loved its dazzling style of play. The roster was nearly overflowing with skilled players acquired by Geoff Petrie, their president of basketball operations, and playoff games became an annual event in an arena that usually was silent by May.

But after five years of postseason disappointment, even Joe Maloof came to believe the Kings might lack a certain something -- that indefinable element that pushes very good teams to the very top, whether it’s toughness, chemistry or plain old luck. Though the wins kept rolling in, Sacramento’s wave of success seemed to be past its peak.

So when Petrie approached Maloof with a chance to trade Chris Webber to the Philadelphia 76ers two weeks ago, the owner took a deep breath and put aside his sentimental fan feelings for the cornerstone of the Kings’ renaissance.

The run had been fun, but Maloof was ready to move on -- and while the Sixers might be enduring buyer’s remorse with the superstar, the Kings and their fans are warming to the trade every day.

“A lot of people said, ‘Well, the Maloofs took it on the chin, or they’re throwing in the towel,”’ Maloof said. “We’re not throwing in the towel on anything. We have a completely different team now. When they say, ‘The Kings don’t play defense and they don’t rebound,’ well, that’s the old Kings. That’s not the new Kings.”

The deal still seems shocking in Sacramento, where most of the Kings’ famously loyal fans stuck with Webber through countless injuries, a suspension and his shameless flirtations with other teams. He was the face of the Kings, the world-class performer and personality that legitimized Sacramento’s big-time ambitions.

What’s more, the players acquired in return -- Corliss Williamson, Brian Skinner and Kenny Thomas -- certainly didn’t seem to add up to a five-time All-Star with a megawatt smile.

But in the locker room and in the stands, that shock is fading as the possibilities of Sacramento’s retooled roster become evident. The new Kings aren’t slick and experienced, but they’re younger, tougher and more athletic, an intriguing new look for a franchise that mostly got by on skill and style.

“It was a very difficult move to make, but it was a necessary move,” Maloof said. “We weren’t really going anywhere this year. Geoff thought it was time to make a change, and we agreed with him. We have all the confidence in the world in Geoff. He hasn’t made too many wrong moves.”

And those who know basketball best can appreciate Petrie’s greatest achievement: By exchanging Webber midway through his onerous $127 million contract for three players with smaller salaries and more market value, the Kings’ salary cap will be exponentially easier to manage for years to come.

“At first, everyone seemed worried about the future,” center Brad Miller said. “Now, everyone seems excited about what’s going to happen next. (Petrie) isn’t the kind of guy who’s going to stand pat. He wants to improve the team at every opportunity, and he felt this was a big opportunity.”

Just three players remain on the Kings’ roster from the club that fell apart in the 2003 playoffs: Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakovic and Bobby Jackson, who’s been injured for most of this season. That season ended shortly after Webber tore a ligament in his knee during a postseason game.

Petrie is rebuilding around Bibby and Stojakovic, the tenacious point guard and the Serbian forward with one of the world’s smoothest jumpers. In the last two years, he has added Miller and his All-Star credentials, a dangerous shooting guard in Cuttino Mobley and a wealth of supporting players who have been drafted (Kevin Martin), signed as free agents (Maurice Evans) or acquired in trade (Darius Songaila).

Williamson is on his second term in Sacramento after leaving in 2000, and Thomas probably is the best player of the three new arrivals, but Skinner became a fan favorite in his first two games in Sacramento. Blocking shots, hustling on defense, reaching altitudes that Webber’s balky knee no longer allows him to visit, Skinner was cheered to the bench every time he left the Kings’ recent win over Memphis.

“This is a new life for us,” Skinner said. “It’s just unbelievable to go from the bench in Philly to this -- playing a big role for a playoff team. This is what every player hopes for. I’m out there playing like it’s my last game, every time out.”

Because Petrie will be able to shuffle the smaller salaries on his payroll in the summer and beyond, the Kings should be able to find room to re-sign Stojakovic when his contract expires after next season.

Stojakovic, the NBA’s second-leading scorer last season, hasn’t rescinded his curious offseason trade demand, widely thought to be motivated by his desire to step out of Webber’s shadow. But he also has seemed mostly content since returning to Sacramento last fall, even moving his parents into a new house next door to his own.

“I don’t know why you guys keep mentioning that,” Stojakovic said of his demand shortly before the Olympics. “I don’t mention it. In the summertime, I said it once, and from that moment forward, I’ve been nothing but professional. I’m going to continue to do that. I’m going to enjoy playing for the team, and I’m going to do my best when I step on the court.”

If the early results of the trade hold up, Stojakovic should be excited to see what the Kings will look like next.

In a 95-92 victory over the Grizzlies on Tuesday night, Sacramento played positively scrappy basketball, defending and rebounding with an intensity rarely seen from the home team at Arco Arena -- and Bibby won it at the buzzer, banking in a preposterously dramatic 3-pointer from well behind the line.

As the Maloofs led the disbelieving postgame cheers, this new beginning didn’t seem quite so scary.

“This is a new thing for everybody, and it will take time,” Stojakovic said. “But when we play together, we could be better than we were before.”