Defense:
Pros:
- Good strength, won't ever be outmucsled or bullied by opposing SGs.
- Good overall quickness, good reaction time. Is 30 years old, so he' probably isn't going to slow down soon.
- Good lateral quickness, only the really elite SGs (Tmac, Kobe, Wade, LeBron) will really test him.
- Doesn't ever gamble for steals.
Cons:
- Can be a little overaggressive at times, somewhat foul prone with good SGs. For a defender, though, being overaggressive is certainly better than being too timid.
- Not particularly long. Can really get at you on the ball, but because he's not especially lanky and because he's not a quick jumper, he doesn't really possess special ability to challenge jump shooters.
- Can get lazy on defense and may miss assignments (rotating, switching, etc.).
- He's a "good" defender, but not great. Doesn't bring the presence or smarts of Christie. Still, Christie's been in decline for at least two years and Mobley isn't that bad of a defender.
Offense:
Pros:
- Behind Peja, you could successfully argue that Mobley is the best shooter on the Kings now, and that's saying a lot. Mobley's always been a great shooter, from distance too (career 38% 3pt shooter). Thrives as a spot up shooter.
- Can create his own offense and even get to the line. Career 17 ppg scorer on 43%+ field goal percentage. 84% FT shooter when he does get to the line.
- Willing to take big shots and won't back down in crunch time.
Cons:
- Labeled as selfish, and that's not too inaccurate. Will overdribble or jack up a shot when the moment moves him. Not a terribly gifted passer.
- Turnover prone, not a capable NBA PG for the Kings' needs (title contenders). Will make incredibly stupid decisions sometimes. Not just bad passes, but stuff like dribbling the ball off his foot, things of that nature.
Final analysis; Kings gained youth, gained a lot of shooting, and gained a much bigger off the dribble threat. Kings lost a little defense, lost a lot of leadership and some team chemistry, and most of all lost the selfless nature and passing of Doug Christie. That said, Kings gained overall. Smart trade by Petrie overall. This trade will only turn bad if Mobley doesn't integrate himself seamlessly into the starting lineup and give up the rock accordingly. He definitely won't play team ball as well as Christie, but can he do an adequate job? Just have to wait and see.
Contractually speaking, Mobley is a FA after this year (player option essentially makes him a FA), and will likely walk after this season in search of a fat contract. Petrie doesn't want to pay him and shouldn't, because Mobley wants at least $7M-$8M per year. So in a way, Petrie pulled the trigger on this trade because he wanted to dump Christie's contract, which is a year longer than Mobley's. That's also why Orlando did the trade in the first place, they didn't want to overpay this summer to keep Mobley. They also want their future to include a Jameer Nelson-Steve Francis backcourt in some capacity. Plus Hedo can play SG if necessary and is young to do it for a long time.
So really, this was a salary dump/contract type of trade for both teams, talents aside.
Pros:
- Good strength, won't ever be outmucsled or bullied by opposing SGs.
- Good overall quickness, good reaction time. Is 30 years old, so he' probably isn't going to slow down soon.
- Good lateral quickness, only the really elite SGs (Tmac, Kobe, Wade, LeBron) will really test him.
- Doesn't ever gamble for steals.
Cons:
- Can be a little overaggressive at times, somewhat foul prone with good SGs. For a defender, though, being overaggressive is certainly better than being too timid.
- Not particularly long. Can really get at you on the ball, but because he's not especially lanky and because he's not a quick jumper, he doesn't really possess special ability to challenge jump shooters.
- Can get lazy on defense and may miss assignments (rotating, switching, etc.).
- He's a "good" defender, but not great. Doesn't bring the presence or smarts of Christie. Still, Christie's been in decline for at least two years and Mobley isn't that bad of a defender.
Offense:
Pros:
- Behind Peja, you could successfully argue that Mobley is the best shooter on the Kings now, and that's saying a lot. Mobley's always been a great shooter, from distance too (career 38% 3pt shooter). Thrives as a spot up shooter.
- Can create his own offense and even get to the line. Career 17 ppg scorer on 43%+ field goal percentage. 84% FT shooter when he does get to the line.
- Willing to take big shots and won't back down in crunch time.
Cons:
- Labeled as selfish, and that's not too inaccurate. Will overdribble or jack up a shot when the moment moves him. Not a terribly gifted passer.
- Turnover prone, not a capable NBA PG for the Kings' needs (title contenders). Will make incredibly stupid decisions sometimes. Not just bad passes, but stuff like dribbling the ball off his foot, things of that nature.
Final analysis; Kings gained youth, gained a lot of shooting, and gained a much bigger off the dribble threat. Kings lost a little defense, lost a lot of leadership and some team chemistry, and most of all lost the selfless nature and passing of Doug Christie. That said, Kings gained overall. Smart trade by Petrie overall. This trade will only turn bad if Mobley doesn't integrate himself seamlessly into the starting lineup and give up the rock accordingly. He definitely won't play team ball as well as Christie, but can he do an adequate job? Just have to wait and see.
Contractually speaking, Mobley is a FA after this year (player option essentially makes him a FA), and will likely walk after this season in search of a fat contract. Petrie doesn't want to pay him and shouldn't, because Mobley wants at least $7M-$8M per year. So in a way, Petrie pulled the trigger on this trade because he wanted to dump Christie's contract, which is a year longer than Mobley's. That's also why Orlando did the trade in the first place, they didn't want to overpay this summer to keep Mobley. They also want their future to include a Jameer Nelson-Steve Francis backcourt in some capacity. Plus Hedo can play SG if necessary and is young to do it for a long time.
So really, this was a salary dump/contract type of trade for both teams, talents aside.
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) and free up salary cap room next year (assuming he doesn't exercise his option).
