Webber through as a Sixer.
- Thread starter DocHolliday
- Start date
You know, watching the Nets play the Bulls right now, the Nets have almost no quality size...too bad they have played so terribly to this point this season. With Kidd, Carter and Jefferson, though, they certainly have the talent to win the Atlantic division. CWebb could probably certainly get quality minutes playing with the Nets...whether they are actually a contender with him on the roster is an entirely different question.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/sports/16439830.htm
Coming home (Detroit) may be best for Chris Webber
By Mitch Albom
Detroit Free Press
(MCT)
DETROIT - And what if Chris Webber became a Piston? It could happen. The Pistons would like it to happen. Hey, any team that could pick up a guy of Webber's talent - or what's left of it - for the price of chewing gum by NBA standards would be crazy not to.
And so the Pistons might.
And wouldn't that be something?
Once this would have been Webber's biggest fantasy. Playing for his hometown team? Laboring under a guy he watched as a kid, Joe Dumars? Driving around Detroit during the season as well as the off-season, partying around Detroit, hosting events around Detroit, doing his charity work in the shadow of where he grew up? Once Webber and childhood friend Jalen Rose and college buddy Juwan Howard joked about winding up on the same NBA team - and that team, of course, would best be Detroit.
But a lot of water has passed under that bridge. Webber is 33. He gets booed when he comes to the Palace. He gets ripped by the local media. He is barely welcome at Michigan, his former university, and his basketball records there have been erased.
Oh. And then there are the questions - unanswered for years - that hang over Webber whenever he shows up here, like a small cloud over the head of a comic strip character.
Could he really come to work in Detroit and not expect to answer them?
Questions on and off the court
Think about a Chris Webber news conference if he signs as a Piston next week.
First question: "Chris, how does it feel to be playing for Detroit?"
Second question: "Chris, how much money did you take from Ed Martin?"
Third question: "Chris, did you ever lie to a grand jury?"
Don't think it won't happen. And Webber is smart. He knows it will dog him. He may be a curiosity when he comes to town playing for another team. But once a Detroit kid becomes a professional Detroit athlete, he becomes an obsession. We all pay attention. Newspaper. TV. Radio. Webber would have a spotlight that likely would exceed his contributions to the team.
And what would that do to the rest of the Pistons? This is a franchise that has prided itself on chemistry. It didn't have the big-name superstar. It didn't want one. It thrived with a starting five that knew one another like brothers and a gritty defensive philosophy that simply outworked the bigger-ego teams.
But lately that chemistry has come into question. With Ben Wallace gone, some of that shut-up-and-get-the-work-done approach is gone, and Rasheed Wallace has become a larger shadow on the team. Rasheed, as we all know, is an enigma: loved by teammates, frustrating to coaches, a mystery to fans.
Still, in the right setting, he can be invaluable. Before this season, the four other Pistons starters were a great counterbalance to Wallace's quirkiness, the way an earlier Pistons team once was with Dennis Rodman.
But with Big Ben gone, Rasheed is a bigger deal, and it seems, as of late, the fine PH balance of the Pistons has been disturbed. Rasheed has been benched for coming late to work. Tayshaun Prince, who doesn't speak up often, spoke up to say the off-court chemistry is wrong.
And now Webber could be thrown into the mix?
A chance for a championship
Not that Webber wouldn't like it. He has labored most recently in Philadelphia, a team going nowhere. Before that, he was with a Sacramento team that came close, but ultimately gave up on him. Before that were failed stops in Washington and Golden State. It has been 14 years since he was a star with the Fab Five, and the last time he won a championship of any kind was up the road at Birmingham Detroit Country Day.
So what could be better for Webber, who is viewed as damaged goods, a guy on the downslope of the mountain, to resurrect himself with a championship back where it all began, in Detroit?
It is the lure of that, I believe, that will make him say yes to the Pistons - even with the avalanche of questions that await him, even with his lack of defense on a defensive team, even with his desire for starters' minutes on a team that, when healthy, may not have starters' minutes to give.
Chris always thought he could handle everything. I imagine he thinks he can handle this.
Whether the Pistons can remains to be seen.
Hmm.... just an opinion piece, but at least not EVERYONE thinks he'll end up a Laker.
Ugh... the part in bold just made me sad.
Coming home (Detroit) may be best for Chris Webber
By Mitch Albom
Detroit Free Press
(MCT)
DETROIT - And what if Chris Webber became a Piston? It could happen. The Pistons would like it to happen. Hey, any team that could pick up a guy of Webber's talent - or what's left of it - for the price of chewing gum by NBA standards would be crazy not to.
And so the Pistons might.
And wouldn't that be something?
Once this would have been Webber's biggest fantasy. Playing for his hometown team? Laboring under a guy he watched as a kid, Joe Dumars? Driving around Detroit during the season as well as the off-season, partying around Detroit, hosting events around Detroit, doing his charity work in the shadow of where he grew up? Once Webber and childhood friend Jalen Rose and college buddy Juwan Howard joked about winding up on the same NBA team - and that team, of course, would best be Detroit.
But a lot of water has passed under that bridge. Webber is 33. He gets booed when he comes to the Palace. He gets ripped by the local media. He is barely welcome at Michigan, his former university, and his basketball records there have been erased.
Oh. And then there are the questions - unanswered for years - that hang over Webber whenever he shows up here, like a small cloud over the head of a comic strip character.
Could he really come to work in Detroit and not expect to answer them?
Questions on and off the court
Think about a Chris Webber news conference if he signs as a Piston next week.
First question: "Chris, how does it feel to be playing for Detroit?"
Second question: "Chris, how much money did you take from Ed Martin?"
Third question: "Chris, did you ever lie to a grand jury?"
Don't think it won't happen. And Webber is smart. He knows it will dog him. He may be a curiosity when he comes to town playing for another team. But once a Detroit kid becomes a professional Detroit athlete, he becomes an obsession. We all pay attention. Newspaper. TV. Radio. Webber would have a spotlight that likely would exceed his contributions to the team.
And what would that do to the rest of the Pistons? This is a franchise that has prided itself on chemistry. It didn't have the big-name superstar. It didn't want one. It thrived with a starting five that knew one another like brothers and a gritty defensive philosophy that simply outworked the bigger-ego teams.
But lately that chemistry has come into question. With Ben Wallace gone, some of that shut-up-and-get-the-work-done approach is gone, and Rasheed Wallace has become a larger shadow on the team. Rasheed, as we all know, is an enigma: loved by teammates, frustrating to coaches, a mystery to fans.
Still, in the right setting, he can be invaluable. Before this season, the four other Pistons starters were a great counterbalance to Wallace's quirkiness, the way an earlier Pistons team once was with Dennis Rodman.
But with Big Ben gone, Rasheed is a bigger deal, and it seems, as of late, the fine PH balance of the Pistons has been disturbed. Rasheed has been benched for coming late to work. Tayshaun Prince, who doesn't speak up often, spoke up to say the off-court chemistry is wrong.
And now Webber could be thrown into the mix?
A chance for a championship
Not that Webber wouldn't like it. He has labored most recently in Philadelphia, a team going nowhere. Before that, he was with a Sacramento team that came close, but ultimately gave up on him. Before that were failed stops in Washington and Golden State. It has been 14 years since he was a star with the Fab Five, and the last time he won a championship of any kind was up the road at Birmingham Detroit Country Day.
So what could be better for Webber, who is viewed as damaged goods, a guy on the downslope of the mountain, to resurrect himself with a championship back where it all began, in Detroit?
It is the lure of that, I believe, that will make him say yes to the Pistons - even with the avalanche of questions that await him, even with his lack of defense on a defensive team, even with his desire for starters' minutes on a team that, when healthy, may not have starters' minutes to give.
Chris always thought he could handle everything. I imagine he thinks he can handle this.
Whether the Pistons can remains to be seen.
Hmm.... just an opinion piece, but at least not EVERYONE thinks he'll end up a Laker.
Ugh... the part in bold just made me sad.
Detroit it is.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...vLYF?slug=aw-webber011107&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Webber headed back home
By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports
January 11, 2007
Adrian Wojnarowski
Yahoo! Sports
The Detroit Pistons are close to reaching an agreement with free agent Chris Webber, sources close to the negotiations said Thursday night.
Webber, 33, who had the final two seasons of his contract bought out by the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, will return to his Michigan roots where he once starred for Detroit Country Day High School and the University of Michigan.
Webber, who's still clearing waivers, can't officially with a team until Monday. He is expected to sign for a pro-rated $1.87 million-a-season, 10-year-veteran contract.
All along, sources said, the Pistons were Webber's No. 1 choice upon leaving the 76ers. They would give him a chance to finally reach the NBA Finals and perhaps compete for his first NBA title.
Adrian Wojnarowski is the national NBA writer for Yahoo! Sports. Send Adrian a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_y...vLYF?slug=aw-webber011107&prov=yhoo&type=lgns
Webber headed back home
By Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports
January 11, 2007
Adrian Wojnarowski
Yahoo! Sports
The Detroit Pistons are close to reaching an agreement with free agent Chris Webber, sources close to the negotiations said Thursday night.
Webber, 33, who had the final two seasons of his contract bought out by the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday, will return to his Michigan roots where he once starred for Detroit Country Day High School and the University of Michigan.
Webber, who's still clearing waivers, can't officially with a team until Monday. He is expected to sign for a pro-rated $1.87 million-a-season, 10-year-veteran contract.
All along, sources said, the Pistons were Webber's No. 1 choice upon leaving the 76ers. They would give him a chance to finally reach the NBA Finals and perhaps compete for his first NBA title.
Adrian Wojnarowski is the national NBA writer for Yahoo! Sports. Send Adrian a question or comment for potential use in a future column or webcast.
Don't jump quite so quickly, sup.
Right up until about one day before Webber resigned with the Kings, people were still maintaining he was going to sign with Detroit and that Detroit had been his first choice all along...
From what Webber himself said tonight on TNT, I think this article may be based on something less than concrete facts...
Right up until about one day before Webber resigned with the Kings, people were still maintaining he was going to sign with Detroit and that Detroit had been his first choice all along...
From what Webber himself said tonight on TNT, I think this article may be based on something less than concrete facts...
Think he's probably making a mistake -- that house is teetering and the last thing he needs is a place where the inhabitants already boo him. But guess we'll see. Be interesting to see if he goes for a longer contract, or financially secure, jsut signs for the rest of the season and leaves himself the freedom to try someplace else next year if it doesn't work out.
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Did y'all watch him on the halftime show? I do not think that it would be a smart move for him or us for him to be with the Kings again. I would not advocate for that, but darn I miss him!
What he said about Sac stuck with me. I am paraphrasing but he was referring to the Kings when he said that he wanted to be on a team that had the mindset of winning - realistic or not- they beleived they could win and did not get caught up in a the petty stuff. They had fun and played hard. He wanted to play with guys that believed they could win and if they did not, they were guys that he did not mind losing with because they gave everything.
I miss that, too.
What he said about Sac stuck with me. I am paraphrasing but he was referring to the Kings when he said that he wanted to be on a team that had the mindset of winning - realistic or not- they beleived they could win and did not get caught up in a the petty stuff. They had fun and played hard. He wanted to play with guys that believed they could win and if they did not, they were guys that he did not mind losing with because they gave everything.
I miss that, too.
Well, I can't say that I'd blame CWebb for staying in the Leastern Conference, but it doesn't seem to me that Detroit would be the best place for him to get minutes unless he has assurances that other deals are certain and impending which would move one of the Detroit's other bigs.
And, if assurances are being made, and I'm CWebb, I'm going to wait to see how things shake out over the next few days. He shouldn't be in too big of a hurry to sign with another team.
And, if assurances are being made, and I'm CWebb, I'm going to wait to see how things shake out over the next few days. He shouldn't be in too big of a hurry to sign with another team.
Tell me about it. That is why I shared. Misery LOVES company.
http://www.kingsfans.com/forums/showthread.php?t=12601
wow! I don't know how many times I'll have to watch those before they don't move me to tears... What a special, special time, and a special, special team.
chelle- I think I may be opposite of you... I am hoping that when the Kings start playing more like "Kings" I'll be less inclined to look back. For now, even though it hurts, it's just so much prettier than watching them play.
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That's my concern too. I had a bad feeling about him going to Philly, and I have a bad feeling about Detroit... just doesn't seem like a good fit for him. But, we will see if he actually ends up there, and how it works if he does. Who knows, maybe he'll go, win a championship & live happily ever after???
Interesting that he said he wants to start at center if he could, and be more of a passer then a scorer.
sigh...
sigh...
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