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http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/basketball/kings/story/12635966p-13489759c.html
A changed Webber is returning
No longer the go-to guy, he says winning as a 76er lessens the jolt of being traded by the Kings.
By Joe Davidson -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Monday, March 28, 2005
LOS ANGELES - Chris Webber has been reading one of his favorite books in his vast African American history collection: "From Superman to Man."
Written by noted 20th century scholar J.A. Rogers, it delves into the absurdity of racism. But it is the title that is so very Webber.
This is who he is now as he continues to find his place with the Philadelphia 76ers after seven "comfort-zone" and "special" seasons with the Kings, as he described them before Sunday night's 96-89 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
His balky knee won't allow him to be the player he once was, a demon inside, a rebounder, a cruiser on the break, and no amount of applied ice bags will ever change that. Grouchy Philadelphia fans are finding out first-hand.
The mere presence of Allen Iverson prevents Webber from being the primary option. He's become a complementary piece, a humbling adjustment in itself, said Webber, waved off occasionally with the game on the line by a man 10 inches his junior.
But the expectations? Haven't changed a bit.
It's Webber. Expectations follow him like a shadow.
In the biggest trade this season, the 76ers brought him aboard to be a difference-maker. They are 9-5 with Webber in the lineup, and they bound into Arco Arena tonight having won five of their last six.
Though his numbers aren't nearly as gaudy as they were with the Kings - his scoring, rebounds and assists are all down - Webber has helped inch Philadelphia back into the playoff mix.
And Webber is smiling again. Winning does that, and he said it has numbed the shock of being moved out of Sacramento, a trade he did not want. He said he was led to believe he would retire wearing a Kings jersey.
"Best years of my career," Webber said of his Kings stint. "Very special time. I can't ever have that taken from me."
He said he grew attached to the Kings, that the franchise was "like family" to him. He bought two homes in the area. He made community appearances.
He told The Bee the day before being dealt Feb. 23, "I don't want to trade this for the world."
He didn't get the world. He got Philadelphia.
He got fans who offered a very brief honeymoon. Then they booed him when his shot wouldn't fall. They piled on during sports talk radio programs. Iverson could go 4 for 25 and not get booed. Webber, the newcomer, became the convenient lightning rod.
"I know the booing was hard on Webb," said Matt Barnes, who also went to the 76ers in the Webber deal. "We've talked a lot. He felt like he had to prove himself all over again. He said the boos motivated him, that he wanted them to boo louder. He'll make it work, though. He always does."
Tonight, there likely will be a long ovation for Webber from fans who never seem to forget their former players.
"These fans should give him a 10-minute ovation," Kings assistant coach Elston Turner said the other day. "Longer, even."
Before he was whisked away for a postgame hand X-ray that proved negative, Webber tried to reflect. He said he has faced reunions before after trades, but nothing like this.
"It's really not a bravado statement, but I'd rather be taken by surprise through the emotion of (an ovation)," he said. "I'm an emotional person. I know it'll get to me. I know the best way to handle it is to show up and play. I was there for Vlade (Divac's return ovation as a Laker earlier this season), and I was happy for him. To put so many years, time and energy there, 15 seconds (of ovation). ... Vlade said he wanted to soak it up even more."
Said Divac: "Chris Webber, he was the main reason the Kings became a good team. The fans will remember that (tonight)."
Divac said it was "sad" to see the Kings broken up, explaining that "it was time. We were all getting old."
Said Webber: "He's right."
Webber said any perceived friction with Peja Stojakovic simply was not true, particularly their relationship off the court. He said that perception "hurt."
And he said any suggestion he cannot coexist with his new coach, Jim O'Brien, or Iverson, is "wrong."
Iverson has said repeatedly that Webber's arrival has been "a dream come true." And Webber said he didn't mind having Iverson wave him off Friday so Iverson could take - and make - the winning shot in the waning seconds against the Toronto Raptors.
With the Kings, no one waved him off. With the Washington Wizards before that, no one waved him off. With his first NBA team, the Golden State Warriors, no one waved him off. In high school, college - anywhere - no one has waved him off. Any waving was teammates encouraging him to go by.
For the most part.
"I've been waved off by those who respected me, that I respected," said Webber, who added that he enjoyed the look Iverson gave him and, of course, the result. "In no way is that disrespectful."
The 76ers may be Iverson's team, but tonight probably will belong to Webber. "It's going to be strange," Webber said. "And fun."
A changed Webber is returning
No longer the go-to guy, he says winning as a 76er lessens the jolt of being traded by the Kings.
By Joe Davidson -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Monday, March 28, 2005
LOS ANGELES - Chris Webber has been reading one of his favorite books in his vast African American history collection: "From Superman to Man."
Written by noted 20th century scholar J.A. Rogers, it delves into the absurdity of racism. But it is the title that is so very Webber.
This is who he is now as he continues to find his place with the Philadelphia 76ers after seven "comfort-zone" and "special" seasons with the Kings, as he described them before Sunday night's 96-89 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers.
His balky knee won't allow him to be the player he once was, a demon inside, a rebounder, a cruiser on the break, and no amount of applied ice bags will ever change that. Grouchy Philadelphia fans are finding out first-hand.
The mere presence of Allen Iverson prevents Webber from being the primary option. He's become a complementary piece, a humbling adjustment in itself, said Webber, waved off occasionally with the game on the line by a man 10 inches his junior.
But the expectations? Haven't changed a bit.
It's Webber. Expectations follow him like a shadow.
In the biggest trade this season, the 76ers brought him aboard to be a difference-maker. They are 9-5 with Webber in the lineup, and they bound into Arco Arena tonight having won five of their last six.
Though his numbers aren't nearly as gaudy as they were with the Kings - his scoring, rebounds and assists are all down - Webber has helped inch Philadelphia back into the playoff mix.
And Webber is smiling again. Winning does that, and he said it has numbed the shock of being moved out of Sacramento, a trade he did not want. He said he was led to believe he would retire wearing a Kings jersey.
"Best years of my career," Webber said of his Kings stint. "Very special time. I can't ever have that taken from me."
He said he grew attached to the Kings, that the franchise was "like family" to him. He bought two homes in the area. He made community appearances.
He told The Bee the day before being dealt Feb. 23, "I don't want to trade this for the world."
He didn't get the world. He got Philadelphia.
He got fans who offered a very brief honeymoon. Then they booed him when his shot wouldn't fall. They piled on during sports talk radio programs. Iverson could go 4 for 25 and not get booed. Webber, the newcomer, became the convenient lightning rod.
"I know the booing was hard on Webb," said Matt Barnes, who also went to the 76ers in the Webber deal. "We've talked a lot. He felt like he had to prove himself all over again. He said the boos motivated him, that he wanted them to boo louder. He'll make it work, though. He always does."
Tonight, there likely will be a long ovation for Webber from fans who never seem to forget their former players.
"These fans should give him a 10-minute ovation," Kings assistant coach Elston Turner said the other day. "Longer, even."
Before he was whisked away for a postgame hand X-ray that proved negative, Webber tried to reflect. He said he has faced reunions before after trades, but nothing like this.
"It's really not a bravado statement, but I'd rather be taken by surprise through the emotion of (an ovation)," he said. "I'm an emotional person. I know it'll get to me. I know the best way to handle it is to show up and play. I was there for Vlade (Divac's return ovation as a Laker earlier this season), and I was happy for him. To put so many years, time and energy there, 15 seconds (of ovation). ... Vlade said he wanted to soak it up even more."
Said Divac: "Chris Webber, he was the main reason the Kings became a good team. The fans will remember that (tonight)."
Divac said it was "sad" to see the Kings broken up, explaining that "it was time. We were all getting old."
Said Webber: "He's right."
Webber said any perceived friction with Peja Stojakovic simply was not true, particularly their relationship off the court. He said that perception "hurt."
And he said any suggestion he cannot coexist with his new coach, Jim O'Brien, or Iverson, is "wrong."
Iverson has said repeatedly that Webber's arrival has been "a dream come true." And Webber said he didn't mind having Iverson wave him off Friday so Iverson could take - and make - the winning shot in the waning seconds against the Toronto Raptors.
With the Kings, no one waved him off. With the Washington Wizards before that, no one waved him off. With his first NBA team, the Golden State Warriors, no one waved him off. In high school, college - anywhere - no one has waved him off. Any waving was teammates encouraging him to go by.
For the most part.
"I've been waved off by those who respected me, that I respected," said Webber, who added that he enjoyed the look Iverson gave him and, of course, the result. "In no way is that disrespectful."
The 76ers may be Iverson's team, but tonight probably will belong to Webber. "It's going to be strange," Webber said. "And fun."
. He's actually got O'Brien working with him now and that has made all the difference.
