http://www.sacbee.com/100/story/78855.html
With a reduced role, Webber wants trade
The former King has averaged only 30.6 minutes a game this season for the 76ers.
By Scott Howard-Cooper - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 12:19 am PST Friday, November 17, 2006
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C1
By late Wednesday night, Chris Webber was sitting nearly alone at the far end of the visitor's locker room in Seattle, speaking in hushed tones the way he often does, even when the words can startle.
"I don't like this role," he said. "So, you can take that however you want."
Webber doesn't like being a second-half bit player for the Philadelphia 76ers. So, he will force a resolution.
Play him as Chris Webber or trade him.
"I'm not going to keep playing like this," he said.
Like the way his 2006-07 season has started, with an average of just 30.6 minutes, each while starting at power forward but often without finishing. The season is only seven games old, and already he has spent the fourth quarter on the bench three times.
That was his Wednesday in Seattle. In a close game, and in an important game as the opener to a West Coast swing for a team that arrived with three consecutive losses, Webber went out with 3:45 left in the third quarter and did not return. Even as the scoreboard tilted from a cushy lead for the 76ers to a big SuperSonics rally that put the hosts within reach of a comeback, he was kept on the sideline.
Philadelphia won 96-90. Webber played just under 24 minutes.
"It is what it is," he said afterward. "The thing is, I've still got a lot of great ball left. I feel better than last year, so hopefully something will happen and I won't have to keep playing like that."
Webber said the message that he's unhappy with the reduced role already had been delivered to management. Billy King, the 76ers' president who in past years had to deal with near-constant, never-realized Allen Iverson trade talk, did not return a phone message left Thursday at the team offices.
"We're not trying to put a lot of individual things on what we're trying to do," coach Maurice Cheeks said when asked about the downturn in Webber's role. "I certainly understand that it's hard. It's a difficult situation. But we're trying to do this as a team and not break it down as an individual."
Either way, pushing for a trade and having the request granted are two different things, especially in Webber's case. Takers will not be lining up for a 33-year-old with a history of knee problems who will get $20.7 million this season and $22.3 million the next, although interest would go up in 2007-08 as teams look to reduce payroll by acquiring players at the end of their deals.
Webber, meanwhile, said he feels better than anytime since undergoing knee surgery in June 2003 while with the Kings, which makes his current trouble all the more frustrating. He's also averaging 8.3 rebounds, a solid showing for someone getting about 30 minutes, and is still considered a willing and skilled passer for a big man.
The five-time All-Star, traded from Sacramento to Philadelphia in February 2005, is shooting just 37.4 percent in his second full season with the 76ers after shooting 43.4 in 2005-06. The 10.3 points a game is fourth on the team, behind Iverson, Kyle Korver and Andre Igoudala, and also about half his production from last season, when Webber's 20.2 points as the secondary option behind Iverson and 9.9 rebounds showed he was still capable of posting big numbers.
Months later, through what he considered a good summer of improved health and a training camp where he preached the need for the 76ers to stay positive no matter the distractions, once the season started he struggled to reclaim a prominent place on the team.
That was obvious at any volume.
About the writer: The Bee's Scott Howard-Cooper can be reached at showard-cooper@sacbee.com.
With a reduced role, Webber wants trade
The former King has averaged only 30.6 minutes a game this season for the 76ers.
By Scott Howard-Cooper - Bee Staff Writer
Last Updated 12:19 am PST Friday, November 17, 2006
Story appeared in SPORTS section, Page C1
By late Wednesday night, Chris Webber was sitting nearly alone at the far end of the visitor's locker room in Seattle, speaking in hushed tones the way he often does, even when the words can startle.
"I don't like this role," he said. "So, you can take that however you want."
Webber doesn't like being a second-half bit player for the Philadelphia 76ers. So, he will force a resolution.
Play him as Chris Webber or trade him.
"I'm not going to keep playing like this," he said.
Like the way his 2006-07 season has started, with an average of just 30.6 minutes, each while starting at power forward but often without finishing. The season is only seven games old, and already he has spent the fourth quarter on the bench three times.
That was his Wednesday in Seattle. In a close game, and in an important game as the opener to a West Coast swing for a team that arrived with three consecutive losses, Webber went out with 3:45 left in the third quarter and did not return. Even as the scoreboard tilted from a cushy lead for the 76ers to a big SuperSonics rally that put the hosts within reach of a comeback, he was kept on the sideline.
Philadelphia won 96-90. Webber played just under 24 minutes.
"It is what it is," he said afterward. "The thing is, I've still got a lot of great ball left. I feel better than last year, so hopefully something will happen and I won't have to keep playing like that."
Webber said the message that he's unhappy with the reduced role already had been delivered to management. Billy King, the 76ers' president who in past years had to deal with near-constant, never-realized Allen Iverson trade talk, did not return a phone message left Thursday at the team offices.
"We're not trying to put a lot of individual things on what we're trying to do," coach Maurice Cheeks said when asked about the downturn in Webber's role. "I certainly understand that it's hard. It's a difficult situation. But we're trying to do this as a team and not break it down as an individual."
Either way, pushing for a trade and having the request granted are two different things, especially in Webber's case. Takers will not be lining up for a 33-year-old with a history of knee problems who will get $20.7 million this season and $22.3 million the next, although interest would go up in 2007-08 as teams look to reduce payroll by acquiring players at the end of their deals.
Webber, meanwhile, said he feels better than anytime since undergoing knee surgery in June 2003 while with the Kings, which makes his current trouble all the more frustrating. He's also averaging 8.3 rebounds, a solid showing for someone getting about 30 minutes, and is still considered a willing and skilled passer for a big man.
The five-time All-Star, traded from Sacramento to Philadelphia in February 2005, is shooting just 37.4 percent in his second full season with the 76ers after shooting 43.4 in 2005-06. The 10.3 points a game is fourth on the team, behind Iverson, Kyle Korver and Andre Igoudala, and also about half his production from last season, when Webber's 20.2 points as the secondary option behind Iverson and 9.9 rebounds showed he was still capable of posting big numbers.
Months later, through what he considered a good summer of improved health and a training camp where he preached the need for the 76ers to stay positive no matter the distractions, once the season started he struggled to reclaim a prominent place on the team.
That was obvious at any volume.
About the writer: The Bee's Scott Howard-Cooper can be reached at showard-cooper@sacbee.com.
