http://insidehoops.com/webber-interview-010504.shtml
Hopefully I got the link right but if not, go to insidehoops.com and check it out. Not very long but some interesting stuff on the whole Peja/Chris thing and the timeline of it.
Edited to add article - VF21
Sacramento Kings forward Chris Webber remains one of the NBA's best power forwards. The team got off to a slow start but have picked things up throughout the season. InsideHoops.com met with Webber in Madison Square Garden for an exclusive interview.
InsideHoops.com: The Kings so far this season, what do you like, what don't you? What's right, what's not?
Chris Webber: What's gone right is that we've stuck together. We started off the season 0-3. We don't lose three games in a row. We could have easily turned away then, or gotten on each other - everybody's talking about this summer and we didn't get along - that would have been the perfect time to just throw it in the tank. What's good is that we stay strong, we don't really care what people say, and we're playing good ball. So, hopefully we keep it up. What we can do better is play better on the road, definitely. And have a more consistent effort throughout the whole game, of what we're going to do. Just be more consistent.
InsideHoops.com: Speaking of the summer talk about some guys not getting along, how much attention did you pay to what was being said, in the media, and elsewhere?
Chris Webber: Truthfully, when it first came out, I was really concerned, because I knew how it could spread. Then I called Peja, and we just laughed about it. So, we didn't really take it serious. I probably took it serious when it first came out, thinking my words were taken... truthfully, we haven't even really cared. I saw Vlade when we played the Lakers, and we all laughed about it.
InsideHoops.com: When did you actually make that call to Peja?
Chris Webber: I talked to Peja right when I got back in Sacramento, before training camp, sometime in October. The story probably came out the month before, so I didn't do it right then, but yeah, October.
InsideHoops.com: So now Vlade's gone, but Brad Miller's terrific and as good as passer as anyone.
Chris Webber: Brad definitely could have started last year. He really came in and sacrificed because of my position and Vlade's. But he's playing great. He's a great jump-shooter, and he passes and rebounds well, and I love playing with him in the post. He and I are definitely happy playing together, and hopefully we continue.
InsideHoops.com: And, switching to random stuff, what was your reaction when Shaq got traded?
Chris Webber: My reaction was, he knows how to get traded to the best places, because, how did he get to Miami, that's what I was thinking. [Webber grins] Why not Milwaukee or something? You know, basically I'm a basketball fan, and I think one of the best things is we have a lot of movement. Football you don't have blockbuster trades; baseball you do, but, so I was just happy as a fan. I really didn't think about the Lakers or not playing them again or anything like that. It's going to be fun in the East, beating them up, now.
InsideHoops.com: It was a cool summer, from a basketball fan standpoint, with all the moves and trades. Shaking stuff up is fun.
Chris Webber: Definitely, definitely. It's definitely for the guys, the barber shops, the summer leaguers, the fantasy leaguers, to see a trade like that. So I was just happy to see it happen, not because we didn't want to play them or anything like that.
InsideHoops.com: Do you play fantasy basketball?
Chris Webber: No, I play fantasy football, but I gotta get into fantasy basketball. I gotta get into it.
Hopefully I got the link right but if not, go to insidehoops.com and check it out. Not very long but some interesting stuff on the whole Peja/Chris thing and the timeline of it.
Edited to add article - VF21
Sacramento Kings forward Chris Webber remains one of the NBA's best power forwards. The team got off to a slow start but have picked things up throughout the season. InsideHoops.com met with Webber in Madison Square Garden for an exclusive interview.
InsideHoops.com: The Kings so far this season, what do you like, what don't you? What's right, what's not?
Chris Webber: What's gone right is that we've stuck together. We started off the season 0-3. We don't lose three games in a row. We could have easily turned away then, or gotten on each other - everybody's talking about this summer and we didn't get along - that would have been the perfect time to just throw it in the tank. What's good is that we stay strong, we don't really care what people say, and we're playing good ball. So, hopefully we keep it up. What we can do better is play better on the road, definitely. And have a more consistent effort throughout the whole game, of what we're going to do. Just be more consistent.
InsideHoops.com: Speaking of the summer talk about some guys not getting along, how much attention did you pay to what was being said, in the media, and elsewhere?
Chris Webber: Truthfully, when it first came out, I was really concerned, because I knew how it could spread. Then I called Peja, and we just laughed about it. So, we didn't really take it serious. I probably took it serious when it first came out, thinking my words were taken... truthfully, we haven't even really cared. I saw Vlade when we played the Lakers, and we all laughed about it.
InsideHoops.com: When did you actually make that call to Peja?
Chris Webber: I talked to Peja right when I got back in Sacramento, before training camp, sometime in October. The story probably came out the month before, so I didn't do it right then, but yeah, October.
InsideHoops.com: So now Vlade's gone, but Brad Miller's terrific and as good as passer as anyone.
Chris Webber: Brad definitely could have started last year. He really came in and sacrificed because of my position and Vlade's. But he's playing great. He's a great jump-shooter, and he passes and rebounds well, and I love playing with him in the post. He and I are definitely happy playing together, and hopefully we continue.
InsideHoops.com: And, switching to random stuff, what was your reaction when Shaq got traded?
Chris Webber: My reaction was, he knows how to get traded to the best places, because, how did he get to Miami, that's what I was thinking. [Webber grins] Why not Milwaukee or something? You know, basically I'm a basketball fan, and I think one of the best things is we have a lot of movement. Football you don't have blockbuster trades; baseball you do, but, so I was just happy as a fan. I really didn't think about the Lakers or not playing them again or anything like that. It's going to be fun in the East, beating them up, now.
InsideHoops.com: It was a cool summer, from a basketball fan standpoint, with all the moves and trades. Shaking stuff up is fun.
Chris Webber: Definitely, definitely. It's definitely for the guys, the barber shops, the summer leaguers, the fantasy leaguers, to see a trade like that. So I was just happy to see it happen, not because we didn't want to play them or anything like that.
InsideHoops.com: Do you play fantasy basketball?
Chris Webber: No, I play fantasy football, but I gotta get into fantasy basketball. I gotta get into it.
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