Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
Will wonders never cease -- people actually excited to see Isiah Thomas show up at the door.
Webber Wants Back
- Thread starter bloom
- Start date
Will wonders never cease -- people actually excited to see Isiah Thomas show up at the door.
Bricklayer
Don't Make Me Use The Bat
I know that's a humorous observation, but one of my real annoyances during Webb's last few years here was how hard it was for him to shake that rep even thought he hit clutch shot after clutch shot for us from 2002 onwards. The whole phenomenon of getting a rep one way, and having people just never pay any attention when things change is well known, but frustating in its ignorance.
bloom
Starter
There’s two players that I always thought should come back – Vlade and Chris.
I think it would be great to have Chris back in the organization – especially if he can come back and help the kids out. He can also teach the team more about the team game instead of playing 1-on-1 most of the time.
I think it would be great to have Chris back in the organization – especially if he can come back and help the kids out. He can also teach the team more about the team game instead of playing 1-on-1 most of the time.
asakkings
Bench
Ya, I think JT and Hawes could learn a few things about interior passing from Cwebb.
Andre87
Bench
I concur !
Kingster
Hall of Famer
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
You can't go home again. I had enough of the Webber me-first schtick when he was a player. That certainly didn't qualify for him being in management in the Kings org. Fine, he can be there at the lottery. He's qualified for that. Otherwise, he's just another cook in the kitchen that we don't need.
You can't go home again. I had enough of the Webber me-first schtick when he was a player. That certainly didn't qualify for him being in management in the Kings org. Fine, he can be there at the lottery. He's qualified for that. Otherwise, he's just another cook in the kitchen that we don't need.
Padrino
All-Star
that "me-first schtick" nearly won the kings a championship...
this season? worst kings team--by record--in kings history. i'll take more of that "me-first schtick" any day over the garbage i saw this season...
to be honest, i never understood why the fan base demonized chris webber as much as they did. i didn't get it then. i don't get it now. the guy was 20-10, and money on any given night you needed him to be. he's the only legitimate superstar this franchise has ever had. and as one of the kings' two passing big men--the same two that the pundits have argued are among the best passing big men OF ALL TIME--you could hardly consider him selfish. you want real selfishness? here's a recent quote from amare stoudemire, on former head coach terry porter:
"Stay tuned. I've worked on so many aspects this last summer until, when I came back this year, Terry Porter wouldn't allow me to do it. Hopefully I can work on some more things this summer, and then wherever I am and whoever the coach may be - I hope it's (interim coach) Alvin (Gentry) - then I'll be able to implement that for next season. I was working on everything. Offensive stuff. Defensively. It wasn't quite what I envisioned, but I made do."
http://www.realgm.com/src_wiretap_archives/58565/20090415/amare_porter_wouldnt_let_me_do_things/#
this guy's somethin' else. he wants interim coach alvin gentry back because alvin gentry doesn't coach his team. he lets his players do whatever they want on offense, and trotted out a defense as anemic--if not moreso--than the kings' defense. amare didn't get his way under terry porter because porter asked him to play defense. that's selfishness. chris webber was selfish? when? really? he didn't wanna come to sacramento (and could you blame him at the time?!), but once that team started winning, it became clear that he wanted to win a championship more than anybody else on the team. and when everybody else expected him to jump ship and abandon the kings in free agency, chris webber stayed. he could have gotten paid elsewhere, but he stayed, because he knew his title hopes were in sacramento, with vlade, peja, bibby, and rick adelman's pick-and-roll/pick-and-pop...
if webb wants to come back to the kings organization in some ambassador's capacity, i saw we welcome him with open arms, if only to be reminded of what put this team on the map in the first place...
Poor Kingster. Just when you thought you'd never have to see a positive comment about Chris Webber again, huh?
You didn't like him back then and you don't like him now. Unfortunately for you, you're in a very small minority. Much like you were back when he was still playing for the Kings.
love_them_kings
Starter
I am standing and applauding. Nice to find others who remember things as they were, instead of how the media portrayed them.
Kingster
Hall of Famer
I agree with you on the last part. Nearly winning a championship doesn't qualify Webber for anything in the Kings org, other than "ambassador" - a pr position of similar importance as a foreign service officer in Zimbabwe. If they want him to smile and kiss babies, great. If he gets involved in anything substantial - no freaking way.
Kingster
Hall of Famer
CruzDude
Senior Member sharing a brew with bajaden
Bringing CWebb in would be a great thing.....for a year. If he has matured and gotten away from that giant ego of his, then for as long as it benefits the team. As a part-time consultant in the beginning. If they can define his job and he sticks to it. Money is not an issue with Chris.
His knowledge and experiences, like Vlade, would go a long way with the "kids" and younger players and would be big time value to Hawes and JT (and Griffin if Kings get him and Ike if Kings keep him).
But..........his ego and stubbornness when he came back from his major injury and demanded to start to play, destroyed a really good team that year. That has always stuck in my craw. He is a great personality and he wants to be in Sactown to help. There are no other stars in the league who say and mean that. Thats good enough for me as I really believe he can help.
His knowledge and experiences, like Vlade, would go a long way with the "kids" and younger players and would be big time value to Hawes and JT (and Griffin if Kings get him and Ike if Kings keep him).
But..........his ego and stubbornness when he came back from his major injury and demanded to start to play, destroyed a really good team that year. That has always stuck in my craw. He is a great personality and he wants to be in Sactown to help. There are no other stars in the league who say and mean that. Thats good enough for me as I really believe he can help.
I suppose we're doomed to keep re-living this over and over again, but I never saw that whole episode as Chris' ego getting in the way. It was a team decision -- and Rick said this over and over again -- that the team was not going to have a legitimate shot at winning a championship without Chris. Was this decision wrong? Well, they were a bad bounce away from advancing to the Conference Finals so it's not like they flamed out in the playoffs. There's no way to know. But I think every team in the league would have done the same thing. He's your franchise player. If he's available to play you want him out there.
Padrino
All-Star
word. i don't know why people map this oversized ego onto chris webber when it wasn't ever really there. sure, he was a proud player and he wanted to win a championship very badly, but i wonder why that is so damning? should he have been as passive as peja was? or as ice-cold and silent as bibby? everybody wants to have their cake and eat it, too. they want a leader with a commanding presence on the floor, but they want him to check all of his ego at the door. it doesn't work that way. these players are human beings. they exist in a real world, even if it seems absurd and glamorous from the outside, they still function like the rest of us, emotionally. and here's a big surprise for everybody: great players have big egos!!! oh my, i just shudder at the thought...
ya think LA's complaining about kobe's ego this year? is cleveland complaining about lebron's ego, even in the midst of all the 2010 free agency talk? the answer is a big fat "no." webber may not be in the same class of superstar as those guys, but he also wasn't in the same class of ego. for a few years, he made us a legitimate title contender. his return from rehabilitating his knee injury was controversial, and i don't dispute that. but those microfracture surgeries weren't common enough at the time to fully understand or appreciate the risk. webber is now a prime example of the risks that accompany an elective surgery of that sort, and that's a tragic tale fitting of the kings' luck. at the time, though, adding a superstar back into your roster doesn't hurt in the playoff push. ya think boston is loving the fact that kevin garnett is likely going to miss the playoffs this year, despite their 18-7 record without him this season? not a chance...
and, for the record, webber's return didn't hurt the kings in the playoff push. revisionists absolutely LOVE to ignore the fact that the kings' schedule was extremely friendly through the first half of the season. things were difficult after webber's return because the competition got tougher. and, remember, against minnesotta in the semis, the kings were only one shot away from a return to the western conference finals. who stepped up to take the shot? was it peja? was it bibby? christie? vlade? no, it was chris webber, putting his rep on the line once again. he missed. had he made it, what then? what do people say then? what roundabout argument do they create to scapegoat the best thing that ever happened to the sacramento kings? for all the talk over the years of kings fans being the most loyal fans in the league...well, sometimes i have trouble seeing it...
Circa_1985_Fan
All-Star
Exactly! And I'm sure Spencer and Jason wouldnt mind getting a little toutalage from Chris, as well.
GeorgeofSacramento
Bench
Here's the way I see it. You're a free agent, or a player who can veto to whom you're traded. Sacramento isn't on your short list.
You walk into the building, and are greeted by Chris Webber's grin. He fills you with stories of how he dreaded coming here but changed his mind and heart after the fans rallied behind him and the team. He points at his jersey in the rafters and says, "And someday, your's could be up there, too."
Nuff said...
You walk into the building, and are greeted by Chris Webber's grin. He fills you with stories of how he dreaded coming here but changed his mind and heart after the fans rallied behind him and the team. He points at his jersey in the rafters and says, "And someday, your's could be up there, too."
Nuff said...
Sptsjunkie
Starter
I thought the same thing happened to Doug Christie. He was very clutch reentering the game injured against Dallas and playing a big role in us clinching that series. He misses a few threes against the Lakers in Game 7 and admits he choked. Then comes back against Minnesota and nearly helps us with that series with a number of clutch late game shots. Still, most people only remember 2002 and brand him as soft or a choker.
I think the use of the word "most" in that context is probably not right.
At both the Webber and Divac jersey retirement ceremonies, I saw many Christie jerseys. I don't think most FANS remember Doug for 2002. I think the fan who knows enough to appreciate good defense, solid performances, etc. is fully aware of just how much Doug gave to the Kings. From what I remember, most of the comments about Doug choking were from those suffering from a little too much macho and not enough basketball IQ.
Sptsjunkie
Starter
I should have clarified more. If I hadn't been rushing off to the gym, I nearly corrected this earlier. I meant more general NBA fans. Perhaps my view is skewed even more living in LA. However, outside of just the Kings circle, the stereotype seems to persist. I think Doug's career overall was underrated.
