<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Chris Webber is going home. Literally. Webber told ESPN.com on Monday via e-mail that he has chosen to sign with the Detroit Pistons, which will officially happen Tuesday after he clears waivers at 2 p.m. ET. But first, Webber will spend the Martin Luther King holiday with family members after flying to his native Detroit ... and he says he'll attend the Pistons' home game as a fan Monday afternoon against the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Pistons emerged as a strong favorite to land Webber from the moment his Philadelphia 76ers buyout became official Thursday. Webber, though, spent the weekend talking with two high-profile coaches to consider their teams as well -- Miami's Pat Riley and Phil Jackson of the Los Angeles Lakers -- amid a growing belief around the league that he had all but chosen Detroit. With his hometown team, Webber will have the "an integral role" with a championship contender that he was seeking, as he described it to ESPN.com last Wednesday. He's expected to start at center for the Pistons alongside Rasheed Wallace. Yet the clincher, according to sources close to the situation, is the ability for Webber to rebuild his relationship with the community that watched him grow up, which is obviously something no other suitor could offer. Webber is more than a few years removed from his status as a local icon and openly shunned by the university where he became a famous name as a star of Michigan's Fab Five. He sees the opportunity to help the sputtering Pistons regain their standing as an East beast as a golden opportunity to reconnect with Detroit at large. Dallas and San Antonio were on Webber's original list of preferred destinations along with the Pistons, Lakers and Heat. The Mavericks were never a serious contender because they couldn't guarantee playing time and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich decided early that he wasn't interested. The Lakers were serious about Webber. "It was a good conversation both ways," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said in Monday's editions of the Los Angeles Times. "He's got a decision to make. He didn't give me any indication. I just told him that he could help us ... He wants significant minutes. I said, 'I don't know what that converts to, but you can have an influence on the team.' That's all any player can really want." In Detroit, Webber will earn a pro-rated share of the league's $1.2 million veteran minimum, with $450,000 of that amount -- also pro-rated for the rest of the season -- picked up by the league office. Webber was scheduled to earn $20.7 million from the Sixers this season and $22.3 million next season, with the buyout believed to be paying him all but $5-7 million of that sum. "This is the best I've felt in three years," Webber said last week in a phone interview. "Now the thing I want to do most is win a championship, put myself back on that kind of level. "My father said I haven't smiled on the court in about three years. I just want to get back to playing with a smile on my face and playing with a team that can really vie for title." To help create frontcourt minutes for Webber, furthermore, Detroit has discussed a deal with Minnesota that would send center Nazr Mohammed to the Wolves for guard Marko Jaric, according to NBA front-office sources.</div> Source Damn, just when I was starting to like to the idea of Webber playing for the Lakers. Well, his loss...
Yeah, it's definetly dissapointing we couldn't get Webber, but still, the guy's probably just going to get injured anyways. He can't stay healthy to save his life.........
Bottomline, the Lakers weren't going to guarantee him a starting job. If Webber's not confident enough to earn the job, then I don't want him in P&G. I'm glad he's staying in the East since it didn't work out with the Lakers.
<div class="quote_poster">Brian Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">Yeah, it's definetly dissapointing we couldn't get Webber, but still, the guy's probably just going to get injured anyways. He can't stay healthy to save his life.........</div> He stayed healthy with the 76ers. Good for Webber, but I don't see the Piston's winning it all this year. Or anytime soon at that.
Who the heck is gonna play center? I know sheed is 3 happy and webber is no center either. this whole thing will be interesting to watch.
He can still be a 17/10 player, I think. Detroit looks pretty scary with Chauncey, Rip, Prince, Webber, Sheed (or Sheed, Webber). Anyway, good luck C-Webb.
I guess Detroit is going to play a lot more zone now. It will be interesting to see how this impacts their defense. Detroit is 13th in defensive efficiency right now. I expect that will dip further as Webber gets more minutes.
Naah, Detroit won't be too good, they had Big Ben who is a star player just like Webbet (I'd say that Ben is better). But i'm dissapointed, i wanted to see him in a Laker uniform. But yeah, Webber, have some nice time in Detroit
<div class="quote_poster">Umair Wrote</div><div class="quote_post">I see him going to the Detroit Pistons.</div> As I predicted
