http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/16615953.htm<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>On the NBA | Dreaming of L.A., Webber goes home By David Aldridge Inquirer Columnist He is ready now to admit what he wouldn't on national television, when he was still dreaming of playing for the Lakers, in the city he once said he would walk naked to in order to sign on the dotted line. "I had just gotten off the phone with Phil Jackson," Chris Webber said last week, explaining why he denied what had been accurately reported - that he would play the rest of this season with Detroit, his hometown team. That decision had been made almost as soon as he and the 76ers agreed on the terms of his buyout in mid-January - he would give back about $6.2 million of the remaining $43 million on his contract, the Sixers would get under the luxury tax, everyone would be happy. But here came the Lakers, with a full-court press. Kobe called. Phil called. And Webber's head was swimming. If this was the start of the season, he concedes now, instead of the middle, he'd probably have signed with Los Angeles, so he'd have a full training camp trying to get the triangle offense down. "Definitely," he says. But that wasn't the case, so coming home was easy. It's what his family wanted, it's what he wanted, at least at this point in his career. When he was younger and the expectations were higher, the time wasn't right. (It also wasn't right because Webber had to answer for taking money from a booster while at Michigan, which led to the erasure of the Fab Four's two-season records in Ann Arbor.) So he's grateful to the 76ers for giving him his freedom now. "To tell you the truth, I can't believe they bought me out," Webber said. "I can't. I thank Billy [King] to this day for allowing it. We had very frank and open conversations, and he knew how I felt. He knew I was working hard when they came to me." Webber had worked diligently this summer to try and coax more out of his surgically repaired knee. He thought he could build on last season's 20 points and 9.9 rebounds, and he thought his defense wasn't as bad as others claimed. He thought he and Allen Iverson could turn things around. But Webber said coach Maurice Cheeks came to him early in the season and told him he would split time with the 76ers' other big men, Samuel Dalembert and Steven Hunter. "I was like, 'this is going to mess up my rhythm,' " Webber said. "Last year was a good year. I feel better [this year]. And I tried it. And it just made me, I think, look bad. And we only won five games. And in Portland, he said, 'you know, there's going to be some games you're going to play, some you don't. Some you start, some you won't.' And I was like, 'we're 5 and 20; why are you saying this to me?' And after that, I just called Billy myself." Webber and his agent, Aaron Goodwin, asked that the player be traded in December, even before Iverson was sent to Denver. Obviously, King had to move Iverson first, while Webber and Goodwin tried to find a taker for Webber's contract. No one wanted to make a deal, but the Pistons had a starting spot at center, something no other contender could offer. (Even the Lakers have to develop Andrew Bynum while trying to win now.) Finally, after years of resisting, Webber is on board with playing in the middle, something that he probably would never admit is directly tied to his lack of lateral mobility. Webber should flourish playing with the Pistons' slew of unselfish veterans. He's still got those amazing passing skills and those incredible hands. And with the likes of Rasheed Wallace and Tayshaun Prince behind him, Detroit has the kind of length to help protect Webber's defensive deficiencies. None of that is any guarantee that the Pistons will get out of the east, or that Webber will be in Detroit next season. He's only signed for the rest of '06-'07, and then he's a free man again. With $38 million or so in his pocket. "Somebody sent me a quote today, a poem," Webber said. "I think it was Nelson Mandela. It said something like 'it's beautiful to come back to a place that hasn't changed, but which you yourself is altered. You're different coming back to that place. And that's how it feels. I feel I'm definitely a different individual. Never in my life would I have been prepared to play in Detroit [before now]... it had to be right for me to go back to Detroit. It had to be perfect. 'Cause I love it there and that's something I don't want to mess up in chase of a championship, because it's so hard to win."</div>Make you doubt his want to be with the Pistons?
Yeah, he definitely wanted to be a Laker but I think he fits in well with the Pistons. I'm not sure he would have fit as well with the Lakers.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (L_C @ Feb 4 2007, 01:53 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div><div class='quotemain'>http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/sports/16615953.htmMake you doubt his want to be with the Pistons?</div>If there was a doubt there isn't anymore. I am pretty sure Webber knows now that he made the right decision. The Pistons are playing great team ball right now, and Webber is fitting into the offense beautifully. I don't think that he would have had the same success in the LA system.
