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Chris Webber Escapes Philly
by: Joshua Silcox
When Donovan McNabb announced he would have to undergo season ending knee surgery, sports fans in Philadelphia turned their focus to this year’s 76ers team. After a productive off-season where Philly’s big man, Samuel Dalembert, made huge strives in his game, and Chris Webber got back to full health, fans in Philadelphia had good reason to be optimistic about this season.
Things looked good for the 76ers as they started the season 3-0, but this was just the calm before the storm as they have managed to lose 20 out of their last 26 games. During that span of loses, Allen Iverson voiced his discontent with the franchise and the direction it was going and asked for a trade. Iverson’s request was approved by the 76ers’ general manager, Billy King, and soon after A.I. and his then league leading 32 points per-game were on a plane to Denver. This was a huge blow to the organization as the team struggled without Iverson’s leadership and ability to take over games when needed.
This past Wednesday, another league veteran on Philly’s squad, Chris Webber, was also allowed to leave the organization. Webber, in his 14th year in the league, blueprinted Iverson’s escape route and managed to have the 76ers buy out the last two years of his contract for an overwhelming 43 million dollars. Webber is now a free agent and has over half of the teams in the league chasing after him and with good reason. Over the years Chris has averaged 21.4 points per-game, 10 rebounds per-game, and over 4 assists per-game. Although Webber has had a down season this year in Philly due to the organization being in shambles and a foot injury that has limited his play, he is a proven play maker that has the potential to fit in nicely with many NBA teams.
So which teams actually have a shot at landing C Webb? Webber has gone on air to share his wish list of teams that he would like to join. In the East, the Heat and the Pistons are on his list of five, and in the West, Chris has narrowed it down to the Mavs, the Lakers, and the Spurs. At this point it looks like the Miami Heat have the head start in the Chris Webber sweepstakes. The Heat have more money than the other four teams to offer Webber and like many NBA players, Chris has expressed that he wouldn’t mind living in South Beach. Webber would be a nice fit in Miami whose roster is full of veterans like Gary Payton, Alonzo Mourning, and Shaq; furthermore, who wouldn’t want to play along side of last year’s NBA Finals MVP, Dwyane Wade. The other team in the East that Webber is interested in is the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons are a proven team with unselfish and talented players who want to win championships. Born in Detroit, Webber chose to stay close to home and attend the University of Michigan where he shined, but even though Webber would love to go home to finish his career, the likelihood that Detroit will shell out the money for Webber and give him the minutes he desires is not very foreseeable.
In the West, the Dallas Mavericks are in the same boat as Detroit. The Mavs are stacked with talent and wouldn’t be able to supply Webber with the minutes he would like. Also in the Western Conference, the San Antonio Spurs have expressed interest in Chris. With bench players like Brent Barry and Robert Horry getting older, picking up Webber could be a great move. Chris could sub in for Bruce Bowen or even Tim Duncan in the forward positions and still produce points while they are on the bench. The last and most probable team of picking up Chris Webber in the West is the Los Angeles Lakers. With money to spend, L.A. could acquire Webber who would make an instant impact and take some of the stress off of Kobe Bryant who has carried the Lakers so far this season. If Chris is looking for a starting role with a lot of minutes, then he should look no further than the Lakers.
So with the two most probable teams being the Heat and the Lakers, Webber has to think about his future as he is not getting any younger. Plagued with the stigma that he can’t win the big one, Chris, like many veterans, is out to prove that he still has game. I wouldn’t be surprised if Webber doesn’t go to the highest bidder as he has expressed his main goal is winning a title, something Chris hasn’t come close to since his college team reached the championship game in 1993. Being verbally thrashed and degraded in Philadelphia over the past few years, like most athletes in Philly endure, Webber will come out with a chip on his shoulder for whatever team he signs with. There is no doubt that C Webb still has fuel left in the tank and whatever team signs him will soon see the return of the five-time all-star that once was, that is before Philadelphia got a hold of him. So it begins, owners and General Managers, you may start your bidding.
Joshua Silcox is a freelance writer who recognized the shifty fans of Philidelphia.
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