Remember those rumors that Chris Webber was about to sign with the Mavericks? It hasn’t happened yet, and the Mavs don’t sound like they’re in a rush. From the Dallas Morning News:
Donnie Nelson, the team’s president of basketball operations, tapped the brakes on thoughts that a deal was imminent.
“This could go all the way to the first day of training camp,” Nelson said Tuesday. “We have no sense of urgency to do anything right now. We’ll do a deal when it’s right for us and not sooner.”
[…] Moreover, Webber remains a strong possibility for the Detroit Pistons. The Motor City is his hometown, where he was a high-school legend and where he’s currently hosting a museum exhibit of African-American letters and documents.
His father, Mayce, told SLAM magazine he hopes his son returns to the Pistons, for whom he finished last season.
For context, I should add that Nelson’s quote above was in reference to the Mavs signing any free agents, not necessarily Webber, although the rest of the article obviously veered in that direction. Earlier this week, Jeff Caplan of the Ft. Worth Star-Telegram expressed the same sentiments:
While rumors swirled on the Web (stemming from an unfounded radio report out of L.A.) on Sunday about Webber’s imminent signing with the Mavs, that just doesn’t appear to be the case. In fact, one plugged-in NBA source dialed up on Tuesday said that his “gut” tells him that Webber will return to the Pistons. That’s not to say the Mavs are out of the running, just that it appears more likely, at this moment, that Webber will re-sign with his hometown team.
I’m still of the mindset that the Pistons would be a better team with him, so I hope to see it happen. It’ll be interesting to see how this shakes out because I honestly don’t know to what degree much money is factoring into Webber’s decision. In Detroit, he’d have a chance to start and play at least 25 minutes a game. In Dallas, he’d see far fewer minutes but would likely be closer to a title. No matter which way he goes, it’d be hard to fault him for making the wrong choice.
Both links courtesy of HoopsWorld’s Rumor page.
“would likely be closer to a title” i was under the impression that dallas didn’t even make it in the first round last season and that the west is still competitive place for a title (offcourse the course of the east will be better this season due to the improvement of bulls and celtics)…..isn’t piston a better team than dallas? or at least talking about last season……or is this from another source you took but doesn’t reflect your beliefs?
man I really want Chris Webber to return to the Piston. The Piston will get the Championship this time because of the new management rules. I can’t see him winning on any other team.
I’d rather have William Bedford take a roster spot.
Just say no.
Dude, did you just say Dallas was a better team than the Pistons?
Seriously I dispute this. I think we’re ALOT like the Mavs in that both teams have great players but serious flaws as well. The difference is I couldn’t possibly own 3 different jerseys repping a white kid from Germany 
Jokes aside, honestly I don’t rate Dallas ahead of ANY of the other big teams in the west (SA, Phoenix). I have us, Houston and Dallas as the next tier (yeah I know Cleveland made the finals, I’m not convinced to be honest. That team doesn’t have holes to fill, it’s got craters).
As for Webber, again, I’m NO serious fan of his game but honestly people need to realize that RIGHT now, we don’t have a widebody in the paint when Nazr leaves for rest (or injury, or picking up two consecutive fouls, or just sucking). It’s not like you pay the fat guy tonnes of money, but pretending “sheer bulk” isn’t relevant in an NBA playoff series just seems stupid. I’d rather give Webber 3.5 Million now and ask him to ride the pine for the time being than find the team working out Wang Zhi Zhi in Jan because we have no center (if Nazr gets hurt).
IMHO most of the problems with Webber last year come from Flip automatically promoting him to the starting rotation even though really he’d have helped us MUCH more sharing time with Mohammed (See the Mavs current 5 spot situation).
Oh btw, as for which contract you dump? We have two backup guards who probably aren’t any good. Neither of them is making significant salaries meaning you wouldn’t even have to find a trading partner. Either encourage Lindsey to step into the front office, or encourage Flip to see if Boston needs a backup SG by releasing him.
Please Pistons fans, your team is on the downhill fast. I am not even taking into consideration that the east is getting better.
The Mavs are much better than the Pistons. I hope that Trail Blazers make it to the payoffs and beat them, but they got beat last season by a team that was designed just to beat them, and no other playoff team.
The Mavs need something to put them over the edge, maybe Chris Webber is it, maybe not.
downhill fast? coming from a guy who’s team has held a top 5 lottery pick the last 2 seasons?
I’ll take your word for it.
“Flawless Victory”
No really, he has a point guy. Perhaps you should come back when Portland has qualified for a playoff spot, or at LEAST wait until Portland’s roster has been trimmed from 31 to 15 players…
As for Dallas/GS… Golden State isn’t “designed” to beat Dallas… Baron Davis + Nellie = Ballz the size of cannons. Avery Johnson + Dirk Novitski = Not. That’s why round one ended the way it did, period. Dallas can’t possibly do enough about this flaw in a single offseason.
1) I don’t see Webber playing 25 min a game if he resigns w/ Detroit. He’s certainly not getting too many minutes in the 4Q.
2) I’d prefer to have him back as well. I think Detroit is probably a better fit for him than Dallas.
chris webber will resign wiyh the pistons. believe that. the best fit, the best chance at a championship, a seriously tough team to beat. Yes, they have fallen short the last few years but with a smart, veteran team like detroit always being there deep into the playoffs, its just a matter of time before they break through and win that next title. and next year will prove me right. And to all you rasheed wallace haters talking about trade him for this and for that. Yall dont know shit. Rasheed Wallace has been holden it down for the pistons in the playoffs ever since hes been with detroit. the most consistent player during the playoffs. Weve got the best team in the league and we will win another title in 08. PeAcE PiStoN Fans.