That’s what he’s telling ESPN’s Marc Stein:
“I’m not going to Greece,” Webber said. “It’s no disrespect to [Olympiacos], but I can’t do that. I’m an NBA guy. I don’t want to just chase money. I want to make sure I respect the game.
“To tell you the truth, it’s kind of stupid in a way to turn down stupid money, as my dad would call it, but I can’t just do it for the money. If I’m going to play, I’m only going to play as a Piston … unless something crazy happens.”
The way I see it, it’d take something crazy happening for him to be a Piston, but at least we know where his heart’s at. I’d re-hash this, but nothing has changed since last Friday. Also, watch for Orlando emerging as a dark horse for Webber, at least if they get an injury exception for the injured Tony Battie.
Any chance that Orlando would be interested in Nazr? That would clear up a roster spot for C-Double in Detroit…
I’d like it if Orlando traded for Nazr…. maybe. I mean they had Battie starting after all. Nazr would be a big upgrade.
I don’t see why it’d take anything “crazy” happening. yes, the Pistons are at the salary cap limit, but I see a trade with at least Flip Murray in the future. Is it so crazy to think the Pistons will trade Nazr and Flip for draft picks and retain Webber? That’s a STRONG team… given our bench.
Matt Watson - Isn’t the situation with signed players and the Pistons typical of NBA teams? Henry Abbott mentioned the other day that the Houston Rockets would have 22 players coming to camp. That’s a bit extreme but don’t most teams have 15-18 players and cut backwards rather than 12-15 and search for talent?
I wouldn’t be surprised if Webber ends up a Piston at some point this year. They’ll probably cut Dupree before the season starts to widdle the team down to 15. Then there’s talk of Flip Murray being traded for a 2nd round pick. I think a lot of teams would be interested b/c he’s in the final year of his contract. There are already 5 other guards on the Piston roster that’d play ahead of Murray. Plus, Flip Saunders said on media day that they’re short on big men, and Nazr is the only true center, so I think Webber would be a good fit.
Even if Webber joins mid-season and they keep McDyess in the starting lineup, that’s still a huge bonus b/c having Webber on the floor with the 2nd unit would make it a lot easier for the other reserves (who are not killer scorers) to get open looks b/c of the attention Webber commands, along w/ his passing skills.
Nazr would be hard to move b/c he has 4 yrs/$25 mil left… especially to ORL because they have no cap room after giving R. Lewis a ridiculous $17 Mil. a yr.
I think I’m one of the few to say this, but I don’t want Flip Murray to go. I liked what he brought in the games where he actually got a chance to play - anyone remember him dissecting the Suns when Billups was out? I’d rather Nazmo be traded. But in all likelihood, what KDeets just wrote is probably what’s going to happen…
Fwiw any team interested in Flip Murray is going to be interested in his play, not his contract.
The reason final year contracts are so valuable is because they are usually very big. This allows a team to trade away it’s own overpaid player who has many years on his deal for an overpaid player who only has one year on his deal. This means at the end of said season, the team will essentially have XXXX dollars cap space. Flip Murray is making so little money that the player coming back for him would have to be almost insignificant salary wise in which case why isn’t the team just keeping him?
Not trying to be a jerk or anything but saying Flip Murray’s expiring contract is valuable shows a lack of understanding of the salary cap and how NBA GM’s operate.
“Now you know and knowing…blah blah blah Cobra Commander is a weenie”
I guess I am just not a Flip Murray fan. He takes bad shots, and he complained that he didn’t get heavy minutes. Well, no guard who plays behind Chauncey & Rip will get heavy minutes.
BTW, PG4L, I didn’t mean his contract would provide cap releif. I meant it’s low risk in that it’s only 1 yr and for a cheap salary, so if that team doesn’t want to keep Flip Murray, they can cut him loose after just 1-yr/$2 mil.
The reason I don’t see him joining the team is because the team seems committed to giving the young guys every opportunity to play. And Nazr can’t be traded just for picks — he’s making the full mid-level exception, Detroit would need to take salary back in return, which defeats the purpose if they’re simply trying to create a roster spot.
As for Flip Murray, he’s extremely cheap and not horrible as a 4th or 5th guard. Last year he was iffy as the primary backup point guard, but that won’t be his role this year. Instead, as the second guard off the bench who’s only asked to score (and maybe gamble on defense for steals), he’s respectable rotation filler.
Webber wants a two-year deal or he would have already signed with the Mavs or Pistons. If he changes his mind and the Pistons for some reason have a hole in the frontcourt, I could see him eventually signing. But there’s no shortage of big men, just a shortage of centers, which is only all that relevant on defense, where Webber isn’t much help.
“The reason I don’t see him joining the team is because the team seems committed to giving the young guys every opportunity to play.”
Good one, Matt! I fell for that one last season, too.
Kevin, sorry my bad then.
Chris Webber, you are a good man. You are a Piston for life now my friend. I want Chris Webber to come back maybe coming off the bench this time. Him starting doesn’t feels right anyone with his age and physical status.
I am at a loss for all the CWebb love. I like him too…all the way back to his days in blue and gold…but if Joe adds him to this roster the stones will be going backwards. If he gets on this team Flipper will end up giving him minutes that NEED to go to Max and Amir. CWebb will NOT sit quietly like Dale Davis (or Elden Campbell before him)…he is not that guy. Chris…you had a good run, now pack up your knees, do a Vlade and get on with your life.
I doubt Webber would mind limited minutes off the bench. He never complained about PT last season, even when he wasn’t in during crunch time. He kept saying he was happy to be a piece of the puzzle on a winning team.
Yeah, I still say keep Webber. Let him teach the young’uns in practice, and let him come in for some spot minutes when Maxiell is full of babies and Amir is tired from his 16th or 17th dunk.
Well, if they did want to keep CW: trade Flip AND Dupree (about 2.7 mil) for 2nd round draft picks. Somebody desperately looking for some depth - Boston comes to mind - could bite on this because it’s chump change salary-wise. Opens up 2 roster spots and even, I think, saves the Pistons a little loot if they give CW the veteran’s minimum.
Certainly would cement the youth movement in the backcourt if the Pistons move both of them…
And am I the only one who envisions gobs of ridiculous dunks when CW finds Amir and Maxiell with that passing!? Seriously, how does he NOT make those guys better on the offensive end? Another season with a player almost universally acclaimed as the best passing big man ever. Counter-intuitively, I think bringing back CW is actually one of the BEST things Detroit can do for the youth movement.
And in his last season, he will be more than happy to sit quietly until called on. He’s an older and wiser C Double.
“And in his last season, he will be more than happy to sit quietly until called on. He’s an older and wiser C Double.”
But that’s the thing … he doesn’t want this to be his last season. By all accounts he’s been holding out for a two-year deal.
Yeah, but he’s not getting one.
I doubt anyone will sign C-Webb to a 2-yr. deal right now, given his age & injury history. I’d LIKE the Pistons to, but I doubt it’ll happen.
I can’t see anyone trading for Dupree. Guys like him are a dime a dozen, so why would you give up something to get him? I also don’t see Boston as a team interested in a trade for Flip Murray b/c they’re over the cap already, so they’d have to send someone to Detroit (which the Pistons don’t want since they’re clearing roster spots). Also I’m pretty sure Boston would go out of their way not to do anything that could even remotely help the Pistons, since the Pistons are the top contenders in Boston’s conference.
Satchel… The Pistons can only trade Nazr and/or Flip for draft picks to a team with a trade exemption. I don’t know who these teams are but from what I understand there’s not many of them.
The Pistons could trade them for other players but this isn’t likely because the Pistons would still have to take players back and the roster would be the same number unless they did a two for one.
Webber’s finesse game doesn’t translate to the playoffs. He would certainly provide some wins in the regular season. But I’d rather lose a couple games while giving Maxiell and Amir some meaningful minutes. That’ll give us a better chance of winning in the post-season.
Also, I don’t buy the idea that C-Webb is the answer to our lack of depth at Center. He’s a PF. And we all saw how Ilgauskas ran a tip drill on him. And Shaq does the same.
I don’t suppose you would be interested in trading Nazr Mohammed straight-up for Hedo Turkoglu…
And this is pretty unrelated, but the Pistons could dump Nazr on the Suns, who need big-man help, and receive a trade exception, which would serve them well.
Totally right, Darshan. I don’t know who would take them either. It’s just more palatable than waiving them - and having someone like Boston pick them up (although I can’t see the Pistons getting worked by Dupree or Flip down the road).
Webber’s game doesn’t translate to the playoffs and he doesn’t help the depth at ‘center’ at all. He’s horrible defensively.
Still, I’d rather have CW tutoring Amir + Maxiell - and spelling them on the nights when they struggle - than adding the extra depth of Flip and Dupree. I just think that’s a smarter roster.
Dupree has been with us for 2 seasons (albeit they were separated by his season in Minnesota) and hasn’t even logged half the minutes that Webber logged in just half a season with us. I’m not advocating any sort of reliance on C Webb as anything other than a deep bench player, but I just have a hard time believing a guy like Dupree is a better choice for a roster spot than a guy like Webber, unless it’s based solely on cheerleading abilities in which case I think Dupree wins hands down.
Please Let WEBBER Go. Nothing personal, we just need to get younger and more agile, w/out him hogging up minutes.
Please Let WEBBER Go. Nothing personal, we just need to get younger and more agile, w/out him hogging up minutes.
i don’t care what they do find a slot for cwebb for one more season
Hopefully Joe D will bring back Webber sometime soon due to the trade which sent Nazr to the Charlotte Bobcats. Joe D said he does not want three veteran big men, and now we are down to two. I want to see Webber back in a Detroit uniform. The players we got in return for Nazr are getting paid NBA minimum, so I think Joe will bring him back soon.