Hooped Up

After 10 days of buildup, the big do-over began Thursday night. Don Nelson’s mulligan. A second chance with Chris Webber.

There was drama. There was intrigue. There was concern.

And then the game started.

It was ugly.

“I didn’t see that coming,” Nelson said. “That was a horrible performance by us.”

Yes, the Warriors started their second chance with Webber the same way the team spent most of its 14 years without him - playing awful basketball. After a five-day layoff and plenty of rest, the Warriors lost to road-weary and injury-prone Chicago 114-108, proving Nelson’s point that they need help but not confirming that Webber is the help they need.

But you couldn’t blame any of the mess on Webber. He played only 13 minutes. He went 2 for 5 from the field, had one rebound, one steal and two assists.

“It felt good,” he said. “Not the results, but it felt good to be out there.”

San Jose Mercury News

On Chris Webber: Don Nelson wants him back. He even said so before Sunday’s 106-104 win over the New York Knicks: “I just hope that it happens, to be quite honest with you. Our team needs it.” They do need something extra. The Warriors may be as fun and frantic as ever, but they are again on the fringe of the playoff field. Believe Almighty Nellie. He’s not the NBA’s second-winningest coach by accident. Then again, maybe he’d already be atop the victory chart if only he and Webber hadn’t feuded 14 years ago and broken up the Warriors, a 50-win playoff team in 1993-94.

Contra Costa Times

Now that their franchise-center-in-training will be taking at least an eight-week break, the Lakers are perilously thin in the middle.

Kwame Brown has started 178 games in his seven-year career, and newly anointed backup Ronny Turiaf is more of a power forward.

In an update provided by a team source, Chris Mihm is at least two weeks from returning, if not longer, from a sore right Achilles tendon.

Thus, the Lakers are sifting through the free-agent bin and coming up with such names as Chris Webber, P.J. Brown, and DJ Mbenga.

The Lakers were intrigued by Webber a year ago and have been in contact with his representatives. They think he fits the mold of a triangle-offense player — good passer, good jump shot — but are concerned about his physical condition.

Webber, who will be 35 in March, has not played since last season. He averaged 11.2 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 29.9 minutes in 61 games with Philadelphia and Detroit but did not re-sign with the Pistons after their playoff run.

Los Angeles Times

For the first time in 16 years, former Sacramento Kings star Chris Webber opened the NBA season last October without a team. But in an exclusive interview Sunday, Webber told News10’s Bryan May that he will sign with a new club and be back on the court in a matter of days. “I’ll be back in two weeks playing basketball,” Webber said.

News10

The Pistons saved a ton of money (around $20 million) in a deal Friday that sent Nazr Mohammed to Charlotte for Primoz Brezec and Walter Herrmann. The contracts of both imported Bobcats are up at the end of this season, while Mohammed is owed more than $19 million over the three years beyond this one.

Mohammed didn’t get a lot of playing time for the Pistons but likely will move into the starting center spot for Charlotte. The Pistons had to release Ron Dupree to make room for the new twosome, and there is talk now that they could bring in Chris Webber for the veteran’s minimum without incurring the luxury tax.

Veteran power forward Chris Webber would strongly consider playing for the Orlando Magic if the two sides can come to an agreement on the size of his role with the team, according to a source close to the negotiations. The only potential holdup between a Magic-Webber marriage could be the 34-year-old power forward’s possible insistence that he remain a starter and play major minutes. It is unknown whether or not Webber would accept a reserve role with the Magic.

Florida Today

Really? Maybe I should have read the liner notes but Webber really is a hip hop producer. C-Webb produced the track “Blunt Ashes” on the latest Nas album, Hip Hop Is Dead.  I wonder if he’s produce Allen Iversons next album? Probably not.

Wikipedia