Webber home again, to join Pistons today

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He arrived late -- fashionably late for the game and fairly late in his career. Chris Webber waited in the tunnel underneath the stands, watching the Pistons play the Timberwolves on television.

He didn't want to walk into the arena and cause a big uproar while the game was being played.

It was kind of funny.

When Chris Webber came home Monday, after all these years, he wanted another time-out.

Finally there was a time-out, and Webber walked in, and the crowd cheered, and the Pistons looked over to see what the fuss was about.

Chris Webber -- Detroiter, Birmingham Country Day alum and estranged University of Michigan star -- is about to become a Piston.

Free Press

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The moment Chris Webber emerged from the tunnel at the Palace on Monday afternoon, a fan seated above him yelled what a lot of metro Detroiters were undoubtedly thinking.

"Welcome home, Chris!" he bellowed.

Webber just smiled, as he did when he saw the gallery of cameras and reporters awaiting him, ready to chronicle the day the hometown great announced he would join the Pistons for this season's championship chase.

Free Press

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AUBURN HILLS -- Chris Webber confirmed Monday what Joe Dumars pretty much knew Jan. 4 -- the former Detroit Country Day and University of Michigan star wanted to come home and play for the Pistons.

It was that night, as the Pistons were in the process of beating the Hornets, Dumars got a call from Aaron Goodwin, Webber's agent.

"Joe, would you have any interest in Chris Webber?" Goodwin said.

"Yeah," Dumars said, "except he plays for the Sixers."

Detroit News

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Chris Webber cleared waivers Tuesday and signed a contract with the Pistons for the remainder of the season.

Joe Dumars, the Pistons’ president of basketball operations, said: “He embodies everything we try to stand for as a basketball team and as an organization. … He’s more than just a basketball player.”

Webber could be in the lineup Wednesday night against the Utah Jazz at the Palace. He will wear No. 84 – which he said a nephew selected for him. His usual jersey has been No. 4, but that belonged to Dumars and has been retired by the Pistons.

Webber met with the media in a late-afternoon news conference. Among his comments:

Free Press

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Audio: Chris Webber on why he chose to sign with the Pistons

More audio clips from Chris Webber's press conference

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AUBURN HILLS -- Joe Dumars was all set to explain to Chris Webber how things work around here. This was during their first conversation, after Webber had been bought out of his contract in Philadelphia and after he had notified Dumars he wanted to play for the Pistons.

Dumars started to make his spiel when Webber interrupted.

"He said, 'Look, I understand your system,' " Dumars recalled after the Pistons announced Webber's signing Tuesday afternoon. "He said, 'You don't have a one-star system. I am at a point in my career where I want to be surrounded by (a winning) environment. I don't want to be a savior. I know I will be one of five on the floor.' Before I could explain it to him, he explained it to me."

Detroit News

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Gallery: Chris Webber through the years

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SEATTLE - With nearly half the season completed, the Cavaliers have clawed their way to the top in the Eastern Conference. But rivals aren't standing pat.

The Detroit Pistons might have gotten significantly stronger on Tuesday by officially signing free agent forward Chris Webber, a salvo that certainly reached the Cavs up in the Pacific Northwest.

The Cavs started the week two games ahead of the Pistons in the standings, but all anticipate a battle not only for the Central Division but a potential playoff rematch as well.

Beacon-Journal

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The unemployment rate in Michigan just rose again. You might wonder why this unhappy fact slipped into a column about Chris Webber. Two reasons.

First, people in Michigan have enough problems, and they buy Pistons tickets to get away from them. They do not buy Pistons tickets to boo one of their own players for sins he committed as a teenager. This explains Webber's almost universally warm reception in his Pistons debut Wednesday night at the Palace.

Free Press

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Sure, Chris Webber played against coach Flip Saunders' system plenty during his time out West. And it's true many NBA playbooks are distinguishable only by what plays are called in each particular locale.

But don't expect Webber to waltz into the Pistons' rotation without some immediate discomfort.

Webber had only Wednesday's shoot-around to get acclimated before coming off the bench against the Utah Jazz. And there, he didn't do much besides shoot and try to soak in some play calls.

Afterward, he looked happy in his new Pistons warm-ups, but uneasy, too.

Free Press

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HILLS -- If one play in Wednesday's 100-99 loss to the Jazz defined what Chris Webber will mean to the Pistons, it was his pinpoint pass to a streaking Richard Hamilton for an easy layup attempt in the second quarter.

Hamilton missed the gimme, but the play is proof to why Webber, a Detroit native, was signed.

His ability to pass from the post and get teammates easy shots adds a dimension to an offense that was lacking.

Detroit News

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AUBURN HILLS -- Nervous? You think Chris Webber was nervous playing his first game in a Pistons uniform Wednesday?

You bet.

"Oh yeah, there were some nerves," he said. "There always are when you come home and play for a new team. But it felt really good. I just wanted to be as non-noticeable as possible. I told a couple of guys on the team that and we had a good laugh."

Webber, who hadn't played since Dec. 27, clearly was not in NBA game shape. After just one shoot-around under his belt, he was not familiar with the team's offensive or defensive systems. But he showed anyone who wanted to watch that he knows how to play.

Detroit News

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I like Webber way more than Nazr Muhammed. This guy is a beast.

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He says there are no differences between power forward, his former spot, and new position.

AUBURN HILLS -- In the past, Chris Webber was known as a power forward.

Put him in a Pistons uniform, and voila! He's a center.

"Our league has changed, has gone so much where there's not very many true centers," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said Tuesday. "I guess the East has the most right now, if you look at Shaq (O'Neal), (Zydrunas) Ilgauskas, Jermaine O'Neal, (Emeka) Okefor, Eddy Curry.

"The biggest thing is, you don't want to be overpowered. But Chris is smart defensively. With the ability of our other players to be able to help out, I don't foresee any problems."

Webber, at 6-foot-10, is nearly 2 inches taller than former Pistons center Ben Wallace, who is listed at 6-9. Webber's not concerned with the switch, saying it's more semantics than anything.

Detroit News

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AUBURN HILLS -- Chris Webber is taking a gamble.

But he's not the first aging NBA star to take such a calculated risk, forsaking personal gain for the chance to win a championship.

Bill Walton, Karl Malone, Spencer Haywood and Gary Payton -- to name a few -- have been in Webber's shoes.

They, too, have had serious injuries, labored on losing teams, and adjusted to the natural decline of their talents.

Webber, a Pistons center, stands at those crossroads. He has a history of significant knee injuries and never having reached the NBA Finals in his 13 previous seasons.

Detroit News