On Wed, 21 Jul 2004 22:51:16 -0700, "DaveL" <dave1027.RemoveThis@comcast.net>
wrote:
>"Sports Fan" <sports.RemoveThis@fan.home> wrote in message
>news:pb2uf0p2qai7s564a4olb1e3v9v4mvbql7@4ax.com...
>>
>> Exactly.
>> Most of the hardcore Kings fans are.
>> They booed Webber until he started thinking about being traded.
>> And they will do the same for anyone who plays for them.
>>
>> What a classless fan base that the team retired a jersey in their
>> "honor", really.
>>
>>
>
>
>They were not booing Webber, they were booing Adelman.
>
Maybe this article can help.
http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/8672837p-9600679c.html
Boobirds sending Webber to brink
Those close to the Kings forward say he might ask for a trade if fans
don't stop jeering him at games.
By Scott Howard-Cooper -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PST Sunday, March 28, 2004
Chris Webber, while publicly downplaying the impact of being booed by
Kings fans, is privately so hurt by the response, it could push the
power forward to ask for a trade after the season if the negative
reactions continue.
Webber will not comment on the potential implications of the harsh
treatment he received twice in the six home games since he returned from
a serious knee injury and an NBA package suspension, saying he wants to
avoid distractions and stay focused on the final push of the regular
season, then the playoffs. It's known, however, that the team co-captain
and five-time All-Star is bothered more than he's letting on, to the
point of uncertainty about his future in Sacramento.
Webber has already hinted that the early feedback is also creating a
chasm on his side, telling a group of reporters after the latest
incident that "it definitely changes my focus, my outlook." It was left
at that.
Pressed later, Webber wouldn't expand on his comment. He did
acknowledge, when asked about the responses to his occasional early
struggles, that "I'm very disappointed. And I'm shocked."
Because he feels betrayed by the same fans that once strongly backed
him?
"I feel more disappointed," Webber said. "It actually hurts. It's more
than betrayed."
It's also deeper. People close to Webber said he has already vented to
some friends and family members, complete with the bottom line that he
has no desire to play the rest of his career against the backdrop of an
ever-shifting love-hate Arco Arena association. That would become too
draining and a great distraction.
So far, there have been no conversations with management about Webber's
future, sources have confirmed, and it wouldn't matter anyway. The trade
deadline passed Feb. 19.
But people close to Webber caution he could be pushed away, or at least
moved to ask for a trade, if the relationship with fans remains in the
same state of tension that has developed this month. The option is
prominent enough, insiders note, that Webber has already considered
addressing the issue with Kings owners Joe and Gavin Maloof or president
of basketball operations Geoff Petrie in the summer.
What happens from there is impossible to gauge, it being months away
from happening and maybe not at all, and even then depending on how the
playoffs finish and the health of Webber's left knee. Also, the biggest
unknown is what will happen the rest of the season between Webber and
the same fans who once serenaded him at a home game to rejoin the Kings
as a free agent and then packed a downtown plaza to celebrate with him
when he did sign.
Straining the union are the expectations of a contract worth $122.7
million over seven seasons, a series of Webber injuries and playoff
letdowns, and the league's eight-game suspension in February for
violating the anti-drug policy and pleading guilty to one count of
criminal contempt of court. When Webber finally returned to action March
2, after missing the first 58 games, it was to overwhelming cheers at
Arco, and he responded with three impressive outings.
The next home game, March 9, Webber missed 19 of 21 shots and was booed.
He entered the March 21 Houston game averaging 18.7 points, nine
rebounds and 4.5 assists, solid numbers for anyone and very encouraging
for a player coming off a serious knee injury. But that night, he was
booed again while making just 4 of 18 attempts.
Webber could have handled a negative response in the first game, if fans
had voiced their displeasure at his off-court decisions that led to the
suspension. It never came.
He could have dealt with the pressure and expectations - he has done
that since high school and even stared down one legendary mistake, when
Webber called a timeout Michigan didn't have in the NCAA championship
game, by naming his charitable group the Timeout foundation.
What hit Webber was fans turning on him so quickly while coming back
from a major injury, not to mention while playing well on the whole. In
the three appearances before the March 9 debacle against Golden State,
he had averaged 24 points and nine rebounds and shot 50.9 percent. Two
days before facing the Rockets, he contributed 24 points, 16 rebounds
and eight assists as the Kings beat the Eastern Conference-leading
Indiana Pacers on the road.
In all, Webber is at 18.1 points, 9.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game
while down to 41.3 percent shooting from the field. That accuracy rating
is the only statistic taking a major hit during Webber's search to
regain his timing, but he's also taking the same shots that had resulted
in his being named All-NBA (first-, second-or third-team) five straight
times. His defense is a much bigger problem, with Webber clearly not
fluid moving on the left leg, but opponents were running layup lines on
the Kings long before he returned.
The specter of his uncertain future comes, curiously, at the very time
Webber has never felt more part of Sacramento. He's planning an addition
to his Granite Bay home, feels a special bond with a close locker room,
and is considering switching his official residence from Michigan, his
home state, to California. He even talks about living here, at least
part time, after retiring, from whatever team with which he finishes his
career.
>> Stay informed about: Kings offer 4 million to Ostertag but only 2.5 to Vlade? 
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