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SACRAMENTO -- Chris Webber, the biggest prize in the NBA's free agent sweepstakes, will re-sign with the Sacramento Kings.
Webber will receive the largest possible contract under league rules, nearly $123 million over seven years. The Kings will announce the signing with a 5 p.m. ET news conference on Saturday.
Owner Joe Maloof's ear-to-ear grin at Sacramento's training complex spoke volumes about the final stages of the Kings' exhaustive courtship of their star.
"We're very pleased and excited that Chris decided to stay,"
Maloof said. "We'll be able to build a team that will be very
successful for years to come."
Webber's decision ends a year of speculation on the talented
power forward's future. After examining many options and seriously
considering Indiana and Detroit, Webber apparently determined that
a return to Sacramento -- which seemed improbable when the regular
season ended -- was the best decision.
The Kings have said since last fall that they would offer Webber the maximum contract allowable. He will make $12.75 million next season. ESPN's David Aldridge reports that Webber's deal will be for seven years and $122.7 million. The contract includes a 15 percent trade
kicker if Webber is dealt and includes an out clause after five seasons.
Last season, Webber became the first Kings player in a
quarter-century to make the All-NBA team. He finished sixth in
scoring (27.1), seventh in rebounding (11.1) and 10th in minutes
per game (40.5), shooting 48 percent from the field as the first
option on the NBA's highest-scoring team.
The Kings began heavily recruiting Webber last season, with everything from a huge banner on Arco Arena reading "C-Webb's House!" to a billboard from owners Joe and Gavin Maloof, telling Webber that the millionaire casino magnates would mow his lawn if he stayed in Sacramento.
But Webber stuck to his decision to test the free agent market,
and most observers thought Webber's reticence to talk about his
future in Sacramento meant he was determined to play elsewhere. The
Kings' season ended with a second-round playoff loss to the Lakers
in which Webber played poorly and seemed distant to his teammates.
Earlier this month, 12 to 15 teams made pitches to Webber, but
few could meet the criteria necessary to land his services. Webber
said he wanted to play in a larger city than Sacramento with a team
that had a chance to contend for a title.
The New York Knicks -- reportedly Webber's first choice -- had
neither the cap room nor the players to make a sign-and-trade deal
feasible. Other teams, including Orlando, pulled out of the
sweepstakes after signing other free agents.
Faced with a rapidly narrowing set of options, Webber chose to return to a winning team with fans, coaches and owners who desperately wanted to keep him in town.
Three years ago, it was almost impossible to imagine Webber
enjoying a future in Sacramento.
Webber was acquired by Sacramento from Washington in a trade for
Mitch Richmond in 1998, and Webber nearly didn't report to his new
team in the hinterlands of Northern California.
After cajoling from his father, Webber joined the Kings -- and
almost immediately, he helped to lead the perennially losing team
steadily up the Western Conference's standings.
With Webber as their leading scorer and rebounder, the Kings
made the playoffs in each of the past three seasons. He seemed
comfortable in coach Rick Adelman's run-and-gun style, and he
quickly bonded with his teammates.
In 2000-01, Sacramento posted the league's fourth-best record at
55-27 -- easily the team's best mark since moving to Northern
California in 1985 -- and advanced to the second round of the
playoffs for the first time in two decades.
With Webber on their roster, the Kings must be considered one of
the NBA's elite teams again next season. Sacramento, which
re-signed guard Doug Christie on Wednesday, also added point guard
Mike Bibby in a trade with the Grizzlies last month.
"He puts us back in the upper echelon of all the teams out
there," Christie said. "If he doesn't come back, we'll have to
find other ways. We can do that, but I really think he would be
best off coming back here and winning a championship with us."
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