Webber gets 5 games for substance abuse violation; 3 for contempt.

[OutletPass]

ESPN.com news services
SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The Sacramento Kings activated Chris Webber from the injured list Monday, but the star forward will have to serve an NBA suspension before he can return to the lineup. The Sacramento Bee reported Monday that the NBA will suspend Webber for eight games without pay for lying to a federal grand jury and for violating the league's substance abuse policy.

--The report on the Radio says that he got 5 games for "substance abuse".

--Something wrong (or strange) with the way that the radio is reporting it...they're saying that this is ON TOP OF the 6 that he's already gotten. If true, that would be 14 games...

--Right now, print and radio are in conflict.

[bernardos70]

Sacramento would be smart to activate him about a week before they think he should be, so that he doesn't miss any more games. I wonder if that's what they did.

[OutletPass]

It's 8. This is from NBA.COM


Power forward will be eligible to play March 2 vs. Clippers
Kings’ Webber Suspended for Eight Games

NEW YORK, Feb. 17 –- The NBA announced today that Chris Webber has been suspended without pay for eight games. Webber was suspended for five games for violating the terms of the NBA/NBPA Anti-Drug Program. As a separate matter, Webber also received a three-game suspension for being convicted of criminal contempt in violation of federal law. Webber's suspension will begin with tonight's game between the Sacramento Kings and the Boston Celtics at ARCO Arena.

[SaltwaterChaffy]

Originally posted by: bernardos70
Sacramento would be smart to activate him about a week before they think he should be, so that he doesn't miss any more games. I wonder if that's what they did.

He has been activated by the Kings, so he can start serving his suspension. This gives them 24 regular season games to get him worked back into the system before the playoffs.

We Mavs fans should know how hard it is to work a new player into a system. Their advantage is, he knows the system, but how will he and Brad Miller co-exist?

[bernardos70]

Originally posted by: SaltwaterChaffy

He has been activated by the Kings, so he can start serving his suspension. This gives them 24 regular season games to get him worked back into the system before the playoffs.

That's what I meant, is he ready to play now or in 8 or so games' worth? If I was the kings I'd activate him roughly 8 games before he could actually play..... he'd be serving the suspension, but he wouldn't be ready to play anyway, so it wouldn't matter. I wonder if that's what the Kings did.

[Chiwas]

If I were the Kings, I would leave Webber in the IL or not play him.

[seelenjaeger]

He cannot serve his suspension on IL.

[Chiwas]

Yeah, but I wouldn't play him in any way. The system of the Kings has worked pretty fine so far that to introduce a potential disturbance could be a mistake. Maybe several games from the bench for few minutes till he can adjust to the system, not allowing him to modify it.

(Hope Adelman does not read this thread [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img])

[seelenjaeger]

Well, either Brad Miller (down already) or Divac might disappear in the Playoffs for one reason or another, and you might ...

Hmm. It´s Webber. You better not count on him filling in if someone falters, so maybe you´re right Chiwas ... [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img]

[Chiwas]

Webb already served his 8 games suspension.

It'll be interesting to see if he will be starting the next game, just playing some minutes from the bench, or not playing at all.

[MavsFanFinley]

Webber not eligible in high school, school asked to forgo titles

March 1, 2004

DETROIT (AP) -- Chris Webber should not have been allowed to play high school basketball because of his relationship with a former Michigan booster, according to the Michigan High School Athletic Association.

The Sacramento Kings star violated his amateur standing and was ineligible during the time he played at Detroit Country Day, the governing body said Sunday.

The association left it up to the school to decide whether to forfeit games in which Webber played, including three state championship titles.

The association's executive director has urged the school to forfeit the championships it won with Webber and recommended the executive committee strike the team and Webber's performance from its basketball records. But the executive committee decided to delete only references to Webber.

``I suggested to them that they voluntarily forfeit,'' Jack Roberts, executive director of the MHSAA, said Monday. ``That would be the most appropriate.''

Martin, who died last year, said he gave Webber and his family $280,000 from 1988-93, a period extending from his freshman year of high school through his sophomore season at Michigan. Webber left for the NBA after helping the Wolverines reach the NCAA title game in both his college seasons.

Webber was sentenced to community service last summer after pleading guilty to criminal contempt for lying to a grand jury about his dealings with Martin.

A message left with Webber's agent Monday was not immediately returned.

Country Day disagrees with the MHSAA that Webber's amateur standing was violated. The school said Monday it was studying the situation.

Martin gave $616,000 in illicit benefits to Webber, Robert Traylor, Maurice Taylor and Louis Bullock -- who all starred at Michigan.

[Chiwas]

[img]i/expressions/musicnote.gif[/img]

I close my eyes
Only for a moment, then the momen't gone
All my dreams
Pass before my eyes, a curiosity
Dust in the wind
All they are is dust in the wind

Same old song
Just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do
Crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see
Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind, ohh

Now, don't hang on
Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away
And all your money won't another minute buy
Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind

Dust in the wind
Everything is dust in the wind
Everything is dust in the wind
The wind

[img]i/expressions/musicnote.gif[/img]

[Chiwas]

We said it here 2 weeks ago....in one way or another

Ailene Voisin: Webber is better off as a reserve
By Ailene Voisin -- Bee Sports Columnist
Published 2:15 a.m. PST Friday, March 12, 2004


This Chris Webber experiment?
Scrap it.

Time to get back to basics, to the original starting five.

Were this the preseason, when coaches typically tinker with the ingredients to determine the most effective lineup, incorporating Webber back into the system would be little more than an intellectual exercise to be analyzed throughout an 82-game season.

But preseason was long ago, and the postseason is not far away. With the Kings attempting to capture the league's best record - and the homecourt edge for the playoffs - this is well past the time to figure out exactly what Webber can do, when he can do it, and whether his surgically repaired left knee can withstand the torment of nightly scrums in NBA arenas.
The 6-foot-10, 245-pound veteran remains a work in progress, an oft-injured mystery man whose marvelous talents tantalize nightly.

Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the current state of his game. Before Thursday's solid outing against the defenseless Dallas Mavericks, his previous four performances offered a peek at a near future that can only be characterized as a period of tremendous highs and lows, encouraging strides and discouraging setbacks, culminating in equal parts uncertainty and frustration for all concerned.

One night he dominates, the next he labors.

One night he contributes late, the next not at all.

One night he is cheered during introductions, then moments later booed while hobbling noticeably during a horrendous 2-for-21 performance.

"He (Webber) is invaluable for the different things he brings to our team," guard Doug Christie said. "Whether his shot is going or not, we are going to stick with him through the good and the bad times. I thought Chris moved pretty good out there tonight."

That's the problem. The good, the bad, the confusion. Webber's latest game only compounds the situation. For the first time since his season debut against the Clippers, he ran gingerly but more fluidly, passed the ball crisply, connected on his jump shots, grabbed rebounds and once even exploded for a one-handed reverse jam.

But for his next move: Can he rebound tonight in Portland?

Webber, 31, who was held out against Orlando on Sunday, is expected to play his first back-to-back game against the Trail Blazers, and based on his troubles these past several days, serious uncertainty lingers. Other NBA players who have undergone similar microfracture procedures, in which a surgeon drills into bone to encourage the development of scar tissue to replace the damaged (and removed) cartilage, speak with one voice of lingering discomfort, repeated disappointment, nagging self-doubt.

Additionally, some of the NBA's orthopedists cite age 30 as the outer limits for a full recovery - and doubt that Webber will ever be healthy enough to contribute major minutes, on a superstar level, on a long-term basis.

So why subject the Kings to further disruption when, during their star's 58-game absence, they snatched the league's best record, boasted the NBA's most creative scoring unit of Vlade Divac, Brad Miller, Peja Stojakovic, Mike Bibby and Christie and, though the defense remains erratic, maintained a dominance on the road?

These were the Kings, the league-leading Kings: Vlade passing. Peja scoring. Bibby leading. Christie hawking. Miller fighting.

Miller, the Kings' latest offseason coup, eased into the starting lineup, walked right into Webber's huge sneakers and provided interior defense, rebounding, toughness and shooting and passing, too. He accomplished all this without missing a beat, or more importantly, a chunk of time.

And that's what this is all about.

Being there. Being there nightly. In recent seasons, Rick Adelman's players have learned to survive and, at times, even thrive without their best player.

This is not Webber's fault; it just is.

Yet given that this most recent injury is by far the most serious of his career and that the long-term projection is not altogether clear, restoring the original starting unit and bringing Webber off the bench - at least until the state of his health is clarified - would prove beneficial for a few reasons: It jump-starts Divac into initiating the offense and ensuring quick starts, it precludes the other starters from engaging in old habits and standing around whistling while the evolving Webber works, and it also allows Webber to get back to his old tricks against the opponent's reserves.

Because, ultimately, while Webber's presence is vital to any championship hopes, there is nothing to say that he can't contribute off the bench, with his minutes based on his physical condition that particular night.

Webber, the starter, would be a heck of a sub.

[4cwebb]

This article has been discussed widely on kings forums...I don't really think the writer is correct. While it may not be the most enviable of reasons, CWebb would probably receive a big bruise to his ego if he were asked to come off of the bench, something he probably hasn't done is over 15 years. Right or wrong, I think Adelman has to put his players in the best position to succeed, both individually and as a team, and I think CWebb starting fits both of those goals. Not to mention that the Kings are only 7 games into the CWebb experiment, and they are 5 and 2 at present, both losses coming on the road at places where the Kings always play poorly (Miami and Dallas).

[bernardos70]

Originally posted by: 4cwebb
Not to mention that the Kings are only 7 games into the CWebb experiment, and they are 5 and 2 at present, both losses coming on the road at places where the Kings always play poorly (Miami and Dallas).

Huh?? Is this foreshadowing?[img]i/expressions/moon.gif[/img]
(IIRC After webber came back he hasn't played against Dallas in Dallas)