European teams are no longer content stealing the NBA's low-hanging fruit. No, they're trying to snag Chris Webber, who may be past his prime but is probably the best available big man unsigned in the NBA. Webber has been linked in rumors for months with the likes of Dallas, Detroit and even Phoenix, but today ESPN's Chris Sheridan reports that Greek powerhouse Olympiakos has upped the ante by offering a two-year deal rumored to be worth between $10 million and $12 million.According to Sheridan, Webber had been leaning toward re-signing with the Pistons, which is a huge surprise considering they're pressed up against the luxury tax and have one too many contracts as it is. But apparently Webber was going to wait until "a month or two" after the start of the regular season so the Pistons could clear some room with a trade.
But even if that were to happen, the most Webber could get is the veteran's minimum, which is only $1.2 million. That pales in comparison to the $5-6 million he could earn each year with Olympiakos, which would make him the highest paid American in Europe. Bear in mind, though, Webber is hardly hurting for cash, especially considering the Sixers bought out the last year and a half of his contract, essentially giving him somewhere in the neighborhood of $30 million to simply go away.
But still, he might be able to use this offer as incentive for a team like Dallas to up their offer, perhaps convincing them to add a few extra dollars and an extra year, which they had no incentive to do before considering the overall lack of competition for his services.
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Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. Webber is like the Herschel Walker of the NBA. You think of their careers as disappointments, and yet, when you look at their stats, they're suprisingly good. Webber is/was a very good power forward. He was supposed to be one of the best ever.
Posted at 6:17PM on Sep 28th 2007 by nickstoli
2. Webber has been getting paid to play ball since he was in freakin junior high...Of course he's going with the $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$.....End of story
Posted at 6:36PM on Sep 28th 2007 by The U is Dead
3. The numbers here seem a bit inflated, but this type of move is going to happen more and more. The confusion is that people think it's all to do with decreasing gap in standards/relative wealth of the leagues...no no, it's more to do with the weak dollar.
Hell, look at this latest news:
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/070928/dollar.html?.v=15 'Dollar hits record low against euro"
As every sodding pundit has said: it's the economy, stupid
Posted at 12:01AM on Sep 29th 2007 by charlie
4. When the chips were down last year, Weber disappeared. Slow, no defense to speak of. Cav players were running past him like he was standing still. Repeatedly missed short shots. Got lots of foul calls and then sat on bench.
Pistons are better with Mohammed.
Posted at 2:49AM on Sep 29th 2007 by houchens
5. I Think that San Antonio Spurs,is the best team for Chris this time,in order to get a ring...
Posted at 1:20PM on Sep 29th 2007 by John
6. hey everybody, olympiakos greece seems to be the best option for chris' career, money cash and the european ring of euroleague are very important and don't forget that chris will be the king of athens... a big reception is waiting for him
Posted at 10:21AM on Oct 1st 2007 by pep
7. The numbers are true and not at all inflated and keep in mind the taxation is different(lower) in E.U. so he will get more money in his hand. Anyway perhaps no good for the NBA though hope he ll come
Posted at 10:21AM on Oct 1st 2007 by Panos