By Billy Syken

Philadelphia story
Has Webber trade started to pay off for Sixers?

So the other night I met my friend Andrew for a drink after work. We have known each other since 1991, when we went to journalism school together. He is a television news producer. We met at a midtown bar called the Pig & Whistle -- it's not as nice as it sounds.

We exchange greetings. It's the first time I've seen him in months. He tells me a few words about how his wife and daughter are doing. And then we spend the next hour arguing. Uninterrupted. Back and forth. Round and round. I'm right, you're wrong.

The source of the conflict:

My favorite basketball player is Allen Iverson.

His is Chris Webber.

These preferences are not recently arrived at or lightly held. I grew up near Philadelphia. Andrew went to Michigan.

Our argument started when he asked if I was feeling better about the Webber trade. The last time I saw Andrew was right after the Sixers acquired Webber, and I hadn't been too excited. I told Andrew I was more convinced than ever the trade was going to ruin the rest of Iverson's career.

It was on now.

He pointed out that Webber is averaging almost 20 points and 10 rebounds a game, even though he isn't the primary offensive option on the team.

I said the real problem with Webber is his defense. The Minnesota game on Sunday, for example, was an embarrassment.

He said the Sixers held Minnesota to 84 points and Kevin Garnett, Webber's guy, to 13 points on 5-for-15 shooting. And that Garnett did nothing in the fourth quarter.

I said that in the first half the Minnesota guards were driving uncontested through the lane. If Marko Jaric got past the first line of defense, no interior player stepped in to meet him. He said that was Samuel Dalembert's job.

I said that Webber was 4 for 16 against Minnesota.

He said that Webber made a key 3-pointer with just more than a minute to go, and would have had another key basket if Dalembert hadn't committed offensive interference.

said Webber shoots too much. The team's young players, especially Andre Igoudala, are having their growth stunted because Webber is taking away their shots.

He said it's Iverson who shoots too much.

I said the Sixers are better when Iverson shoots a lot and he is surrounded by players who shoot when needed and are committed to defense and rebounding -- that is how they got to the Finals in 2001. A player like Webber, who wants 20 shots, messes up the geometry.

He said Webber is shooting less than ever in Philadelphia. He is sacrificing his game to help the team win. Webber is all about winning.

I said that Webber has never taken a team to the NBA Finals.

He said Iverson's one trip to the finals is overrated. The East was weak that year. Webber's Sacramento teams played the Lakers harder. The Kings took the Lakers to seven games in the playoffs -- and would have won if not for horrible officiating and a miracle 3-pointer from Robert Horry. When Iverson's 76ers met the Lakers in the playoffs, they lost 4-1.

He also pointed out that Iverson's career won-loss record is worse than Webber's. I asked, if Webber is so wonderful, why has he been traded three times?

He said Jason Kidd has been traded twice, and Shaq has moved twice too. He blamed the first trade on Don Nelson's misguided desire for a traditional big man, the second on Webber's off-the-court problems in Washington, and the third on Sacramento wanting to unload his contract.

He also pointed out that Sacramento had been losing for years before Webber got there and is a losing team again now that he's gone. And that Sacramento fans gave Webber a big ovation when he returned to town.

He then questioned Iverson's leadership. He said a leader doesn't walk off the floor before the game is over, like Iverson did against the Nets last week. Randy Moss walked off the field with two seconds left in Minnesota and caught hell for it. Iverson walked off and no one cared.

I said that Iverson is a classic Philly guy. He takes the game, if anything, too seriously. The team had played horribly against the Nets. Everyone understood that Iverson walked off because he cared too much, not too little.

Andrew said that Iverson should love having Webber on his team, because Webber gives him the best chance to win a title.

I said Iverson probably hates having Webber there because he sees all the problems I see and knows that Webber, with his contract, isn't going anywhere. Iverson will spend the remaining productive years of his career stuck in an unworkable situation.

After about an hour of this -- there was more, and we came back to several points repeatedly -- Andrew said he had an early parent-teacher conference the next morning. He went home to his wife and daughter, and I didn't. We parted ways having caught up barely at all.

And it left me thinking, if Iverson and Webber think half these things about each other, the 76ers are really in trouble.

I e-mailed Andrew the next day, asking him if he would mind if I wrote about our conversation. He was fine with it. He asked me to add that Webber has a higher career shooting percentage than Iverson, that the refs like Iverson much more than Webber, and if not for the fashion innovations of Webber and the Fab Five, Iverson and the rest of the NBA would still be wearing '80s-style short shorts. "Can you imagine what Iverson would look like in those shorts now?"


Link: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writ...index.html
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