ducks
10-03-2003, 02:12 PM
Sacramento Kings open camp; injury may keep Webber out
Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A lot of new faces showed up Thursday afternoon for the Sacramento Kings media day.
Yet one of the most familiar faces around Arco Arena also was probably the most scrutinized _ and it wasn't about what Chris Webber will do on the court, but how long he'll be off it.
The Kings' perennial All-Star forward officially will be among a group of 18 players when the veterans start practicing. But in fact, Webber might not be practicing or playing for a while, thanks to offseason surgery on his left knee.
``At this point, I'm really not sure when I will come back,'' Webber said. ``If it was up to me, I would be back as soon as possible, but it's not my call.''
A 10-year veteran in his sixth season with the Kings, Webber has not been cleared to start running yet. Following surgery this summer to repair a torn meniscus and to clear up cartilage problems as well, Webber spent eight weeks on crutches.
It didn't help that he was in the news for other reasons. Webber pleaded guilty in a Detroit court to a charge of criminal contempt, admitting he lied under oath concerning the Ed Martin case. He was sentenced to perform 150 hours of community service over the next two summers.
``This was one of the hardest summers I've had for a lot of reasons,'' Webber said. ``It's been very frustrating. Hopefully, I'm going to get cleared to run soon.''
Webber's health is just one more issue to address for Kings coach Rick Adelman, who has a team coming back minus key ingredients Hedo Turkoglu, Scot Pollard and Jimmy Jackson. Turkoglu (San Antonio) and Pollard (Indiana) were traded in the offseason and Jackson, an important pickup last year, signed earlier this week as a free agent with Houston.
The Kings inherited some needed help inside, getting center Brad Miller from the Pacers. Miller will help aging Vlade Divac down low and so will another newcomer, Tony Massenburg. Free agent Anthony Peeler was the other key offseason addition for the Kings, who last year fell to the Dallas Mavericks during a seven-game series of the Western Conference semifinals.
Webber's knee collapsed on a trip down court in a Game 2 loss in Dallas. Without their best player, the Kings could not reach the conference finals a second straight season. Despite his importance to the team, Adelman says there will be no rush to get Webber back in the lineup.
``We're taking the approach, and Chris doesn't like it much, that we probably won't see him until December,'' Adelman said. ``I don't want him at 60 percent, that does us no good.''
The new players and the loss of Webber means Adelman will be experimenting in the eight preseason games, the first to be played at home Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Sacramento opens the regular season amid the hoopla, hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers Oct. 29 in the debut of high school sensation LeBron James. If Webber is out until December, he will miss the Kings first 16 games.
``I don't think we really know when Chris will be back,'' Adelman said. ``We'll have to do some experimenting in the exhibition season. We'll have to play Vlade and Brad together. I don't know if that will work, but it better, we don't have a lot of other choices.'' link (http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/gen/wire?messageId=24273208)
Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A lot of new faces showed up Thursday afternoon for the Sacramento Kings media day.
Yet one of the most familiar faces around Arco Arena also was probably the most scrutinized _ and it wasn't about what Chris Webber will do on the court, but how long he'll be off it.
The Kings' perennial All-Star forward officially will be among a group of 18 players when the veterans start practicing. But in fact, Webber might not be practicing or playing for a while, thanks to offseason surgery on his left knee.
``At this point, I'm really not sure when I will come back,'' Webber said. ``If it was up to me, I would be back as soon as possible, but it's not my call.''
A 10-year veteran in his sixth season with the Kings, Webber has not been cleared to start running yet. Following surgery this summer to repair a torn meniscus and to clear up cartilage problems as well, Webber spent eight weeks on crutches.
It didn't help that he was in the news for other reasons. Webber pleaded guilty in a Detroit court to a charge of criminal contempt, admitting he lied under oath concerning the Ed Martin case. He was sentenced to perform 150 hours of community service over the next two summers.
``This was one of the hardest summers I've had for a lot of reasons,'' Webber said. ``It's been very frustrating. Hopefully, I'm going to get cleared to run soon.''
Webber's health is just one more issue to address for Kings coach Rick Adelman, who has a team coming back minus key ingredients Hedo Turkoglu, Scot Pollard and Jimmy Jackson. Turkoglu (San Antonio) and Pollard (Indiana) were traded in the offseason and Jackson, an important pickup last year, signed earlier this week as a free agent with Houston.
The Kings inherited some needed help inside, getting center Brad Miller from the Pacers. Miller will help aging Vlade Divac down low and so will another newcomer, Tony Massenburg. Free agent Anthony Peeler was the other key offseason addition for the Kings, who last year fell to the Dallas Mavericks during a seven-game series of the Western Conference semifinals.
Webber's knee collapsed on a trip down court in a Game 2 loss in Dallas. Without their best player, the Kings could not reach the conference finals a second straight season. Despite his importance to the team, Adelman says there will be no rush to get Webber back in the lineup.
``We're taking the approach, and Chris doesn't like it much, that we probably won't see him until December,'' Adelman said. ``I don't want him at 60 percent, that does us no good.''
The new players and the loss of Webber means Adelman will be experimenting in the eight preseason games, the first to be played at home Tuesday against the Los Angeles Clippers.
Sacramento opens the regular season amid the hoopla, hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers Oct. 29 in the debut of high school sensation LeBron James. If Webber is out until December, he will miss the Kings first 16 games.
``I don't think we really know when Chris will be back,'' Adelman said. ``We'll have to do some experimenting in the exhibition season. We'll have to play Vlade and Brad together. I don't know if that will work, but it better, we don't have a lot of other choices.'' link (http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/gen/wire?messageId=24273208)