Webber to the W's

Various sources are reporting that the Warriors (or at least Don Nelson) are pushing hard to try and sign Chris Webber for the remainder of the season. Reaction to this possibility from local sports columnists seems to range from cautiously enthusiastic (hey, the Warriors need front-court depth and who wouldn't want to join one of the feel-good stories of the NBA right now) to the overwhelmingly negative (that clubhouse cancer? On the W's? with Don Nelson? Are you fucking kidding me?).

For an example of the cautious optimist see Warrior fan Adam Laurisden's blog on the SJ Mercury News website, for the generally negative view see SJ Mercury News Warriors beat writer Tim Kawakami's take here.

My first instinct was to go with the cautiously optimistic pundits on this one, because the W's do legitimately need some front-court depth and it really does seem like Nellie has the team completely behind him and will be able to overcome any C-Dubb grumblings that might (probably will?) come up. But Kawakami is a don (the don) when it comes to covering the Warriors; there's a reason I'm linking to his column when the Chronicle usually provides by far the best local sports coverage for the bay. And after reading his take I have to agree with him: the Warriors do need to add front court depth, but it needs to be with someone who fits in with the overall system and who definitely won't screw up the team's chemistry. Webber might provide a badly needed inside offensive presence for Golden State's half-court sets, but is that worth the risk of messing up the team unity that has carried the Warriors since last April?

The way the Warriors are currently built they are only going to make the playoffs (and advance in the playoffs) if they play active defense and get hot shooting the ball. The argument for Webber relies on the idea that he will help the W's if they get into a slowdown half court game by giving them a legit inside threat offensively, but the truth is Webber is going to get DESTROYED against any legit competition like Boozer, Amare, a healthy Bynum, Duncan, Dwight Howard, etc. Adding Webber might give them some decent offensive firepower inside against the dregs of the NBA (e.g. every eastern conference team besides the Celtics, Pistons, Cavs, and Wizards), but the Warriors are going to need to compete against the best if they're going to remain in the playoff picture, and Webber is not going to help them do that. The Warriors inside defense is actually better than most people give them credit for (especially when Biedrins does his best Dennis Rodman impression and picks up 26!!! boards), and Webber has never been a great defender anyway. Barring a ridiculous trade that lands them someone like Rasheed Wallace they're never going to be able to match-up offensively down low: whether or not they sign Webber the W's are only going to win if they make other teams play their game.

All that having been said, the way the W's magic has been going over the last 8-9 months it wouldn't surprise me if Webber signs, starts averaging 17-8 and powers the W's to a 50 win season. I still think their front-court problems would be better addressed by signing Rod Benson (not really, but this needs to happen if only because his already awesome blog will instantly become legendary if he signs in Oakland) but for now we'll just have to sit back and see what happens.

Your youtube video of the day: Webber during his original stint on the W's with a pretty ridiculous dunk on Charles Barkley.