As a Warriors fan, I was admittedly rather surprised when I heard that the Dubs were considering bringing back Chris Webber. The whole concept seemed bizarre. The Dubs are a run and gun team and Webber is more or less operating on one leg now.

It seemed much more likely he’d return to the Pistons for one last run, primarily because the Pistons are closer to a title than the Dubs and because they play a plodding style of basketball more suitable to the near peg-legged Webber.

In addition to all that, Warriors coach Don Nelson and Webber famously feuded during Webber’s rookie 93-94 rookie season with the Dubs to the point that the team was forced to deal Webber to the Bullets the next season. The bone of contention was that Nelson wanted to make Webber play predominantly at center, something Webber wasn’t keen on.

So now C-Webb’s back to play for a man he used to loathe and to do a job he never wanted to do in the first place.

Makes perfect sense, right?

Well, yes and no. The truth is that the Dubs need someone else to help rebound. While they do have Andris Biedrins, one rebounder isn’t enough. Just look at last year’s playoff series against the Jazz for example.

The Dubs could also desperately use a semi-decent veteran to play some critical minutes so that fragile starters like Baron Davis can get some extra rest. Yes, a lineup of Biedrins, Harrington, Jackson, Ellis and Webber could give the Baron a few extra minutes of rest a night leaving him fresh for the final playoff push. Webber can also spell Biedrins on occasion, and Webber has the advantage of being a better passer and foul shooter than Biedrins.

But despite the potential gains, a lot of people – even here in the Bay Area – aren’t buying it.

They say Webber can’t run (true). That he’ll poison the locker room (maybe). That he’ll want lots of touches (possibly). That he’ll light the powder keg that is Stephen Jackson (well, in reality, anything could set him off).

These are all valid points.

But what other options do the Warriors have? Right now they’re probably a 6 to 8 seed in the Western Conference. They don’t want to mess up their chemistry and they don’t want to give away their players of the future – Ellis and Biedrins. So they take a flyer on a veteran player for a pro-rated $600,000 – even if he can’t run – and see if it works.

Besides, if Webber gets out of line he can be dumped instantly or brought back into line by the leaders of the team – Baron and Jackson.

But here’s the bottom line. If Webber plays well, maybe the Dubs duplicate what they did last year and make the second round of the playoffs before they get knocked out. Worst case scenario, Webber pisses people off and gets dumped quickly.

So why exactly was this deal made then?

I don’t know, maybe Don Nelson wanted to apologize to Webber in person. This move isn’t going to win the Warriors a championship, and it isn’t going to destroy them. All it’s likely to do is make them slightly better or slightly worse. While many of you may find fault in that logic, just remember this, most teams in the NBA don’t do anything. They just stand pat and keep stinking.

And hey, as a guy who watched the Warriors miss the playoffs for 13 straight years before last year’s epic run, a return to the second round doesn’t sound so bad.

And if Webber can still do this, all the better.