He loves you, he loves you not. He loves you, he loves you not.

	Would Webber return to a town with little playoff success?

Wait a minute. That's Chris Webber we're talking about.

So: He loves you, he loves you. He loves you, he loves you.

And you and you and you.

Those goo-goo eyes flying between Webber and his many suitors during the regular season, when it was sometimes tough to know for sure exactly who was flirting with whom, will be nothing compared to the chase that begins when he becomes a free agent July 1 and they finally get to match his interest. They also get to start talking dollars and sense, instead of having their players (Latrell Sprewell, Jalen Rose) do the bidding for them while pushing David Stern's patience.

This is a critical time of the NBA year, so consider this your update: There is none.

Very little has changed since February, when Webber spoke fondly of (in no particular order) half the cities in the NBA and a few in other leagues, either not wanting to hurt anyone's feelings when reporters asked about whatever place they live and not wanting to reduce his own options. The Kings are still very much in the picture. The Pistons are intriguing because they have massive cap room to get a lot better in a hurry and because it's tough not to be pulled to play in your hometown. The Magic, the Rockets, the Knicks, and on and on.

He has done only a few interviews since Sacramento was eliminated in the second round and given even fewer hints about his direction. There have been no firm answers on how many places he will visit before making his decision, only the same sound bites about this being a tough decision. So anyone who says they have a firm handle on what's going on should not be believed.

So here's what's going on.

	Francis

	Outlaw

Webber is surveying the NBA landscape and seeing he has few options. The Knicks will try to do a sign-and-trade, but he won't be thrilled with the idea of going to a team that just had to trade two of its best players to acquire him, although we can report with confidence that Manhattan has no plans to deal any of its soul food restaurants or night life, so the appeal remains. The Magic will try to do a sign-and-trade and can begin any such talks, for Webber or Antonio Davis, with Rookie of the Year Mike Miller, rebounding specialist Bo Outlaw and a slew of future first-rounders, but the last thing the Kings need is another wing player. The Rockets will offer available money under the cap in a place that does not have a state income tax and does have a competitive starting lineup (Steve Francis, Cuttino Mobley, lottery pick Eddie Griffin), but any scenario that will involve the possibility of Webber having to play center won't go over well.

The Kings?

Your favorite fastbreaking team will stand by this time.

Webber knows their max contract offer, their town, their new training facility adjacent to Arco Arena, their plane -- all the things the other teams will show Webber when he visits. Unless the brothers Maloof who own the team plan to build a night life, Sacramento has been making its proposal to Webber for years. This is the place where his career developed, although Webber is always quick to point out that after the slap of the trade from Washington, the motivation was so strong that he would have turned into the same player no matter the location. This is the organization that wants him to be front and center in every way; Joe Maloof said they tried "about five times" to reach Webber for his input Wednesday afternoon and evening as the Jason Williams-Mike Bibby trade was being considered, a deal that went through despite the inability to get Webber's input and despite the bounds of common sense that somehow escaped the Grizzlies.

	Bibby

	Williams

How that move plays into Webber's thinking was not immediately known. He and Williams were good friends -- there was a time that Webber was the only King who could reach the enigmatic point guard, and we don't mean by phone, before even that had changed by the end of 2000-01 -- but Webber had also grown increasingly frustrated at Williams' lack of commitment to improve. The trade unquestionably makes Sacramento a better team, and a safer place to be if you want to sit in the first four rows at Arco without fear of passes that look fun on "SportsCenter" but real bad heading toward that container of nacho cheese resting on your lap. Whether it makes Sacramento a better place for Webber, though, can not be gauged.

	“	He's the one that is going to drive the ship, in terms of how he evaluates his choices, what he wants to talk about and when he wants to talk about it. ”
		— Kings president of basketball operations Geoff Petrie

"I don't want to put words in his mouth," said Geoff Petrie, the Kings president of basketball operations, "but we also feel he'll think that Mike Bibby is a terrific young point guard."

Don't want to put anything in his mouth? The Kings will barely put anything anywhere near Webber.

They will call when the big hand hits FREE AGENT and the little hand reaches BANK vault and they will pursue, but they won't push. That is the plan.

If he wants to come in for breakfast Sunday, they'll bring the doughnuts.

If he wants to check out Houston and Orlando and New York, officially this time, they'll be waiting when he comes back. In case, you know, he needs a lift from the airport.

"He's the one that is going to drive the ship, in terms of how he evaluates his choices, what he wants to talk about and when he wants to talk about it," Petrie said. "We'll go on his timetable ... We have obviously developed a relationship over the last three years. There's going to be things to be discussed. But not a lot of new things. He knows everything."

Scott Howard-Cooper covers the NBA for the Sacramento Bee and is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.