In a tugging-the-heartstrings sort of reaction, it was easy to want to side with David Robinson in this contractual dispute with the San Antonio Spurs.

	Robinson isn't young, and he's no Webber, but he still has game.

After all, Robinson has donated millions of dollars to the community, has been an upstanding citizen at a time when those are in high demand, and has even won the coveted Sportsman of the Year award.

But, upon further reflection, what the San Antonio Spurs appeared to be doing was smart. Why not go after Chris Webber?

Why not try to solidify the foundation of your organization for the next decade?

Showing loyalty is one thing. Displaying stupidity is another.

Besides, as we are seeing in this latest rounds of negotiations before he eventually agreed to a deal on Thursday to a two-year deal, Robinson's benevolence came partially because he was so well-paid. Not that his charitable work should be diminished, but it should be noted that it comes with a caveat. Would Robinson be so generous if he was making $7 million as opposed to $14 million?

Anyway, when you really think about it, why would the Spurs not go after Webber?

Robinson wanted somewhere around the $14 million that just ended in the final year of his contract, right? Well, for what? I understand he stepped aside to allow Tim Duncan to develop, but that only made sense for the benefit of the team because Duncan was clearly the better player.

	Anderson

	Duncan

Had Robinson not stepped aside and created a problem about his ego being the main thing in San Antonio, he certainly would have been traded as quickly as one of Duncan's shots bank off the backboard.

But Robinson understood where he was in the context of career, health and talent level, and chose the wise course of action.

It is something he seems to have forgotten along the way, because he was asking $14 million when he is on the backside of his career, both talent-wise, health-wise and, if the playoffs last season are any indication, heart-wise.

And if the reports out of San Antonio are true and Robinson really did reject a $7.5 million offer from the Spurs originally, you have to wonder why the Spurs made the offer in the first place, rather than going after Webber initially and then coming back to Robinson if all else failed.

First off, Robinson did a disappearing act in the playoffs last season worthy of Barry Bonds. Not that him showing up would have mattered much in the ultimate outcome probably, but it certainly would have saved everybody else in San Antonio a lot of embarrassment -- and everybody else around the country a lot of time.

Webber is just coming into the prime of his career. He finally has developed a jump shot, some low post moves and he is not afraid -- as he once was -- to take over in the fourth quarter. He is not always successful, as we saw against the Lakers, but that is part of the learning process. At 28, Webber still has a lot of great basketball left in him, and it will only get better before it gets worse.

Duncan would probably have to move to center if Webber were to come on board, but because of Robinson's back, Duncan is playing center a lot of the time anyway. He certainly is skilled enough and big and strong enough to do it. Robinson, on the other hand, is about to turn 36, he has a chronically bad back and he has said he probably only has a couple of years left.

Then what, Duncan is left to hold down the Alamo with Malik Rose and Steve Kerr, while Robinson rides off into the sunset with his $14 million a year?

That's not going to happen, which is why Duncan signed a short-term deal last summer. Once Robinson goes, Duncan is gone, preferably back to Orlando -- where he probably would have gone had he known this was going to transpire this summer -- but if not, there are plenty of places that would love to have him.

Unless....

Unless the Spurs were able to land Webber, which they of course can't now.

That would have given San Antonio and its new arena a formidable front line for the next decade, assuming Duncan is enamored playing alongside Webber and he signs on for a contract extension that would take the duo close to 2010.

It would have given Duncan somebody who is hungry for a championship again, as opposed to somebody who is hungry for a fat paycheck.

Things would have had to have been worked out, of course, like maybe a sign-and-trade with the Sacramento Kings.

But picture this: Derek Anderson seemed unlikely to get the money he is looking for unless everything went back to the original plan and Robinson accepts $7.5 million, allowing the Spurs to then give Anderson $7 million or so.

	Christie

Up in Sacramento, Doug Christie is unhappy because he feels he is being treated unfairly with offers of only $5 million a year from the Kings. I'm not exactly sure when Christie became an all-star worthy of $8 million a year, but hey, who am I to question logic?

But you can see where I'm going. Just get the Kings and the Spurs to swap front-court players and a back-court players -- Robinson and Anderson for Webber and Christie -- and, voila, you've got yourself two happy cities with four happy players.

Of course, it is more difficult than "voila" to do, because of the looming luxury tax and base year compensation and every other thing that some lawyerly bean counter dreamed up in his spare time, but there is a possibility that it could work if Anderson and Christie are willing to accept less money.

And just think of the best part of Webber landing in Texas: It would almost reunite Webber and Juwan Howard again, considering Juwan is just down the road in Dallas.

Frank Hughes covers the NBA for the Tacoma (Wash.) News-Tribune. He is a regular contributor to ESPN.com.