Tag: 2009-10 NBA season (Page 34 of 61)

      Arenas doesn’t feel the Wizards have supported him

      January 15, 2010 /

      Get this — Gilbert Arenas feels disrespected by the Washington Wizards. Per the Washington Post…

      A person close to Arenas said Thursday that Arenas believes President Ernie Grunfeld and the Wizards management failed to support him following his locker room confrontation on Dec. 21 with teammate Javaris Crittenton.

      Arenas, the person close to the player said, has told NBA investigators that his flippant behavior following the incident, including the pantomiming of pistols before a game that led to an indefinite suspension from Stern, was because he felt the Wizards organization had turned its back on him.

      “If your own franchise, the people you considered family, weren’t there for you when you needed them most, would you want to play for them and be around them anymore?” said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Arenas “was wrong for bringing guns into the locker room, and it’s going to mean pleading guilty to a felony. It’s serious business. But the way this came out and how Ernie and the organization handled the facts makes you wonder if he will ever play for them again.”

      Let me get this straight: This clown brings guns into his place of business, threatens (jokingly or not) a teammate over a gambling debt, and expects the team to “support” him? When they don’t live up to his expectations, he mocks the situation during pregame festivities and them blames the organization’s lack of support for his complete lack of tact (and common sense)?

      A quote later in the story sums it up best…

      “Until Gilbert realizes none of this would have happened if he hadn’t brought guns in the locker room and accepts responsibility for his actions, he won’t be welcomed back anywhere,” said an NBA official on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation.

      The Wizards need to do everything they can to void Arenas’s contract. They’ve already paid him $40 million of a deal worth $121 million, so it’s not like he’s going to walk away with nothing.

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      Arenas charged with felony, reaches plea deal

      January 15, 2010 /

      Per FoxSports.com…

      Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas was charged with felony gun possession on Thursday in connection with a Dec. 21 locker room confrontation with a teammate.

      Prosecutors charged Arenas with one count of carrying a pistol without a license, which carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison. But Arenas reached a plea deal that could result in much less or even no jail time, according to the Washington Post.

      Over on TrueHoop, J.A. Adande speculates (prior to the plea deal being announced) that the Wizards will want to terminate Arenas’s contract.

      As far as criminal behavior, there have been countless misdemeanors that have received only minor suspensions from the league, including a seven-game suspension for Stephen Jackson for firing a gun outside an Indianapolis strip club in 2006.

      A felony charge leaves no gray area. Nor is there much room for feelings. In the Wizards organization there is genuine concern for Gilbert Arenas the person, still a likable guy despite his horrendous decision, now facing the ultra-serious prospect of up to five years in prison. But if the case were to conclude with a guilty plea or felony conviction and a prison sentence it’s unimaginable that they would want to keep his salary cap-clogging contract on their books. There’s also a sense Stern will use this as a strong example of the penalties for violating his ban of guns on team property. One Wizards source has feared Stern’s punishment more than the court’s all along.

      The Wizards are in a tough spot. If they try to void his contract and fail, then they’re stuck with a player who is due to make more than $80 million over the next four years and knows that the team tried to get rid of him. If they do manage to void his contract, they’ll lose him with no compensation. At this point, Arenas is more than a hindrance than a help, and the Wizards would be far better off rebuilding from scratch (or building around Caron Butler).


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      NBA

      Blake Griffin to have season-ending surgery

      January 13, 2010 /

      It turns out Blake Griffin’s rookie season was over before it started. Clippers.com announces that Griffin will have season-ending surgery on his knee.

      After experiencing some discomfort during his recently-accelerated rehabilitation program, Clippers’ forward Blake Griffin was examined Tuesday afternoon by Dr. Neal ElAttrache in Los Angeles.

      As a result of that examination, it has been determined that the healing in his left patella area has not improved to the expected required level. Griffin will undergo a surgical procedure in the near future, with a recovery prognosis of four to six months. Team personnel will be made available to the media. Further details will be made available as events develop.

      The Clippers are currently 17-19 and just three games out of the #8 seed in the West, and were hoping that Griffin’s return would be the missing piece to the postseason puzzle. It’s a tough blow for the kid and the franchise.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, NBA Draft, News

      Jazz won’t give Boozer away

      January 13, 2010 /

      The Dallas Mavericks offered up an all-about-the-money trade for Carlos Boozer and were rejected, per Marc Stein.

      Using Drew Gooden’s partially guaranteed contract and two players it wound up trading to the New Jersey Nets days later – Kris Humphries and Shawne Williams – Dallas could assemble a package of contracts high enough to reach the salary range of Boozer’s $12.3 million expiring contract to make the trade math work … but low enough to net an initial savings of $2.5 million for the Jazz.

      The Jazz, though, have been telling teams for months that they won’t give Boozer away. A recent slump that dragged its record to 19-17 before Saturday’s thumping win over the Mavs in Dallas apparently hasn’t changed that stance.

      As noted in this cyberspace when Eric Maynor and retirement-bound Matt Harpring were dealt to the Thunder in December — which sliced its luxury-tax bill this season from $12.6 million to a much more manageable $4.8 million — Utah set itself up to be a lot more choosy when such attempts to steal Boozer inevitably rolled in.

      Since the summer we’ve heard repeatedly that the Jazz want at least one keeper in return in addition to payroll relief if they’re going to consent to a Boozer deal. And that was when their luxury-tax bill was going to approach $13 million.

      I’m honestly a little surprised that a deal isn’t already done, but if these are the kinds of offers that the Jazz are getting, I don’t blame them for continuing to pass. Why give away a productive and healthy top 30 player to save $5 million in luxury tax? If the Jazz move Boozer before the trade deadline, it will serve a serious blow to their playoff hopes, and the team will lose the revenue generated from its postseason home games. Figure about $500K per game (after the NBA takes its cut) and the Jazz stand to earn $1 million from a minimum of two home games in the playoffs. Visiting teams also get a cut of the gate receipts, so they stand to make money on the road as well.

      So while the luxury tax is a concern, it’s not the overriding factor for the Jazz. Like Stein said, they need a keeper out of the deal, and my guess is that at the trade deadline draws closer, they’ll get one.


      Photo from fOTOGLIF

      Fantasy Basketball, NBA, Rumors & Gossip

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑