Category: Washington Wizards Blog

ESPN.com reports:

Washington Wizards guard Javaris Crittenton has elected not to appeal the season-long suspension he received from NBA commissioner David Stern.

Gilbert Arenas and Crittenton both received suspensions without pay for the rest of the regular season last Wednesday in the wake of the December gun incident in the Wizards’ locker room that rocked the entire league.

Both players admitted bringing a gun into the locker room after a dispute stemming from a card game on a team flight, violating a provision added to the collective bargaining agreement in 2005.

Chris Sheridan of ESPN.com reports:

There is no NBA rule prohibiting a team from trading a suspended player, meaning the Wizards could throw in Crittenton’s expiring $1.48 million contract to make the salaries match in a trade involving any of their other players.

The acquiring team would then presumably waive Crittenton, and he would be free to ply his trade in Europe or elsewhere overseas after he cleared waivers. (Unlike drug suspensions, a conduct suspension cannot be used as grounds to prevent a player from getting the official letter of clearance needed to play in a FIBA sanctioned league.)

National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern issued the following statement today:

“The NBA has conducted a thorough investigation of events relating to this matter.

“It is not disputed that, following an argument on the team’s flight home from a game in Phoenix, both Mr. Arenas and Mr. Crittenton brought guns to the Verizon Center locker room and – with other players and team personnel present or nearby – displayed them to one another in a continuation of their dispute.   The players engaged in this conduct despite a specific rule set forth in the collective bargaining agreement between the NBA and the Players Association prohibiting players from possessing a weapon at an NBA facility, and reminders of this prohibition given annually by the NBA to players both in writing and in person.

“The issue here is not about the legal ownership and possession of guns, either in one’s home or elsewhere.  It is about possession of guns in the NBA workplace, which will not be tolerated.

“I have met separately with Mr. Arenas and with Mr. Crittenton.  Both have expressed remorse for their actions and an understanding of the seriousness of their transgressions.  Both have volunteered to engage in community service in order to turn the lessons they have learned into an educational message for others.  I accept fully the sincerity of their expressions of regret and intent to create something positive from this incident.

“Nevertheless, there is no justification for their conduct.  Accordingly, I am today converting Mr. Arenas’ indefinite suspension without pay to a suspension without pay for the remainder of the 2009-10 season, and am also suspending Mr. Crittenton without pay, effective immediately, for the remainder of the 2009-10 season.”

The AP reports:

Four players have been fined $10,000 (U.S.) apiece for making fun of a serious situation. Coach Flip Saunders has banned gambling on the team plane and has told his story to law enforcement officials. Some of his players are doing the same.

The team is doing its best to remove all traces of Gilbert Arenas from the Verizon Center, the place where he infamously brought some guns to work.

It’s no fun being a member of the Washington Wizards.

“It was foolish, stupid, immature,” said guard Randy Foye, one of the four players fined Friday night, “but I’ve got to be a man and accept my penalty and I apologize to the fans and the organization for behaving in that manner.”

Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas, under investigation for having unloaded guns in his arena locker room, turned 28 years old today. His birthday present wasn’t one of the better ones, however.

National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern issued the following statement today:

“The possession of firearms by an NBA player in an NBA arena is a matter of the utmost concern to us.  I initially thought it prudent to refrain from taking immediate action because of the pendency of a criminal investigation involving the office of the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia and the Metropolitan Police Department, and the consideration of this matter by a grand jury sitting in the District of Columbia.  For the same reason, I directed the Wizards to refrain from taking any action.  Wizards personnel continue to be interviewed by law enforcement authorities, some are scheduled for appearance before the grand jury and the investigation is proceeding with the intensity that one would expect for such a serious incident.

“Although it is clear that the actions of Mr. Arenas will ultimately result in a substantial suspension, and perhaps worse, his ongoing conduct has led me to conclude that he is not currently fit to take the court in an NBA game.  Accordingly, I am suspending Mr. Arenas indefinitely, without pay, effective immediately pending the completion of the investigation by the NBA.”

Shortly after the above statement was issued, the Wizards had this to say:

“We fully endorse the decision of the NBA to indefinitely suspend Gilbert Arenas.  Strictly legal issues aside, Gilbert’s recent behavior and statements, including his actions and statements last night in Philadelphia, are unacceptable.  Some of our other players appeared to find Gilbert’s behavior in Philadelphia amusing.  This is also unacceptable.  Under Abe Pollin’s leadership, our organization never tolerated such behavior, and we have no intention of ever doing so.”

More on NBA suspending Gilbert Arenas

According to CBS Sports, “the swift and potentially severe punishment came less than 24 hours after Arenas mocked the criminal and NBA investigation of his possession of firearms in the Wizards’ locker room on Dec. 21 by spraying his teammates with fake gunfire in the pre-game huddle in Philadelphia Tuesday night. That brazen act, and Arenas’ latest comments after the game that he didn’t do anything wrong by bringing guns to work, prompted Stern to act.”

Mike Jones (formerly of the Washington Times) said this on his blog: “Stern showed how mean by pulling the plug on Arenas’ comedy act, although the legal process has yet to fully play out. Each game Arenas misses will cost the guard $147,208.”

According to the New York Times, “In the days since the incident became public, Arenas frequently used his Twitter account to mock journalists who reported the story, to address unrelated topics and to relate obscene jokes. Arenas defended his posts by claiming that he used humor as a way to deflect personal pain. Then, during warmups before a Tuesday evening game against the Philadelphia 76ers, he used his thumb and index fingers to pretend to shoot his teammates, who laughed at the display. “They said: ‘Do it. Do it. Do it,’ ” Arenas told reporters afterward. “You wonder why I can’t be serious.”

Comment below, or read fan reactions and share your opinion in this forum topic.

Wow. I’m not even sure how to react to this latest report. Get ready for some wild stuff.

It had recently been reported by several media outlets that Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas had (unloaded) guns in his locker, but nothing actually happened with them and the only investigation revolved around why they were there at all.

But things just got a lot more nasty and complicated.

Peter Vecsey and David K. Li of the New York Post report:

Guess they’re still the Bullets at heart.

NBA all-star Gilbert Arenas and his Washing ton Wizards teammate Javaris Crittenton drew guns on each other in the team’s locker room during a Christmas Eve dispute over a gambling debt, The Post has learned.

League sources say the pistol-packing point guards had heaters at the ready inside the Verizon Center, the Washington, DC home of the Wizards — whose name was changed from the Bullets over gun- violence concerns.

It was the three-time all-star Arenas, 27, who went for his gun first, sources said, drawing on the 22-year-old Crittenton, who quickly brandished a firearm as well.

It was not clear whether other teammates saw the shocking standoff, which happened on a practice day.

The duel in DC — unprecedented in sports history — was sparked when Crittenton became enraged at the veteran guard for refusing to make good on a gambling debt, a source said.

“I’m not your punk!” Crittenton shouted at Arenas, according to a league source close to the Wizards.

That prompted Arenas to draw on Crittenton, who then also grabbed for a gun, league security sources said.

To follow this story as it develops, read the InsideHoops.com NBA rumors page each day (as you should be doing anyway).

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Tuesday night in Washington, D.C. the Wizards lost to the Oklahoma City Thunder 110-98.

The Thunder shot 54.4 percent from the field in the win, and nailed 10-of-18 from three-point range.

Wizards coach Flip Saunders is tired of his team’s inability to play defense.

Mike Jones of the Washington Times reports:

“This team needs a mindset change. This team for the last five years has been known as one of the worst defensive teams in the league, and until we make a commitment…” Saunders said, stopping himself short before hunkering down in front of the microphone. “We couldn’t stop anybody out there. We could’ve taken five guys out of this room and they would’ve had a chance. …

“[Oklahoma City] is playing a lot better, but that is not the Cleveland Cavaliers or the Los Angeles Lakers or one of those teams yet. Until they score on you and it hurts, we’re kidding ourselves.” …

The Wizards had primarily used a zone defense to slow the Thunder in the second quarter, but in the third Oklahoma City found a way around it to make 10 of its 19 field goal attempts – further stoking Saunders’ frustrations.

“Zone got us back in the game, and we did well playing some zone. And then guys want to come out of the zone and play man-to-man, but they can’t guard anybody!” the coach fumed. “I could go out there on that floor and take anyone on our team one-on-one at [54] years old and drive around them.”

It’s tough to say what Saunders can do. Other than Russell Westbrook, who was slightly off, virtually every member of the Thunder who played real minutes shot well last night.

It may be time for the Wizards to break up the Gilbert Arenas, Caron Butler and Antawn Jamison core.

The AP reports:

Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas stored unloaded firearms in a container in his locker, according to the team, and the NBA is looking into the situation.

The Wizards issued a statement Thursday night saying there was no ammunition in the locked container, and Arenas and the team have notified authorities and the league.

Mike Jones of the Washington Times reports:

In a phone interview with The Washington Times, Arenas said he had guns at his home, but following the Dec. 9 birth of his third child, daughter Hamiley Penny, he decided he didn’t want the weapons anywhere his children could get to them. So on Dec. 10, Arenas brought them to Verizon Center, where he stored them in his lockbox until he could figure out what to do with them. A week later, he turned the guns over to team security and asked that they be turned over to the D.C. police.