NBA Nba Police Blotter

The Kings, seeking a defensive veteran for the small forward position, took on Desmond Mason in advance of training camp. That didn't turn out so well: Mason has been beyond awful on offense (surprising no one who has watched Mason play at any point over the past four years) and didn't make much of a difference for the league's 29th ranked defense.

Five games was enough for the Sacramento front office, as the team waived Mason a day after signing former Blazer and Spur Ime Udoka to a non-guaranteed minimum salary contract. Like Mason, Udoka is known for his defensive skill, having been signed as a sort of Bruce Bowen replacement two summers ago. That didn't really work out, and Udoka was left teamless for opening day after Portland waived the swingman at the end of the preseason.

Tim Donaghy, the disgraced former NBA referee who admitted to gambling on games that he officiated, was officially released from a federal prison on Wednesday.

Donaghy was transferred to a halfway house for two months earlier this summer but was returned to prison in late August after violating the terms of his probation by failing to appear for his job. Donaghy claimed it was a simple misunderstanding -- he believed he had permission to miss work in order to visit a physical therapist -- but the courts obviously disagreed.

Delonte West has returned to the court for the Cavaliers after two separate leave of absences, but the fallout of his recent arrest in Maryland has just begun. West was formally indicted on eight charges Tuesday, including six related to concealed weapons.

West was arrested on Sept. 17 in Maryland after allegedly cutting off a police car on the Beltway while riding his three-wheeled motorcycle, at which point officers soon discovered he had a fully-loaded 9mm Beretta handgun tucked in his waistband, a fully-loaded Ruger .357 Magnum strapped to his waist and a fully-loaded shotgun in a guitar case strapped to his back.

During today's indictment, it was also revealed that West was carrying an 8 1/2-inch Bowie knife as well as 112 additional shotgun shells in another backpack strapped to his vehicle.

The skeletons in Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling's closet have been a poorly kept secret for years -- and now they're a matter of public record. According to the Los Angeles Times, Sterling and his wife have agreed to pay a whopping $2.725 million to make a federal lawsuit alleging housing discrimination go away.

Although Sterling, who runs his real estate empire as competently as his NBA team, officially denies any wrongdoing, the fact remains that the settlement, once officially approved by a U.S. District judge, is projected to go down as the largest ever obtained by the Justice Department in a housing discrimination case.

Even if Sterling is officially allowed to save face by calling the settlement a business decision (a "compromise of disputed claims," according to court documents obtained by the Times) instead of an admission of guilt, it's still a black stain on the NBA -- and one it needs to address.

Popeye Jones, a veteran of 11 NBA seasons who's now entering his fourth season as a player development coach with the Dallas Mavericks, was arrested Sunday evening and accused of drunken driving. According to the Dallas Morning News, the Richardson (Texas) Police Department received calls from other motorists complaining that someone driving a gray GMC Yukon was driving erratically.

When he was pulled over, Jones refused a breathalyzer exam -- and briefly resisted arrest. At some point during the whole incident, Jones' face hit the pavement, resulting in minor cuts and one bloodied mugshot. If he merely "lost his balance," as the Morning News reports, it won't bode well for any defense claiming that he wasn't intoxicated.

First, the guns. Then the unexcused absences. Now we can add a domestic violence report to the recent events section of the Delonte West dossier.

WOIO.com reports that Saturday night, West drove his wife to the Cleveland airport where an "incident" occurred. Reportedly the incident started at the couple's home where the Cavs' small guard tried to take her wedding ring off. After the argument continued to the airport, West's wife filed a domestic violence report with authorities. Police told the station there were no signs of abuse or injury.

Well, then. As long as he's managed to put all that trouble behind him.

There are plenty of stories about athletes blowing their cash stores quickly, and ending up in bad financial shape within years of retiring from their chosen game. Rumeal Robinson fits that archetype. Robinson, who played for six teams over a six-year NBA career, did things a little differently though. He wasn't content to blow all of his money of material items and drugs.

He still bought plenty of material items, according to an in-depth story by the Miami New Times. But that's not what crushed him. What crushed him was what the New Times calls "a strip club habit that would have made Pacman Jones blush."

Delonte West has a whole new set of reasons you should get him his donuts.

The Washington Post reports that West was arrested Thursday night after being stopped on his three-wheeled motorcycle. He cut off a police officer and after being stopped, informed the arresting officer he had a gun in his waistband. After backup arrived, police actually found three weapons on his person. A second weapon was strapped to his leg, and another was in a guitar case strapped to his back.

With any news story, crucial unknown details lead to inflation of attention. Michael Jackson's death was (rightfully) huge news. But the uncertainty about the circumstances has kept it in headlines for weeks. When there's a combination of secrecy and interest, you end with a slow leak of rumors and details, and this can keep a story like Michael Beasley's rehab stint in discussion constantly.

Just in the last two days, TrueHoop's Henry Abbott and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel's Ira Winderman reported a new detail: Beasley was already taking part in an outpatient treatment program stemming from his 2008 rookie camp incident when a violation landed him in a mandatory 30-day inpatient treatment program (where he is now). This is a fact folks with the league and the players union have known since the story first broke ... but we're finding out five days later, sparking a new round of conjecture.

While understanding the need for privacy, I must wonder if there's a better way.

The NBA suspended J.R. Smith for seven games, and Jason Richardson for two games, after both players recently pleaded guilty to separate driving offenses.

The timing of the suspensions seems rather random -- Smith's reckless driving incident (from 2007) was resolved by the courts this past July, while Richardson served one day in jail for his DUI conviction back in December. But you knew they were coming at some point, because, well, leagues tend to suspend players who get into trouble with the law.

I'm wondering, though, if the length of the suspensions doesn't seem almost as random as the timing of the announcements. When looking more closely at the details of the incidents, the punishments come across as being a bit disingenuous.