June 20, 2013

Cavaliers News: LeBron James Fined, Delonte West Court Date Delayed

January 29, 2010 by 4 Comments

Delonte all smilesNot long after the LeBron James-McDonalds marriage was announced, it looks like No. 23 will be giving some of his endorsement money back to the NBA as he was fined $25,000 for his actions during the January 27th game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Following a game where his opponent Dwyane Wade was sent to the free throw line 13 times in one half of basketball, James was frustrated over a lack of foul call during a drive to the basket.  In what resulted in a bit of a temper tantrum, James was assessed a technical foul and proceeded to kick a water bottle.  The bottle flew in to the stands which is a big violation in the league’s eyes and would have resulted in an ejection had the officials witnessed the actions.

In what was an all-around busy day for the Cavaliers despite not playing a game, James’ teammate Delonte West was granted a continuance for his role in the September 2009 weapons charges.  West’s original court date was slated to be on February 18th, but his legal staff asked for the two-month delay. 

Brian Windhorst reports that if West and his team are unable to reach a plea bargain by the new date (April 16), he could in fact miss the playoffs to attend a trial.  After this time, he could also be handed a suspension from the NBA causing him to miss time during the most crucial point in the season.  This will definitely be something to keep an eye on as one has to assume that West’s staff is doing what is best for their client.  Cavs fans simply have to hope that this is also aligned with what is best for their client’s employer that has stuck with him through thick and thin.

–

(image via Associated Press)

Related Posts

Zemanta
Filed Under: Cavaliers Tagged With: , , ,
  • MrCleaveland

    I wish LeBron would stop the temper tantrums. Very uncool and certainly unworthy of the best player in the game of basketball.

  • Jim

    I assumed West’s lawyers would get a continuance. However I didn’t realize it would be until April. The hope is they take a plea here in the next few weeks. I would assume probation coupled with restitution and jail time suspended pending successful completion of probation.

    It’s important that they take care of this soon as the league will inevitably hand down a suspension. However Stern’s comments following Arenas’s suspension give me hope West’s won’t be very long. He stated that the main issue was bringing guns “into the NBA workplace.” The hope is West gets a lighter suspension because he did this outside the NBA environment. Still it’s better he get suspended now rather than later in the season. Without West our backcourt is really thin and I frankly don’t have much faith in AP or Williams come playoff time.

  • http://www.msblsim.com boogeyman

    @MrCleveland c’mon now if you saw the play you clearly saw LBJ get fouled it wasn’t even close. The fact that this was just his third or maybe fourth technical of the season is kind of amazing itself for the way he gets assaulted when going to the basket. Of course that’s his game so you have to expect it. But $25K for hitting a water bottle? Man Stern must have thought LeBron shot it or something or maybe he was related to the people behind the bench who got a little damp. At least it was just water and not Gatorade or something.

  • Harv 21

    Totally understand where David Stern is coming from. He fought to rebuild the league’s image in the ’80s, he’s worked hard and he needs to put that little Ron Artest/Stephen Jackson fan interaction way back in the rear view mirror, he’s competing against other sports for limited entertainment dollars. Now he’s got knuckleheads bringing guns to locker rooms and in general a lot of players bringing a street sensibility and huge sense of entitlement to work. So even if it’s accidental and even if it’s Teflon LeBron, it’s good and necessary to remind all the players about who pays their salaries and that image counts even in the middle of competition. Since eveyone will talk about this because it’s LeBron, it’s a great way for Stern to reinforce his message.

    It also should go without saying that a $25K fine for LeBron is like throwing a deck chair off the Queen Mary. But of course it’s not my money.