Former Nets president Jon Spoelstra said the team was filled with "convicts and criminals" during his tenure with New Jersey.
Spoelstra, president of the Nets from 1993-95, said that his players were in so much legal trouble then, team publications could have been filled with "mug shots."
"One year we had six guys in jail," he said Thursday. "Not together, because that would have meant teamwork."
Spoelstra, now president of Mandalay Baseball Teams, was speaking at a news conference to announce that the New York Yankees and Mandalay were taking over operation of the Staten Island Yankees of the New York-Penn League. While Spoelstra was with the Nets, Jayson Williams was arrested after being accused of shooting at the hubcap of an empty security truck. The charges were dropped after he completed a program for first offenders. Derrick Coleman was arrested on charges of disorderly conduct, a case that ended in a mistrial.
In 2004, Williams was acquitted of manslaughter in the shotgun slaying of a limousine driver at his mansion, but found guilty of trying to cover up the shooting.
Mandalay operates the Triple-A Las Vegas 51s and several other minor league teams ...
ESPN.com reports the Warriors, according to NBA front-office sources, are trying to buy out the contract of center Adonal Foyle, who played just six minutes in Golden State's first six games under Don Nelson and clearly has no role in Oakland given Nellie's preference for smaller lineups. This is the first of four seasons left on Foyle's burdensome contract, with the 31-year-old due $37.4 million in that span ... but only $1 million of Foyle's $10.6 million salary in 2009-10 is guaranteed to make the actual value just under $28 million ...
Los Angeles Lakers center Chris Mihm will sit out the rest of the regular season after opting for surgery on an ankle that has bothered him since March. Mihm sat out 24 of the team's final 25 games last season and had not played this season. He will be out five to eight months after having a ligament and tendon repaired in his right ankle. The surgery will be performed Tuesday by Mark Meyerson in Baltimore.
If the Lakers make the playoffs, there is a slight chance Mihm would return. "Naturally I'm disappointed, but I'm optimistic that in the long run this surgery will lead to a 100 percent recovery, and I look forward to resuming my NBA career full-bore at that time," Mihm said in a statement.
Despite intense tutelage and work for Mouhamed Sene the past five months, Sonics coach Bob Hill reluctantly admitted Friday the first-round pick has regressed and could spend an extended period on the team's inactive list. Hill activated Greek center Andreas Glyniadakis for Friday's 99-85 win over the Charlotte Bobcats and kept Mike Wilks on the active list, meaning Sene was not eligible to play for the first time this season. He had played one minute in the past three games.
If Sene does not show progress in learning the offense or appear more comfortable in practice, he may be headed to the NBA Development League. The Sonics' affiliate is in Boise, Idaho. "I'm fearful that Mo is sliding the other way," Hill told the Seattle Post-Intelligencer. "I think it's in our best interest to get Mo harder work before games and much more attention to try to bring him along quicker. We think he's hit the wall a little bit." ...
Washington Wizards guard DeShawn Stevenson, a former Jazz player, looks a little bit like an NFL running back when he suits up. Stevenson wears a girdle with thigh and hip pads underneath his basketball shorts. Gilbert Arenas, Antawn Jamison, Antonio Daniels and Caron Butler are among the Wizards who have followed Stevenson's lead so far this season. "I like having that extra padding there so when you come around a screen, those knees don't hurt as much," Stevenson told the Washington Post. "A knee to your thigh can slow you down for a while. Those big guys like to stick those knees out, pick you off when they can."