Source: AFP,
ORLANDO, Florida – Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard gained a new supporting cast Saturday (Sunday, in Manila) with hopes 2 major trades will lift the NBA club alongside Miami and Boston as an Eastern Conference title contender.
The Magic, 16-9 but losers in five of their past six games, added Turkish forward Hedo Turkoglu and playmaker Jason Richardson from the Phoenix Suns and controversial long-distance shooter Gilbert Arenas from the Washington Wizards.
"We needed a little bit more punch," Magic president Otis Smith said. "All those guys coming in have an ability to move the ball. After looking at our team through 25 games, we were missing a little something. I thought change was needed."
Orlando traded Rashard Lewis to the Wizards for Arenas, best known for being banished for 50 games last season for bringing guns into the Wizards locker room and faking an injury to avoid playing in a pre-season game last October.
"We have a tendency not to forgive people in this country," Smith said. "We have a tendency to hold onto things a little bit longer, particularly if they play professional sports."
Arenas has struggled with knee injuries and the suspension that have kept him to only 47 games over the past three seasons, but he has averaged 17.3 points and 5.6 assists a game this season.
Arenas scored a season-high 31 against Orlando three weeks ago.
Orlando's major reshaping came by obtaining Richardson, Turkoglu and Earl Clark from the Suns in exchange for US veteran Vince Carter, French guard Mickael Pietrus, Polish center Marcin Gortat and a first-round pick in the 2011 NBS Draft plus three million dollars.
The Magic, trying to entice fans to their new 18,500-seat arena, have fallen from first to fourth in the Eastern Conference, with the Miami Heat, 20-8, and Boston Celtics, 21-4, surging on double-digit winning streaks in December.
Turkoglu has averaged 12.1 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.9 assists a game in 10 NBA seasons and played a key role in helping Orlando make the 2009 NBA Finals but was traded to Toronto last year in a move that proved to be a blunder.
"I don't think it's admitting a mistake," Smith said of reacquiring Turkoglu. "I don't regret breaking up the finals team. I think it was the right decision at the time."
The Wizards gladly ditched Arenas, enabling the team to make this year's top draft choice, John Wall, their focus and escaping their former star's pricey contract.
"We're totally in a rebuild," Wizards coach Flip Saunders said. "We've said that. We were in a situation where we had three of our top players play pretty much the same position in John and Gilbert and Kirk (Hinrich)."
The Suns, 12-13, added height and defensive skill to try to compete with the reigning NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers and NBA win leaders San Antonio and Dallas in the Western Conference.
"Carter and Pietrus give us a great defensive presence on the perimeter and they should be extremely dynamic offensively," Suns president Lon Babby said. "And Gortat is really someone that we've had our eye on."
Losing Gortat leaves the Magic without a true backup for big man Howard.
"We think it was worth the gamble," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said.
Source: AP
-- No jail. But no round-the-clock freedom, either, for Gilbert Arenas.
The judge found a halfway point — literally — between prison and probation Friday when he sentenced the three-time NBA All-Star to 30 days in a halfway house for bringing guns into the Washington Wizards locker room.
Arenas remained expressionless as District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Robert E. Morin described a litany of conditions associated with the sentence — two years of probation, a $5,000 fine, 400 hours of community service that can't be done at basketball clinics — then turned to his lawyer for an explanation of what it all meant. After several minutes discussing logistics, Arenas eventually cracked a smile while talking to a court official.
Arenas made no comment leaving the courthouse, but his lawyer Ken Wainstein released a statement signaling his client considered the outcome a victory.
"The result was a sentence that serves justice very well," the statement said. "Mr. Arenas is grateful to the court, and looks forward to serving the community and once again being a force for good in the District of Columbia."
The halfway house was an unexpected resolution to weeks of suspense as to whether Arenas would be sent to jail. Prosecutors wanted him locked up for three months for the felony gun possession charge, while Arenas' lawyers had sought community service and probation.
It will be at least five days before Arenas begins his time. Halfway houses provide a structured environment with nightly curfews and other rules, but residents are not locked down. They usually feature a community-living environment.
"It is not a jail," said Edmond Ross, spokesman for the federal Bureau of Prisons. "They do have to abide by the rules and regulations."
Addressing the judge before sentencing, Arenas sighed heavily and apologized, saying, "Every day, I wake up wishing it did not happen."
He then explained several of his actions that have come under criticism, including evidence that he tried to cover up what happened by getting teammate Javaris Crittenton to change his story. Arenas said he was just trying to get Crittenton off the hook.
"I thought by lying and screwing the truth I could protect people I consider family," Arenas said. "I figured I could fix it by taking the fall."
His voice cracking, Arenas disputed claims by prosecutors that he did not take his crime seriously, reiterating the "I'm a goof ball" defense he used with reporters in the days following the incident. He specifically referred to his gunslinging pantomime before a Wizards game at Philadelphia, when he pretended to shoot his laughing teammates during a pregame huddle.
"I like to make people laugh, to make people smile," Arenas said. "For everybody else, I'm taking it lightly. I'm looking at a picture where 14 or 15 guys are laughing together for the last time."
Arenas' arrest arose from a dispute with Crittenton over a card game during a team flight on Dec. 19. It escalated two days later when Arenas brought four guns to the locker room and set them in front of Crittenton's locker with a sign telling him to "PICK 1." Crittenton then took out his own gun.
Arguing for jail time, Assistant US Attorney Christopher Kavanaugh said Arenas had made "a mockery of the judicial system" by treating the criminal investigation as a joke. He pointed out that Arenas initially lied when asked why the guns were brought to the locker room, and said any other defendant with a similar criminal record would have received jail time.
Morin listed several factors for not sending Arenas to jail. He noted that Arenas' prior guns-related conviction — a misdemeanor in California in 2003 — was a nonviolent offense. He pointed out that Arenas' guns were obtained lawfully in Virginia, where Arenas lives, and were not loaded when brought them to the locker room. The judge emphasized that Crittenton — who has "not the same celebrity" as Arenas — was allowed to plead guilty to a misdemeanor rather than a felony and received a year of unsupervised probation.
Morin admonished Arenas and Crittenton for committing a "stupid and immature act" and failing to act "like mature adults," but he also cited Arenas' devotion to community service and said he was satisfied that Arenas understood the seriousness of his actions.
"You are genuinely remorseful, and you get it," Morin said.
While the sentence offers some legal closure, Arenas' future with the Wizards remains unclear. The NBA has suspended him for the rest of the season. His misdeed has helped contribute to the precipitous decline of a franchise that is headed for its second consecutive last-place finish after several years of regularly reaching the playoffs.
The Wizards have indicated they would like to have him back, and Arenas has said he would have no problem playing for the team again. Complicating matters is the fact that the team's ownership is in flux following the death of longtime owner Abe Pollin.
The Wizards could attempt to void the last four years of Arenas' six-year, $111 million contract, although the NBA players' union has vowed to fight such a move. Notably, the team did not address Arenas' future in a statement released after the sentencing.
"Gilbert has admitted his mistakes and will now pay his debt to our community," said the statement issued by president Ernie Grunfeld and Pollin's family. "We are confident that he has learned something significant from the experience and we now look forward to moving on and focusing on building this team into the contender that our outstanding fans deserve."
Source: AFP
-- Kevin Garnett finished with 19 points and 6 rebounds to lead Boston to a 99-88 win over Washington, snapping the Celtics' three-game losing streak.
Garnett also made history Monday by passing Larry Bird for 24th on the National Basketball Association's all-time scoring list. Heading into the game, Garnett needed 18 points equal Bird's 21,791 points.
Rajon Rondo had 17 points and 12 assists for the Celtics, who had 6 players in double figures.
Ray Allen had 17 points and 5 rebounds and Rasheed Wallace earned 14 points and 5 rebounds by coming off the bench.
Caron Butler finished with 20 points and 11 rebounds for the Wizards, who ended their modest two-game win streak.
Earl Boykins chipped in 14 points off the bench. Mike Miller added 13 points and 7 rebounds for the Wizards.
The Wizards played without three-time all-star guard Gilbert Arenas who was suspended for bringing guns into the locker room and then joked about it.
Arenas and guard Javaris Crittenton were banned for the rest of the season by NBA commissioner David Stern last week.
Arenas has been in full damage control since it was discovered he took handguns into the team's arena. On Monday he penned an op-ed piece that was put up on The Washington Post's Web site.
In the piece, Arenas pledges to be a better role model and says he understands that "guns and violence are serious problems, not joking matters."
