Assault aftershocks rock Golden State
Warriors contact NBA about voiding Sprewell's contract
Sports Illustrated's Phil Taylor spoke with CNN/SI's Barry LeBrock on Tuesday about Latrell Sprewell's status in Golden State, where the Warriors have suspended the All-Star guard for at least 10 games after he physically assaulted coach P.J. Carlesimo during a practice.
BLB: We are joined now by Sports Illustrated's Phil Taylor, who was at the Golden State Warriors practice today. Phil, what is the mood there and what is the latest with that situation?
PT: The mood, I think, was really still one of shock. I think that both the players and the rest of the organization were still trying to come to grips with the fact that Latrell Sprewell actually did assault their coach, knock him to the ground and threaten to kill him. I think the Warriors were basically saying they were going to wait and see, and they kind of want to give Latrell a little time to make the next move. They are hoping that he shows some remorse, but in the meantime they've gotten in touch with the league office and they've started to investigate what the chances are of perhaps nullifying the rest of Sprewell's contract because of the violence he showed yesterday. There is a clause in the standard player contract that does provide that sort of loophole if a player's conduct gets bad enough and you've got to think that this might qualify.
BLB: Could this possibly have been a ploy by Latrell to get the team to trade him?
PT: Well I think that might have entered into it. Certainly he's been almost daring the team to trade him almost since the season started. I think he knew that once he did this that there was very little chance that he would ever play in a Golden State uniform again. He even grabbed the telephone when the GM, Garry St. Jean, was talking to his agent, Arn Tellem, and told Tellem to get him out of here, meaning get him traded right away. I think you're going to see that the Warriors would only be too happy to comply with that and I don't think you're going to see Sprewell as a Warrior for much more than another week or so.
BLB: How about with another team, is this guy now considered a risky acquisition?
PT: Yes, he would certainly have to be considered risky but you always find a team that is willing to take a player as talented as Sprewell. We see that Lawrence Phillips in the NFL is about to get another chance. Certainly then, it's not surprising that somewhere someone is going to want to give Sprewell another chance. One good possibility is San Antonio, where Gregg Popovich, coach and GM, has some history with Sprewell, having been at Golden State before. He might be the kind of guy who thinks if we just get Sprewell in the right situation, a change of scenery might do him a world of good. Maybe he's right, yeah, it's still a risk but there will be someone willing to take that risk.
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