David Stern's decision to suspend Gilbert Arenas and Javaris Crittenton for the season - without pay - for the recent incident involving guns in the Verizon Center locker room strikes me as totally reasonable. Given that Arenas previously had been cited for possessing an unlicensed gun, the punishment might even be considered lenient. The notion that NBA players need to carry guns to protect themselves remains one of the more ridiculous things I've heard in years. As one club's security official reminded me recently, the higher profile players rarely venture anywhere without a team's media representative or security employee tagging along. Really, the whole need-to-carry-guns' protection argument - certainly for NBA players - is macho nonsense. Okay, end of rant ...
Skating away
Kings co-owner Joe Maloof didn't accompany family members Gavin and Colleen on the recent 0-6 road trip because he is in South Africa, evaluating sites for a possible skateboarding event in 2011. According to Gavin, his older brother - a serious dog lover - went on a safari, and was enthralled by the wildlife.
How quickly they forget
I spent the late afternoon interviewing Omri Casspi at his home on the Sacramento River, and one of the more revealing nuggets is this: He knew his coach, Paul Westphal, was a former NBA All-Star, but had no sense of his game. The Israeli rookie was surprised to hear that Westphal was a dynamic scorer and tremendous left-handed dunker, as well as an accomplished "cherry picker." Kings assistant Truck Robinson, Westphal's longtime friend and former Suns teammate, loves to talk about how he would grab a rebound and look downcourt, only to see Westphal streaking toward the opposite basket, awaiting for the outlet pass. This is interesting because, despite Casspi's recent struggle for playing time, he is an exceptional runner, and not unlike Westphal, a quick, athletic dunker on the break. I will add here that, until the Kings guards learn to advance the ball more quickly, via the pass instead of the dribble, they are wasting the talents of Casspi, Donte Greene, Jason Thompson, and particularly, Kevin Martin. The death-by-dribbling offense also is not a particularly entertaining style of play.
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