NEW YORK — Gilbert Arenas tried joking about his gun trouble. David Stern found none of it funny.
Arenas was suspended indefinitely without pay Wednesday by the NBA commissioner, who determined the player’s behavior made him “not currently fit to take the court.”
A day after the Wizards guard was photographed before a game in Philadelphia pointing his index fingers, as if they were guns, at his teammates, Stern warned the former all-star that his conduct will “ultimately result in a substantial suspension, and perhaps worse.”
Arenas is under investigation by federal and local authorities after admittedly bringing guns to the Wizards’ locker room. Stern originally planned to wait to take action, but he tired of Arenas’ behavior.
On Tuesday, a day after meeting with law enforcement officials, Arenas said he feared Stern more than the authorities because the commissioner was “mean.”
“The possession of firearms by an NBA player in an NBA arena is a matter of the utmost concern to us,” Stern said. “Although it is clear that the actions of Mr. Arenas will ultimately result in a substantial suspension, and perhaps worse, his ongoing conduct has led me to conclude that he is not currently fit to take the court in an NBA game.
“Accordingly, I am suspending Mr. Arenas indefinitely, without pay, effective immediately pending the completion of the investigation by the NBA.”
With each game he misses, Arenas will lose about $147,200 of the $16.2 million he will earn this season in the second of a six-year, $111 million contract. The punishment came on his 28th birthday.
Footnotes.
The Cavaliers waived guard Coby Karl. The son of Nuggets coach George Karl appeared in three games with the Cavaliers, grabbing two rebounds in five minutes.
• Jazz guard Deron Williams’ sprained right wrist kept him out of Utah’s game against the Grizzlies.
• The Trail Blazers waived forward Shavlik Randolph.
