Former NBA player Keon Clark sentenced to eight years in prison

Notable NBA draft bust Keon Clark was sentenced to 8 years in prison after pleading guilty to weapons and driving under the influence charges in two separate cases.

“I, uh, did a lot of stuff in my past,” Clark tearfully said at his plea hearing in Vermilion County Circuit Court, The News-Gazette reported. “I have to own up to it.”

Clark pleaded guilty to two charges in two separate cases and was given four years for each count. He previously faced weapon, drug and traffic-related charges.

The Danville, Ill., native has been in the Vermilion County Jail since Aug. 4, where he was being held on $100,000 bond

Clark was 23 when he became the 13th overall pick in the 1998 NBA Draft.

He has spoken publicly of his long battle with alcohol, which he says also occurred during his NBA career.

Clark, now 38, says he wasn’t prepared mentally to handle the lifestyle of a professional athlete.

“The money, the fame, the fact that I was on TV. People think money will make your life better. Money didn’t dissolve my problems. It increased them,” he said, adding that he’s been getting counseling while he’s in custody.

Clark was credited with having served 122 days behind bars on one count and 16 days on the other. Vermilion County Assistant State's Attorney Sandy Lawlyes, who recommended the two consecutive four-year terms, has said that Clark will have to serve 50 percent of his sentence.

Tracy McGrady wishes he stayed in Toronto

Everyone says hindsight is 20/20. You always think about what choices, whether good or bad, that you made in the past and how it might have went if you made the opposite choice.

Former NBA star Tracy McGrady thinks about it now that he's retired.

McGrady teamed with his cousin Vince Carter with the Toronto Raptors as a high flying, athletic duo that could have wreaked havoc on the NBA. The team had made it's first playoff run and were poised to become an Eastern Conference contender. Instead, McGrady wanted to get out of Carter's shadow and signed with the Orlando Magic in the summer of 2000. The Raptors eventually fell a Carter jump shot short of knocking off the Philadelphia 76ers in the Eastern Conference semifinals the next season in which McGrady would've made the difference in the seven game series.

Now reflecting on what could have been a legendary NBA career if injuries didn't rob him of his athletic gifts, McGrady says he wishes he stayed in Toronto as told to the Toronto Sun's Dave Feschuk.  

“In hindsight, looking back, obviously I wish I had stayed in Toronto,” McGrady was saying in a recent telephone interview from his home in the Houston area. “There’s no doubt we could have contended for a championship. I think about that often. But if ‘if’ was a fifth, you know?”

“There’s no doubt we would have won that series if I would have been there,” McGrady said. “We had incredible camaraderie. You can’t duplicate that, man. Big brothers, little brothers — we had a mix. And me and Vince were in the perfect situation. You’ve got the two young superstars and you’ve got these old vets. They were our force field. They protected us from anything that happened on that basketball court. They did all the dirty work. And all we had to do was just concentrate on putting the ball in the hoop and guarding who we were guarding. It was just such a great time in my career.

“Had I been a little older and wiser and knew what was ahead of me, I would have stayed, no doubt, with those guys. But that was some of the best times of my life, man. Being with (Charles) Oakley and Kevin Willis and Antonio Davis, Muggsy (Bogues), Dell Curry, Dee Brown. Man. I still talk to a lot of those guys to this day. Because I appreciated how they looked out for me. They were all professionals.”

“At the time I’m trying to make a decision whether to stay in freezing Toronto or go home to Orlando. ... I just thought it was a no-brainer. As I said, if I’d been a little older and a little wiser maybe things would have been different. ... It’s definitely something I always sit back and reminisce about, thinking about Toronto and what we could have been.”

Sounds more factual than sour grapes if you ask me. The Raptors might have been very good, maybe the best in a watered down Eastern Conference back then. The team had a good veteran core and the young superstars to make a run at the finals. But it never happened.

McGrady toiled on some bad Orlando teams and eventually was traded to the Houston Rockets but was never able to get out of the first round of the playoffs.

McGrady doesn't come off as angry. Just reflecting on what might have been had he stayed with the team that drafted him.

  

Robert Parish thinks it's awkward for Paul Pierce to be playing for the Nets

As a basketball fan it just won't seem right watch Paul Pierce in a Brooklyn Nets uniform. Just like it was strange watching Hakeem Olajuwon and Karl Malone in a Toronto Raptors and Los Angeles Lakers uniform. It just doesn't seem right after watch him play for the Boston Celtics for so many years.

Longtime Celtic great Robert Parish knows a little about being in a different uniform. Parish spent his final years as a member of the Charlotte Hornets and Chicago Bulls.

In an interview with Sean Deveney of the Sporting News, Parish said that Paul Pierce being on the Nets 'will be awkward' and he also compared Pierce's situation to his last few years in the NBA.

“Just accept the fact that it is going to be awkward initially. That’s all. Because he has worn the Celtics green for so long and it is going to be really awkward for him. But it was time for a change and what I do like about what the Celtics did for Pierce and Garnett, they didn’t send them somewhere to another situation that is not going to be successful. They sent them someplace where they are going to win. Garnett and Pierce have earned that right.” 

Parish spoke about his time in Charlotte and how he felt about it.

“Un-com-fortable,” Parish said (of wearing the Charlotte uniform). “In my mind, I would always be a Celtic. I was very thankful and humbled that the Hornets saw fit to allow me to play a couple more years, but the only time I thought of myself as a Charlotte Hornet was game time. Other than that, when the jersey came off, I still felt like I was a Celtic.”


When Pierce eventually goes into the basketball hall of fame he'll more than likely go in as a Celtic. But as long as the Russian billionaire is cutting the check in Brooklyn I'm pretty sure Pierce won't be feeling too awkward.

Only when he comes back to Boston.

Report: Pistons offer Stuckey and Villanueva to the Raptors for Rudy Gay

Josh Smith and Andre Iguodala aren’t the only small forwards the Detroit Pistons may be going after.

Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com says the Pistons offered Rodney Stuckey and Charlie Villanueva, both expiring contracts, to the Toronto Raptors for forward Rudy Gay, according to sources.

The Raptors are trying to clear their books following the 2013-14 season, Windhorst says, and Gay has two years left on his 5-year, $82.3-million contract. The Raptors already traded big man and former No. 1 pick Andrea Bargnani to the New York Knicks.

However, according to ESPN’s Chris Broussard this afternoon, the Raptors are not looking to trade Gay.

Gay, 26, averaged 18.2 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game last season. He was traded to Toronto from the Memphis Grizzlies near mid-season.

The advantage for the Pistons in this scenario would seem to be the two years left on Gay’s contract. Signing free agents Smith or Iguodala would likely require a long-term deal, making it more difficult to also retain the young core of Greg Monroe, Brandon Knight and Andre Drummond down the road.

The Pistons also have talked to the Boston Celtics about guard Rajon Rondo, who’s signed through the 2014-15 season amid a 5-year, $55-million contract.

Raptors' Andrea Bargnani finished for the season. Could amnesty be next?

The Toronto Raptors fans have had enough of former overall number one pick, Andrea Bargnani. They've had their wish granted because Bargnani is finished for the year with an elbow injury.  The same elbow that cost Bargnani some court action this year.

Bargnani missed 26 games earlier in the year with wrist and elbow injuries. He’s now suffered a new injury in the same elbow — an “avulsion sprain” — that will sideline him 3-4 weeks.

Fans would love to see the big man shipped out if town. General manager actively tried to trade Bargnani before the trade deadline but couldn't find any takers. It appears the Raptors might be stuck with a player who has disappointed them one too many times.

There could be hope though. The idea of Bargnani being waived via the amnesty clause has been floated out there. It might be difficult to part ways with a player once thought of to be a cornerstone of the franchise. But  the decision is made a lot easier since Bargnani has two years and $22 million left on his contract.

If Bargnani is set free during the offseason is there still a place for him in the league? While some may say he should go back to Europe, I think he could excel in a place where expectations for him to carry a team aren't so high.

In my opinion, I really think Bargnani would fit in well with the San Antonio Spurs. The Spurs have an international flavor plus he could play under Tim Duncan for a few years. Think about it, the Spurs have earned Nazr Mohammed a few extra paychecks. It damn sure wasn't his time in Detroit that did it.

The Los Angeles Lakers and the Chicago Bulls could possibly be a landing spot for Bargnani. More so the Bulls where he could come in as a sixth man.

No one knows what's going to happen but one thing is for sure. Bargnani more than likely is headed out of Toronto.

Jonas Valanciunas Gets A Rap Song

Even the most hyped rookies don't have anyone pay homage to them. But those rookies aren't Toronto Raptors rookie Jonas Valanciunas.

Valanciunas hasn't played an NBA game and we'll never know when he'll actually hit the hardwood, but a rap group from Toronto by the name of O'Grime has made him the focus of their song.



I don't know how serious they (O'Grime) feel about Big V, but the Raptor fans better hope he can live up to his lofty draft status. 

  

Julian Wright Refuses To Enter A Game

It sounds as if there is a small problem brewing in Toronto. Raptors coach Jay Triano called for forward Julian Wright to enter the game in a 138-100 blowout loss to the Golden State Warriors. The problem was that Wright refused to enter the game. I don't know what the deal is but apparently Wright isn't too happy about the amount of playing time he's been getting.

There's one way to solve it Julian, play better.

Triano didn't seem to be too bent out of shape over what took place. "I just went to the next guy," Triano told the Toronto Star. "I wasn't going to ask him twice."

“I asked (Wright) to go in, and he didn’t go in,” Triano said. “I know he went to the washroom just before that. I don’t know if he wasn’t feeling well. I still haven’t talked to him.”

Wright hasn't been too happy lately and refused to answer any questiuons about what went on during last night's debacle.

“I don’t want to talk about it,” Wright said. “Speculate on anything you want.”

This is another in a long line of situations where an athlete acts like a child. You get paid a few million to play a game. Sometimes a coach might want to try something different to make the team better. If you're not playing up to standards you spend time on the bench. That's definitely not the way to act, especially since Wright is going into free agency. Considering how his career has gone, it's gonna be hard for him to latch on to another team. He won't be back in Toronto and if he plays in the NBA next year he's gonna have to answer the question about why he didn't go in.

Hello Turkey!





  

Alvin Robertson is a sick man

Former NBA all star guard Alvin Robertson has been charged with child trafficking,sexual assault of a child,and forcing a sexual performance by a child.Robertson has not yet been apprehended.  

   Robertson,whose NBA career spanned from 1984-1996 was a four time all star,the first NBA most improved player award winner and 1986 defensive player of the year.He played for the San Antonio Spurs,Milwaukee Bucks,Detroit Pistons,and Toronto Raptors.He was a solid all around player and one of the best defensive players of his time. Enough about his playing career.

  Authorities say Robertson was part of a sex ring that kidnapped a 14 year old girl from San Antonio and forced her to have sex with clients and dance at a strip club in Corpus Christi,Texas.Seven people have been charged,that also includes his girlfriend.He's the only one who hasn't been arrested.The girl escaped which prompted an investigation.Robertson,is best known in the Detroit area,for attacking,alledgedly choking player personnel director Billy McKinney,while he was a member of the Pistons.In 1997 he was charged with four misdemeanors for abusing a former girlfriend and sentenced to one year in prison.In 1990 he spent a month in jail for beating his then wife.He served that time in the off-season.In January of 2007,he was arrested on a variety of charges related to domestic violence.Now the sex ring operation,alledgedly.You can see the pattern of legal problems,namely domestic violence.If what has came out is true,he needs to be put away.I hate to wish the worse on anyone,but i hope he gets sexed up while he's locked up.With the legal pattern he's developed he deserves it.