Matt Watson Posts

Tyrus Thomas will miss the next four to six weeks after breaking his arm in a weightlifting accident, the Chicago Bulls reported Friday afternoon. X-rays confirmed that he suffered a fractured radius in his left forearm, and he's scheduled to undergo surgery Saturday.

It's unclear what exactly happened, but on the surface it sounds like a fluke injury that could have happened to anyone. That said, it's oddly fitting that it happened to Thomas, who's recently suffered through a frustrating string of setbacks, including his team's decision not to offer an extension, inconsistent playing time, alleged arguments with the coaching staff and allegations by the local media that he faked the flu. When it rains, it pours.

It certainly doesn't suck to be Sasha Vujacic. After hitching his star to Kobe Bryant, he and the rest of his teammates became the envy of the NBA, helping the Lakers win their 15th championship in franchise history. And now? After reportedly hooking up with Maria Sharapova, he's become the envy of men, period.

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, I should note that Sharapova has yet to be seen at a Staples Center courtside seat wearing a Vujacic jersey (they sell those, right?), but the two were seen "cuddling up" in public at a recent U2 concert, as reported by CNBC's Darren Rovell. Clearly, that's enough to go on, right? OK, maybe not, but whatever is going on, Vujacic is in no hurry to set the record straight.

With the Cavaliers in town to play the Knicks, speculation about LeBron James leaving Cleveland for the Big Apple has been shifted into overdrive. But Donnie Walsh wants you to know that he cares about the Knicks' present just as much as the future.

"No matter what you say, there's a feeling that you're just looking to next summer, and that hasn't been true at all," he told the Cleveland Plain Dealer. "I know where it's coming from, but there's very little you can do about it. I'm talking to you now and saying I'm not even thinking about that right now. I don't care if I say that to 100 people, they'll say, 'He's waiting for next year.' "

Instead of telling that to 100 people, perhaps he could merely reinforce that message to the 14 in the Knicks' locker room -- because according to some close to the team, even the players are starting to think that this season doesn't matter.

Tim Donaghy, the disgraced former NBA referee who admitted to gambling on games that he officiated, was officially released from a federal prison on Wednesday.

Donaghy was transferred to a halfway house for two months earlier this summer but was returned to prison in late August after violating the terms of his probation by failing to appear for his job. Donaghy claimed it was a simple misunderstanding -- he believed he had permission to miss work in order to visit a physical therapist -- but the courts obviously disagreed.

Delonte West has returned to the court for the Cavaliers after two separate leave of absences, but the fallout of his recent arrest in Maryland has just begun. West was formally indicted on eight charges Tuesday, including six related to concealed weapons.

West was arrested on Sept. 17 in Maryland after allegedly cutting off a police car on the Beltway while riding his three-wheeled motorcycle, at which point officers soon discovered he had a fully-loaded 9mm Beretta handgun tucked in his waistband, a fully-loaded Ruger .357 Magnum strapped to his waist and a fully-loaded shotgun in a guitar case strapped to his back.

During today's indictment, it was also revealed that West was carrying an 8 1/2-inch Bowie knife as well as 112 additional shotgun shells in another backpack strapped to his vehicle.

The skeletons in Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling's closet have been a poorly kept secret for years -- and now they're a matter of public record. According to the Los Angeles Times, Sterling and his wife have agreed to pay a whopping $2.725 million to make a federal lawsuit alleging housing discrimination go away.

Although Sterling, who runs his real estate empire as competently as his NBA team, officially denies any wrongdoing, the fact remains that the settlement, once officially approved by a U.S. District judge, is projected to go down as the largest ever obtained by the Justice Department in a housing discrimination case.

Even if Sterling is officially allowed to save face by calling the settlement a business decision (a "compromise of disputed claims," according to court documents obtained by the Times) instead of an admission of guilt, it's still a black stain on the NBA -- and one it needs to address.

Popeye Jones, a veteran of 11 NBA seasons who's now entering his fourth season as a player development coach with the Dallas Mavericks, was arrested Sunday evening and accused of drunken driving. According to the Dallas Morning News, the Richardson (Texas) Police Department received calls from other motorists complaining that someone driving a gray GMC Yukon was driving erratically.

When he was pulled over, Jones refused a breathalyzer exam -- and briefly resisted arrest. At some point during the whole incident, Jones' face hit the pavement, resulting in minor cuts and one bloodied mugshot. If he merely "lost his balance," as the Morning News reports, it won't bode well for any defense claiming that he wasn't intoxicated.

Even though Ben Gordon has played a handful of preseason games in front of lackluster crowds at the Palace and one regular season game on the road wearing Pistons red, white and blue, it wasn't until his name was announced to a sold-out crowd at Detroit's home opener Friday night that he was officially welcomed to the team by the fans.

And as fate would have it, Gordon's introduction came with all the fanfare and pyrotechnics befitting the arrival of a budding star, as he was introduced along with the rest of the starters, filling in for the injured Rip Hamilton. It's a nice start for his Pistons career -- and should provide a fitting conclusion for a documentary seven months in the making.

In the tradition of Kobe Bryant's Doin' Work and LeBron James' More Than a Game, Gordon is the subject of a forthcoming documentary, A Scorer's Aura, which will tell the story of his final months as a Chicago Bull up until his first home game as a Detroit Piston, offering fans an insider's view of what it's like to be a coveted NBA free agent signing with a new team for the first time in his career.

If you've seen one NBA mixtape on YouTube, you've seen them all, right? Most of them are just flashy dunk highlights put to a profanity-laced rap beat. But Chris Kaman is a different kind of cat, both on the court and off, and in hindsight, it shouldn't have been a surprise to see that his YouTube channel doesn't feature any basketball at all.

What does it feature? Try a .50 caliber rifle and municipal-grade fireworks -- all being used in his backyard. No, really -- video evidence is after the jump, as well as his interview with Elie Seckbach in which he discusses his explosion-filled and bullet-riddled summer vacation.

Glen "Big Baby" Davis won't miss the entire season with his thumb injury, as initially thought possible. But he'll still sit for the six to eight weeks, according to Yahoo!'s Marc Spears, who spoke with Davis on Tuesday after the third-year forward underwent surgery earlier in the day.

While missing two months is certainly better than the entire year, it doesn't mean the Celtics are any more pleased about the injury, which Davis admits occurred when he threw a punch at a long-time friend after an argument escalated over the weekend.