Is this what you have to do to get traded from Indiana ?

Is Larry Bird coming down on them to hard ?

Pacers forward Williams, guard Daniels drawing unwanted attention
By TOM DAVIES, Associated Press Writer

AP - Feb 27, 10:09 pm EST

NBA Gallery INDIANAPOLIS (AP)—The Indiana Pacers are facing another wave of unwanted attention with the arrest of a murder suspect after he had been at the home of one player and a reported rape at the home of another.

While police say forward Shawne Williams and guard Marquis Daniels were not involved in either case, both have been in recent legal trouble and the incidents frustrate a team trying to improve its tarnished image.

“We’ve got to be very clear about this—we don’t want our players hanging around murderers,” team president Larry Bird said. “That’s not a good sign for our young fans. It’s not a good sign for management.”

Williams, who is averaging 7.0 points and 2.9 rebounds, left the team’s game Wednesday night after learning a man had been arrested on a Tennessee murder warrant soon after leaving his Indianapolis home. Williams did not practice with the team on Thursday and will not travel with the Pacers to their game at Toronto on Friday.

Officers arrested 20-year-old Gary Bohanon of Memphis, Tenn., for a fatal shooting last October at a Memphis auto repair shop. He was spotted at Williams’ home Wednesday evening and arrested after he left as a passenger in a truck registered to Williams, federal marshals said.


Williams was arrested with Bohanon in September after a traffic stop when an officer found marijuana in the SUV that Williams was driving. The 22-year-old Williams pleaded guilty to driving without a license, while a drug charge was filed against his passenger.

Happy Walters, Williams’ agent, said Thursday that his client was unaware Bohanon had been at his home.

“He’s going to take the next day or two and get it all straightened out and get back with the team when they get back from Toronto,” Walters said.

Bohanon was being held without bond in Indianapolis pending extradition to Memphis. Authorities did not know whether he had an attorney.

The arrest of Bohanon came just days after a woman told police that she had been raped early Sunday during a small gathering at Daniels’ suburban Carmel home.

Daniels is not a suspect in the rape, but a man who was there could face charges pending the results of evidence tests in the coming weeks, said Vicky Dunbar, a spokeswoman for the Hamilton County sheriff’s department.

Bird said that even though Williams and Daniels were apparently not involved in criminal acts, the team was still taking heat for the actions of people they were associating with.

“These guys are supposed to be men,” Bird said. “They are in a professional league, a man’s league, and they’ve got to step up and be a man. Whether it’s your brother hanging around getting in trouble, your uncle, your cousin, whoever it is, you’ve got to eliminate them people and get them out of your life if you want to play in this league.”

Police continue to investigate a Dec. 9 incident when Pacers guard Jamaal Tinsley and several companions were targeted in a shooting that wounded the team’s equipment manager outside a downtown hotel. Police said the shooting involved an assault rifle and followed an incident when Tinsley and his companions were leaving a nightclub.

Tinsley and Daniels also face pending charges stemming from a February 2007 fight at an Indianapolis nightclub. Tinsley faces the most serious charge, a felony count of intimidation.

Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh said the past week’s events were “disheartening” because the team has had counselors and law enforcement officials speak with players about their conduct.

“It paints the whole team in an incorrect light when we have a lot of guys on this team who are doing the right thing,” Walsh said. “We’ve spent a lot of time talking to our players about the fact that they can’t have the wrong associations for exactly what happened here.”

whats the pint playa?

Maybe this is why Bird Is trying to trade for every white star possible.(sarcasm)

You know, Bird keeps going for these type of players. He drafts them and trades for them. So maybe he needs to step up his evaluation of players.

He also needs to keep certain comments "in house" to quote the great Isiah Thomas. He sounds like a jerk. Give the generic answer and deal with things the way you want to behind the schenes.......

Just another thought, when these guys are playing well he has nothing to say. Also, the players only do things while they are with the Pacers.....artest has been squeaky clean, so has stephen jax in every team he's been on except the pacers.

Anyway bottom line is Bird. He is the one placing spin with his comments and personnel moves. Fuck him and the Pacers. I pray that whenever the Knicks get back to being a serious playoff contender, that Bird is still around and his team is also contending. I just want to bust his ass all day.

Posted by EnySpree:

Maybe this is why Bird Is trying to trade for every white star possible.(sarcasm)

You know, Bird keeps going for these type of players. He drafts them and trades for them. So maybe he needs to step up his evaluation of players.

He also needs to keep certain comments "in house" to quote the great Isiah Thomas. He sounds like a jerk. Give the generic answer and deal with things the way you want to behind the schenes.......

Just another thought, when these guys are playing well he has nothing to say. Also, the players only do things while they are with the Pacers.....artest has been squeaky clean, so has stephen jax in every team he's been on except the pacers.

Anyway bottom line is Bird. He is the one placing spin with his comments and personnel moves.

Well thought out response eny, I wonder who else feels the way you do.

I have a hard time having empathy for pro sport teams and their management when it comes to not doing a thorough background check .

If it's the team policy , why won't they just stop hiring guys with a potential shaddy backgrounds that can make their business look bad.

And shouldn't management grow up and be more professional in their hiring practices?

Nobody ever calls these suits to the carpet, for bad judgement.

In the real world who ever is incharge of hiring employees would be let go.

Excuse me, many teams have expressed college ball players shaddy friends (posse) before, this isn't anything new.

GO back to highschool days of the player it will tell you alot.

Why do you think schools Duke and other schools like them don't bring aboard players that have questionable backgrounds.

Posted by playa2:

And shouldn't management grow up and be more professional in their hiring practices?

Nobody ever calls these suits to the carpet, for bad judgement.

In the real world who ever is incharge of hiring employees would be let go.

I think management does need to be more wary when they select players. And if they select a player with a questionable background and it backfires then they pay the consequences just like the player. Not sure I understand where you feel the hypocricy is. Unfortunately you can't know everything about everyone. When a player gets that chance it's up to them to make sure they take advantage of it and stay out of trouble. It's not up to management.

Posted by Bippity10:

Posted by playa2:

And shouldn't management grow up and be more professional in their hiring practices?

Nobody ever calls these suits to the carpet, for bad judgement.

In the real world who ever is incharge of hiring employees would be let go.

I think management does need to be more wary when they select players. And if they select a player with a questionable background and it backfires then they pay the consequences just like the player. Not sure I understand where you feel the hypocricy is. Unfortunately you can't know everything about everyone. When a player gets that chance it's up to them to make sure they take advantage of it and stay out of trouble. It's not up to management.

I tend to disagree, in the nba these guys are given GUARANTEED contracts once they sign on with a franchise.

So it really falls on the franchise to do more investigating when it comes to their investment.

I wonder if Isiah has a soft spot for troubled youths in the NBA. You know, the same soft spot he has for overweight centers who have no work ethic whatsover who grow up in the south side of Chicago.