Randolph arrested

Tetsujin

The Game Thread Dude
#31
Except for hanging with Matt Barnes for a little bar beating, and accidentally wandering into a brothel while at the Olympics.
Except that's legal (or at least not not legal) in Brazil and according to a lot of sources may have actually been an honest mistake by a handful of NBA allstars (not just "bad seeds" like Boogie) looking for a night out during Olympic festivities
 
#35
But was he distributing? It's just a charge cuz there was a large amount.
Probably why there was a large crowd, Zach was treating. We the people have decided it's legal to use mary juana. If you are hosting a large party you bring a lot. Let's let things sort themselves out, in the criminal justice system and in the realm of Kings basketball. I have confidence in Vlade and company.
 

Entity

Hall of Famer
#36
And this, folks, this right here is exactly why I never piped up and said "Oh, Zach Randolph, great signing, veteran leader!" This was a big problem for him in years past. There was a time when he was playing in Memphis and living in Indianapolis that he was considered to be potentially a "drug kingpin" in Indy. (link) I kept my mouth shut on this in the hopes that it was in his past, but evidently that was not the case.

Now he's charged with *felony* possession with intent to sell. We probably have to wait for this to play out in court, but I would not be opposed to finally testing the NBA's "moral turpitude" clause.
i agree. terminating the contract should be the discussion in the front office this morning. We recieved much applause for our offseason. this is a huge blemish.
 
#37
So disappointing. What is it that being on the Kings makes players and coaches do this kind of stuff?

Seems like there were legal issues with so many of them, including (not saying they were guilty, just entangled):
Z-Bo
Darren Collison
Coach Musselman
Tyreke Evans
Ron Artest
Justin Williams
Matt Barnes
Demarcus Cousins

just to name a couple off the top of my head
Yes, yes, let's hang somebody.
 
#39
They are on the hook for him next year too at 12 mil, I doubt he will be cut.
If someone is busted breaking the law, you can't fire them? Seems a bit strange? It doesn't make much sense to to put everyone in jail who is caught up in addiction. But that doesn't mean they won't pay a heavy price sooner or later. My advice is to find a twelve step program and learn to live a happy life without addiction.
 

Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
#40
Yes, yes, let's hang somebody.
It's not a question of being "out for blood".

Here we are, four rookies fresh out of college, four players with one year NBA experience under their belt, and we've spent all summer talking about how we're bringing in these veteran players to show these kids how to comport themselves as NBA players, how to do things the right way. And before the team has even shown up for training camp, one of these vets picks up a felony drug charge?!? If the Kings front office stands behind Zach Randolph, it teaches those kids an important lesson. It teaches them that as NBA players, they are above the law. This is absolutely the wrong lesson. And it's made worse by the fact that we brought Randolph in explicitly to be a role model in the first place.

Now, maybe there's a misunderstanding here. We have to get to the facts. But if it is what it looks like it is, we can't afford to be lenient on Randolph at all, or we teach all those young players that they don't have to act upright, they don't have to follow the same rules as everybody else in society - they're NBA players, they're special, and they can do whatever they want and get off without consequences from the league (and maybe, depending on how any potential court case goes, without consequences from society).

Randolph has come right in and flipped our team a big bird before training camp even started. Well done, Z-Bo. Well done.
 

HndsmCelt

Hall of Famer
#41
Please folks let's be careful here, no one has reported how much ganja ZeBo was picked up with or how it was packaged so bringing in the old "Kingpin" stories is a bit premature. I will restate that this seems more an issue of stupidity than criminality and for perspective I will point out that in January if Zach opens up "Zackies Wacky Tobackie" pot shop it will make him an entrepreneur, not a criminal.

So to me this is not about character. I question his brains, I may even question his comitment, but the dude is no less morally fit than a guy who strikes his wife or gets in a bar fight.
 
#42
It's not a question of being "out for blood".

Here we are, four rookies fresh out of college, four players with one year NBA experience under their belt, and we've spent all summer talking about how we're bringing in these veteran players to show these kids how to comport themselves as NBA players, how to do things the right way. And before the team has even shown up for training camp, one of these vets picks up a felony drug charge?!? If the Kings front office stands behind Zach Randolph, it teaches those kids an important lesson. It teaches them that as NBA players, they are above the law. This is absolutely the wrong lesson. And it's made worse by the fact that we brought Randolph in explicitly to be a role model in the first place.

Now, maybe there's a misunderstanding here. We have to get to the facts. But if it is what it looks like it is, we can't afford to be lenient on Randolph at all, or we teach all those young players that they don't have to act upright, they don't have to follow the same rules as everybody else in society - they're NBA players, they're special, and they can do whatever they want and get off without consequences from the league (and maybe, depending on how any potential court case goes, without consequences from society).

Randolph has come right in and flipped our team a big bird before training camp even started. Well done, Z-Bo. Well done.
That people have to have it spelled out for them how this is bad is just a face palm/shake my head moment.
I shouldn't be surprised. It took 4 bad incidents from aldon smith (49ers) before people were willing to finally write him off.

Like you just spelled out, he was brought in for a reason. When you look at the incident in its entirety, is it really worth it to wait till the courts dispose of this? Could be a year or 2 before that happens. His history, who he was hanging out with, what he was doing and where he was doing it should be enough to call his signing a bad move and a waste of money. Cut him loose now.
 
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Capt. Factorial

trifolium contra tempestatem subrigere certum est
Staff member
#43
If someone is busted breaking the law, you can't fire them? Seems a bit strange? It doesn't make much sense to to put everyone in jail who is caught up in addiction. But that doesn't mean they won't pay a heavy price sooner or later. My advice is to find a twelve step program and learn to live a happy life without addiction.
The NBA Uniform Player Contract ("Uniform" in that every player signs the same contract, obviously for different amounts of money) has a clause called the "moral turpitude" clause. This clause states that the team may void a contract (meaning not cut a player, that the contract doesn't exist anymore) if the player shall

"at any time, fail, refuse, or neglect to conform his personal conduct to standards of good citizenship, good moral character (defined here to mean not engaging in acts of moral turpitude, whether or not such acts would constitute a crime)..."
This clause, to my knowledge, has never been tested. Any attempt to invoke it would probably result in a grievance from the players' union. But I think a felony *conviction* for intent to distribute would probably hold up in the end.
 
#44
It's not a question of being "out for blood".

Here we are, four rookies fresh out of college, four players with one year NBA experience under their belt, and we've spent all summer talking about how we're bringing in these veteran players to show these kids how to comport themselves as NBA players, how to do things the right way. And before the team has even shown up for training camp, one of these vets picks up a felony drug charge?!? If the Kings front office stands behind Zach Randolph, it teaches those kids an important lesson. It teaches them that as NBA players, they are above the law. This is absolutely the wrong lesson. And it's made worse by the fact that we brought Randolph in explicitly to be a role model in the first place.

Now, maybe there's a misunderstanding here. We have to get to the facts. But if it is what it looks like it is, we can't afford to be lenient on Randolph at all, or we teach all those young players that they don't have to act upright, they don't have to follow the same rules as everybody else in society - they're NBA players, they're special, and they can do whatever they want and get off without consequences from the league (and maybe, depending on how any potential court case goes, without consequences from society).

Randolph has come right in and flipped our team a big bird before training camp even started. Well done, Z-Bo. Well done.
I don't know if they came in indebted to be guidance vets. They are good guys, but they came because we offered them the most money/years and of course they are going to say the right things. It wouldn't surprise me if Vince fell out of the rotation and began complaining about his role and needed to be waived. I think the narrative that they came in indebted to being guidance vets may or may not be true.
 
#45
Please folks let's be careful here, no one has reported how much ganja ZeBo was picked up with or how it was packaged so bringing in the old "Kingpin" stories is a bit premature. I will restate that this seems more an issue of stupidity than criminality and for perspective I will point out that in January if Zach opens up "Zackies Wacky Tobackie" pot shop it will make him an entrepreneur, not a criminal.

So to me this is not about character. I question his brains, I may even question his comitment, but the dude is no less morally fit than a guy who strikes his wife or gets in a bar fight.
I agree to an extent but I disagree with your assertion that bringing up the kingpin story is premature. I think it's completely pertinent here.
 

HndsmCelt

Hall of Famer
#46
I agree to an extent but I disagree with your assertion that bringing up the kingpin story is premature. I think it's completely pertinent here.
Had he even been charged I might agree with you but it really never went beyond the BR rumor level so it seems a bit salacious to me, but even if it were based in truth, my larger point remains: what BR called a "Drug Kingpin" in Indiana is what we now call a Marijuana Mogul on the West Coast. The sale of cannabis in WA,OR,CO and now CA is a huge legitimate business, no different than the distribution of alcohol. No matter what issues I had with the Maloofs none of it was based on a moral judgment on how they made their real money. More to the point the league did not see them as unfit to own a team either.
 
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#47
It's not a question of being "out for blood".

Here we are, four rookies fresh out of college, four players with one year NBA experience under their belt, and we've spent all summer talking about how we're bringing in these veteran players to show these kids how to comport themselves as NBA players, how to do things the right way. And before the team has even shown up for training camp, one of these vets picks up a felony drug charge?!? If the Kings front office stands behind Zach Randolph, it teaches those kids an important lesson. It teaches them that as NBA players, they are above the law. This is absolutely the wrong lesson. And it's made worse by the fact that we brought Randolph in explicitly to be a role model in the first place.

Now, maybe there's a misunderstanding here. We have to get to the facts. But if it is what it looks like it is, we can't afford to be lenient on Randolph at all, or we teach all those young players that they don't have to act upright, they don't have to follow the same rules as everybody else in society - they're NBA players, they're special, and they can do whatever they want and get off without consequences from the league (and maybe, depending on how any potential court case goes, without consequences from society).

Randolph has come right in and flipped our team a big bird before training camp even started. Well done, Z-Bo. Well done.
I agree. Zbo has been arrested on a felony charge. He has to face the criminal justice system. He has to face NBA judgement. He has to face his employers actions. What more do you want? What of this is a treat to our young ones? You commit a crime you pay for it? Good lesson for young ones. They still need to know how to block out under tha basket. Let' sit back and be patient with a slow moving justice system. It is not time for Kings fans to pass judgement or start worrying about bringing up our "kids" wrong. Regardless we will have a pretty interesting team take the floor for game ne. Go Kings! Go Vlade!
 
#48
This is really not good. Also frustrating since I have no problem with mj and accept that a large chunk of NBA players use it and that he probably just had a large amount - in fact if the way things worked in OR and WA worked as legalization rolled out, they don't even bother with small possession since by the time it hits the courts it will all be fully legal. I doubt he's selling drugs, he just bought a large amount and probably gave to his crew. Still it shows bad judgement. Yet... I find the laws he broke to be minor and objectionable. So I'm rather torn. I don't think this goes away though.
 
#50
Well, as is always the case with situations like these, I urge restraint as we are not privy to all relevant facts. Although a felony charge has been alleged, it is common practice for district attorneys to "overcharge" and then plea bargain a crime down to a misdemeanor.
 
#54
Zbo you dumb crap. You're a millionaire who's made over $100+million playing in the NBA. About to make $12million as an almost washed up 36yearold. Why in the hell would you need to continue that convict life through the streets?

if only the CBA allowed us to amnesty players who get arrested. I know the entire "proven innocent until guilty" but no one can be that dumb considering Randolph's entire career.
 
#56
Lol, "character matters". So much for that, huh? I've always believed that talent is more important anyway, but at this stage of his career Randolph provides neither and if you're going to follow the whole pretty, clean-cut character matters model, Zbo just failed at the one thing he was brought here to do.

I agree. Zbo has been arrested on a felony charge. He has to face the criminal justice system. He has to face NBA judgement. He has to face his employers actions. What more do you want? What of this is a treat to our young ones? You commit a crime you pay for it? Good lesson for young ones. They still need to know how to block out under tha basket. Let' sit back and be patient with a slow moving justice system. It is not time for Kings fans to pass judgement or start worrying about bringing up our "kids" wrong. Regardless we will have a pretty interesting team take the floor for game ne. Go Kings! Go Vlade!
Jesus, are people really going to downplay this because it's a veteran "mentor" signed by a front office that we're all hoping succeeds?

He's not here to be our franchise player. He's a guy at the end of his career who was brought in to be a veteran mentor, and he failed at that before training camp even started. And here he is with way too much weed hanging out in the middle of the hood with some shady characters and putting himself in a bad situation. He's being paid millions to set an example (anything he might do on the court is just gravy) and he just failed at that. Quit downplaying this.
 
#59
Lol, "character matters". So much for that, huh? I've always believed that talent is more important anyway, but at this stage of his career Randolph provides neither and if you're going to follow the whole pretty, clean-cut character matters model, Zbo just failed at the one thing he was brought here to do.



Jesus, are people really going to downplay this because it's a veteran "mentor" signed by a front office that we're all hoping succeeds?

He's not here to be our franchise player. He's a guy at the end of his career who was brought in to be a veteran mentor, and he failed at that before training camp even started. And here he is with way too much weed hanging out in the middle of the hood with some shady characters and putting himself in a bad situation. He's being paid millions to set an example (anything he might do on the court is just gravy) and he just failed at that. Quit downplaying this.

I'm sure this was a Joerger pick rather than a FO pick as well. If you want to cast blame I think the FO skates on this. They listened to their coach. In 10 years when prohibition is finally over this will all look like nothing anyway.