Malone may not return to Lakers
Karl Malone has ruled out a return to the Los Angeles Lakers because of comments made by Kobe Bryant in a radio interview, Malone’s agent said Tuesday.
“Karl is furious,” agent Dwight Manley said. “He felt very disrespected and betrayed after personally being the first to stand up for Kobe over the last year throughout his rape charge and all he went through.”
Manley said remarks made by Bryant on Monday, coupled with what the agent called “recent personal attacks made in private,” led Malone to his decision.
Asked if Malone might play elsewhere, Manley replied: “This certainly opens up that possibility.”
Malone said later that he would rather not use “those strong words on saying I’m not coming back.
“I didn’t come to take anybody’s glory, anybody’s accolades, anybody’s anything,” Malone told KCBS-TV in a telephone interview. “But if it seems to me that that is what I’m doing, then I would rather move on and turn the page in my life.
“If that’s your star player, you want him to want you on the team, right? I don’t want to be anybody’s distraction.”
Bryant told XTRA on Monday he didn’t believe Malone, who is recovering from knee surgery, would come back to the Lakers, calling it “just intuition,” adding, “It’s not really fair to hold it over the guys’ heads that are here.”
Shinn to regain control of Hornets
New Orleans owner George Shinn has reached a deal to regain full control of the team he founded in 1987, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported.
Shinn has been negotiating for months to buy out his minority partner, Ray Wooldridge, who paid $56 million for a 35 percent stake in the team in July 1999.
Shinn will pay $65 million to Wooldridge if the deal is approved by the NBA’s board of governors.
Off the court
Houston was awarded the 2006 NBA All-Star game, the second time the city will host the event. … Minnesota’s Latrell Sprewell was suspended for one game by the NBA for yelling a sexual vulgarity at a female fan during a game. … Phoenix activated forward Zarko Cabarkapa for the first time this season and placed rookie forward Jackson Vroman on the injured list with a left groin strain. … Elton Brand of the Clippers was suspended for one game by the NBA for shoving Charlotte’s Emeka Okafor during Monday night’s Charlotte-Los Angeles game. … Indiana point guard Jamaal Tinsley did not dress for the game against Milwaukee because of a sprained right ankle. The Pacers activated center Jeff Foster from the injured list. … Milwaukee forward Keith Van Horn missed his second straight game after spraining his right ankle in practice. … Memphis point guard Jason Williams was placed on the injured list with a sprained right ankle. … Allan Houston was activated by the Knicks after missing the first 16 games with a left knee injury.