lakerland in chaos

[smazza]

Marcus Douthit, a second-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Lakers out of Providence College, was charged on Thursday with taking part in a wide-ranging identity theft and embezzlement scam and pocketing several thousand dollars.

The 125-count indictment unsealed by a statewide grand jury accuses Douthit with allegedly participating in a phony car accident as part of a scheme to obtain money from insurance companies, said Michael Healey, spokesman for the state attorney general office.

 

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Six others have been charged in the alleged scheme.

He was paid $6,500 from money obtained from the false claim in December 2001, and deposited that money into a Providence bank account, the indictment states.

Douthit has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit embezzlement and one count of embezzlement more than $100. He faces a maximum of 30 years in prison on the charges, Healey said.

The 24-year-old center was reportedly on the verge of being offered a guaranteed contract with the Lakers after playing well in a summer league, according to The Providence Journal. He averaged nearly 8 points and 6 rebounds for the Friars last season.

Healey said prosecutors had left messages with Douthit's agent urging the player to turn himself in.

Providence spokeswoman Pat Vieira said school officials could not comment because they hadn't seen the indictment in full.

"It all came as a complete surprise to us," Vieira said.

[Velcro]

is it raining frogs yet out there, smazz?

[KnightsRule]

Marcus Douthit, a second-round draft pick of the Los Angeles Lakers out of Providence College, was charged on Thursday with taking part in a wide-ranging identity theft and embezzlement scam and pocketing several thousand dollars.

The 125-count indictment unsealed by a statewide grand jury accuses Douthit with allegedly participating in a phony car accident as part of a scheme to obtain money from insurance companies, said Michael Healey, spokesman for the state attorney general office.

 

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Six others have been charged in the alleged scheme.

He was paid $6,500 from money obtained from the false claim in December 2001, and deposited that money into a Providence bank account, the indictment states.

Douthit has been charged with one count of conspiracy to commit embezzlement and one count of embezzlement more than $100. He faces a maximum of 30 years in prison on the charges, Healey said.

The 24-year-old center was reportedly on the verge of being offered a guaranteed contract with the Lakers after playing well in a summer league, according to The Providence Journal. He averaged nearly 8 points and 6 rebounds for the Friars last season.

Healey said prosecutors had left messages with Douthit's agent urging the player to turn himself in.

Providence spokeswoman Pat Vieira said school officials could not comment because they hadn't seen the indictment in full.

"It all came as a complete surprise to us," Vieira said.

$6500 could get him 30 years? Martha got off real easy then.

[smazza]

martha is white

and commited a white collar crime

it is like the poor blacks that do 3 times the time for rock as opposed to their white brothers that have same amount or more of powder

[KnightsRule]

martha is white

and commited a white collar crime

it is like the poor blacks that do 3 times the time for rock as opposed to their white brothers that have same amount or more of powder

This would be a white collar crime right?

[smazza]

"Kobe's team'' underwent still more changes Friday when the Los Angeles Lakers sent Gary Payton and Rick Fox to the Boston Celtics in a five-player deal.

The Lakers, putting perhaps the final touches on an extensive overhaul, got Chuck Atkins, Marcus Banks and Chris Mihm from Boston.

"We got a true backup center (Mihm) who can probably play a little bit of power forward, and we got much younger in the backcourt,'' Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said.

The Celtics also received a conditional first-round draft pick and cash in the deal and sent a second-round pick to the Western Conference champions.

"As you know, we have made some dramatic changes,'' Kupchak said in understatement.

Three days after the Lakers lost to the underdog Pistons in the NBA Finals, the shakeup began. Coach Phil Jackson was let go and Shaquille O'Neal demanded a trade.

Rudy Tomjanovich was hired as coach, O'Neal was dealt to Miami for Lamar Odom, Brian Grant and Caron Butler; Derek Fisher left for Golden State; and free agent Bryant signed a seven-year, $136.4 million contract.

 

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Later, Los Angeles signed free agent Vlade Divac, who was the Lakers' center in the early 1990s.

"We're hopeful, with the changes and the younger players, that we put ourselves in the position where we don't have to experience four or five years of mediocrity,'' Kupchak said.

"Hopefully, we'll be in a position to make the playoffs right away, advance in the playoffs, and at the same time have a good mix of young players who may be with us the next 10 years.''

Payton and Karl Malone took large pay cuts to join the Lakers as free agents last summer, each All-Star hoping to win his first championship.

Malone, recovering from knee surgery, has not said whether he will return to the team.

Fox played with the Lakers for seven years, spending six previous seasons with the Celtics.

Kupchak said he had spoken with Payton's agent earlier Friday, and had a phone conversation with Fox.

"As you would expect, they (the players) were both disappointed to be in a position where they have to move on,'' Kupchak said. "This is the business part of what we do.

"It was an opportunity to pick up three players, all of whom are younger than the other two players in the deal.''

 

 

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Kupchak said the Lakers hadn't set out to trade Payton.

"We did not try to move Gary Payton. This was an opportunity that was brought to us. Had we been uncomfortable with Gary, we would not have protected him in the expansion draft,'' the GM said.

Despite struggling through his first year with Los Angeles, the 36-year-old Payton exercised a $5.4 million option to return for another season.

A nine-time All-Star who averaged 18.3 points over his first 13 seasons, Payton averaged 14.6 points -- his lowest since the 1992-93 season -- and a career-low 4.2 assists in the regular season last year. He averaged 7.8 points and 5.3 assists in the playoffs.

Payton was selected to the NBA's all-defensive team eight times and was voted the defensive player of the year in 1996. He is fifth on the league's career list with 2,243 steals and sixth with 8,039 assists; he needs 44 points to become the 29th player in NBA history to score 20,000 points.

Payton won Olympic gold medals in 1996 and 2000. He has missed just six games in his 15-year career.

The 35-year-old Fox, who won three NBA championship rings with the Lakers, has career averages of 9.6 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.8 assists.

The 7-foot Mihm, 25, averaged 6.3 points and 5.4 rebounds last year for Boston and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Atkins, 29, acquired from the Pistons midway through last season, averaged 8.4 points and 3.5 assists last year.

Banks, 22, a first-round draft pick out of UNLV in 2003, started two games for the Celtics as a rookie.

[smazza]

lakers pawned off two stiffs on boston

[KnightsRule]

lakers pawned off two stiffs on boston

Agreed but celts pawned off three stiffs to lakers and cleaned some cap space and got a 1st rd pick.  Atkins is a decent backup but mimh is horrible and banks has cba written all over him.

[Velcro]

the cap room is the best part.... Lakers got the best player in the deal in Atkins, but the fact that both Payton and Fox's contracts are done next year (or sooner if they retire which Fox is thinking of), that puts the celtics UNDER the cap for the first time in over a decade.  They will actually be a player in the free agent market for once!  Finally something smart done by Ainge... can you believe it?

[KnightsRule]

the cap room is the best part.... Lakers got the best player in the deal in Atkins, but the fact that both Payton and Fox's contracts are done next year (or sooner if they retire which Fox is thinking of), that puts the celtics UNDER the cap for the first time in over a decade.  They will actually be a player in the free agent market for once!  Finally something smart done by Ainge... can you believe it?

I wouldnt claim a smart move by ainge until we see who the prized free agent signing is. My bet is it will be another overaged stiff that nobody else wanted but lets hope I am wrong.