After Offseason Of Trouble, Delonte West Held Out Of Cavs Opener

After all of his offseason problems -- including a gun arrest and accusations of abuse by his wife -- the Cavaliers have decided to hold Delonte West out of the opener against the Celtics tonight.

Cleveland coach Mike Brown said general manager Danny Ferry and a support team working with West decided the guard was not ready to play.

“They have some things that they feel they have to get in order for him to be active,” Brown said. “When they say he’s ready then he’ll be out on the floor.”

As more details have emerged from the “incident” first reported last night, it appears the controversy stems not from anything that happened at the airport, but an argument between West and his newlywed wife, at the couple’s apartment. Once again, WOIO of Cleveland has reporting:

Cleveland Cavaliers player Delonte West and his wife reportedly got into a spat Saturday evening that ended with West’s wife filing a domestic violence report.

The two reportedly fought at their apartment when Delonte tried to take her wedding ring off. Mrs. West left their home and headed to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, where she filed a domestic violence report.

Cleveland Police tell 19 Action News there were no signs of abuse or injury. Mrs. West then got on her flight and flew out of Cleveland.

A video report elaborated, saying that West tried to “rip off her wedding ring” during the argument. Sounds slightly worse than, “tried to take her wedding ring off.” Whatever the case, it seems this is further evidence that Delonte is, sadly, a danger to both himself and the people around him. The Cavaliers, for their part in all of this, are “aware of the situation” but have so far declined to comment. We’ll have more developments as they emerge.

Since his tumultuous turn at Cavaliers training camp earlier this month, the news surrounding Delonte West has been relatively quiet, as the team’s given him space to work out his issues, and West has been content to remain outside the public eye while his representatives have declined comment on the situation. And while it’s still unclear as to what role, if any, West may play for the Cavaliers this year, tonight’s mysterious news certainly doesn’t help.

From WOIO in Cleveland:

19 Action News has just learned that Cleveland Cavaliers player Delonte West was involved in an “incident” at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport Saturday evening.

Tad Carper, Vice President of Communciatons with the Cleveland Cavaliers tells 19 Action News “the team was contacted and is aware of the situation but declined any further comment.”

The details are obviously sketchy at this point, but it all sounds a bit ominous given the context. Stay tuned for further reports as they emerge.

The Delonte West guessing game continues, as the Cavaliers guard took an excused absence from Tuesday’s preseason game and today’s practice. West had missed the first four practices last week.

Lebron James, however, is still standing behind his man:

“He’s one of the ones that we know is going to be there no matter what,” James said Wednesday. “When he’s out on that court, he forgets about everything else going on in his personal life. We’re looking forward to getting him back, but he’s going to take as much time as he needs.”

In addition to having battled a bipolar disorder in the past, West is also facing a possible suspension for carrying two handguns and a shotgun while riding his motorcycle last month. Not sure how much LeBron’s confidence can help him out there.

Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer reports:

Delonte West will play in preseason game tonight, tho Anthony Parker will start at shooting guard.

Certainly good news for both Delonte West and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

After two days of no-shows and rampant speculation as to his whereabouts and mental condition, Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer reports that Delonte West is at practice today for the Cavaliers. We’ll have more information as it emerges.

Ken Berger of CBS Sports offers a reality check to those unfamiliar with bi-polar disorder, and exhorts West and the Cavs to confront this problem head on:

Mental illness is not an excuse for skipping practice, and it’s certainly not a free pass to ride around on a motorcycle armed for a shootout with barbarians at the gates of Hell. But mental illness is a reality and a stigma, a serious issue in sports that is rarely spoken about.

It is rarely spoken about because athletes are supposed to be pillars of strength who are too proud to admit weakness. It is taboo because no athlete wants to be labeled as mentally weak, lest that affect his ability to compete or sign his next contract.

To their credit, the Cavs have shown compassion and understanding for West’s issues, granting him a leave of absence in training camp last year to deal with them. But an NBA team is not meant to be, nor is it capable of being, a depression treatment center. If West needs additional help that cannot be provided within the confines of his employment, then he must seek it.

From a Cleveland blog, Waiting for Next Year, word that West could be out longer than you think (via Bethlehem Shoals):

Based on the information we’ve gathered from our sources, the situation is in fact more serious than many originally thought. At this point we should be guarded in our optimism regarding a timeframe for Delonte’s return to the team. Obviously we wish him the best, and there are more important issues at hand than his status with the team.

To which Shoals responds with a reality check of his own, examining the potential consequences on the court for the Cavaliers:

Not to bring basketball into the picture when there are far bigger things at stake, but what makes this news extra poignant is just how important West is to the Cavs. His synergy with Mo Williams was absolutely essential to the team’s more fluid offense last year; heck, based on what Mo did when Delonte missed time with an injury in 2008-09, he’s vital to Williams playing at an All-Star level.

It would be a fantastic story if West got himself together and was able to play a central part in bringing a championship to Cleveland. Unfortunately, this kind of disorder rarely lends itself to such tidy solutions.

And finally, SBN’s Cavs blog, Fear the Sword, offers a word of advice to Cleveland players and coaches in dealing with Delonte:

Perhaps the best course of action right now for the team is to get West the help he needs and distance themselves from him – remove the pressures of playing basketball – until he is back in his routine. It might even be a good idea to allow West to handle his off-court issues(he has a Nov. 20th court date) before having him on the basketball court.

In no way am I suggesting the team abandon Delonte, and I don’t believe they would. At the same time, however, the last thing the Cavaliers need is a day-to-day Delonte watch. Have West step aside, for now, and let both sides focus on what they need to do right now. For the Cavs, that is getting ready for the season. For West, it is something much more important – focus on getting healthy.

A lot of good stuff, out there. Rarely does a situation in sports force us to confront items of such complexity. This isn’t an injury, it isn’t an amusing skirmish with the law that we can all riff on. This a person who suffers from a disorder that’s rarely seen in anyone, let alone pro athletes, and can’t be treated with any sort of quick-fix surgery. It’s not easy stuff; the brain is a muscle that more often than not renders the smartest among us dumbfounded.

Helping West will require a delicate mixture of patience, vigilance, and understanding. And knowing when to do what will require an enormous amount of wisdom, a challenge for everyone in the organization, to say nothing of what might happen when they’re all on a basketball court.

So far, everyone’s proven up to the task and is saying the right things, but more and more, it looks as though this problem isn’t going away, and the Cavs players, coaches, and management, and most of all, Delonte, could all be in for a long struggle. And, at the risk of invoking hyperbole, it’s the type of struggle that can define people.

If Delonte can weather this storm, you’d have to believe he’ll come back stronger than ever. And if the Cavaliers can work with him, and exercise the enormous maturity it’ll take to deal with this problem collectively, well, they too will be fortified like never before. Even the greatest challenges can serve as opportunities.

(I feel like that's been said either by a. a United States President, b. a Nike Livestrong Ad c. Michael Jordan’s closing line in his HoF speech, or d. Shane Falco.)

Mike Brown talked about Delonte’s continued absence after practice today. From the Associated Press:

“We’ve been around this block before with Delonte, so we know how to handle it. I’m sure he’ll be OK. Basketball has nothing to do with what’s going on. He needs to take as much time as he needs, and when he comes back, we’ll welcome him as we’ve always done.

We’re all concerned about Delonte’s well-being. We love him and we’re all in the same family. But in the same breath, we’re all paid to do a job and that’s what we’re doing. I’ve got 18 guys here I have to coach every day and that’s what I’m doing."

Cavs guard Mo Williams, for one, downplayed the seriousness, citing West’s supportive friends and family as a safety net:

“I’d be worried about someone who doesn’t have a supporting cast around him and not trying to help him. I’m really not concerned about him,” said guard Mo Williams. “If he comes to practice tonight, it’ll be like he never left.”

According to Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer, Delonte West missed practice again today, and again his absence was inexcused. From Windhorst's twitter feed:

Delonte West is not at practice. Absence is unexcused. All others present.

Cleveland players, it seems, have tried to get in touch with him to no avail:

LeBron on trying to call Delonte: "We've tried...We don't know if he has his phone. You don't look into it. Either he answers or he doesn't"

Given West's medical history and allegedly criminal present, this is clearly a delicate issue for the Cavaliers. We're talking about a young man facing serious weapons charges, and with a history of mental illness. Missing practice is one thing, but it seems as though West's stability may be in jeopardy, which makes far more serious, and his absence from practice far more trivial. Let's hope for the best, and we'll have more information as it emerges from Cleveland.

More discouraging news for troubled Cavs guard Delonte West. Brian Windhorst of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer reports:

A day after he claimed he just wanted to focus on basketball following an arrest on gun possession, he couldn’t even do that on the first day of training camp. West did not report to practice at the Cleveland Clinic Courts this morning and his absence was unexcused.

“On a personal note, you always hope he’s doing well,” Cavs coach Mike Brown said. “But I have to continue looking forward and coaching this team. Whether it is Delonte or somebody else, if they miss practice and it is unexcused it will be handled internally.”

West did miss 10 days of training camp last year while undergoing treatment for his mood disorder. However, there’s an obvious difference between missing practice to get help dealing with his issues, and missing practice presumably because of his well-documented problems.

On the heels of his bizarre arrest two weeks ago for carrying three firearms while driving his motorcyle, it seems clear that West needs some time off to get his life in order. Here’s to hoping he gets the help he needs.

Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain-Dealer echoes the concerns over West, and worries about the future of the Cavs backcourt:

The Cavaliers will do everything within their power to help West, who has admitted to a history of depression and a bipolar mood disorder. With the blessing of the team, West missed 10 days of training camp last season when he went into a treatment center for his mental illness. The primary concern for Cavs owner Dan Gilbert, General Manager Danny Ferry and coach Mike Brown is to work with West and his doctors, creating the best environment for the 26-year-old guard to handle his emotions.[...]

The image of West on a Can-Am Spyder motorcycle with a shotgun stashed in a guitar case slung over his back - and a Beretta 9 mm in the waistband of his pants along with a Ruger .357 Magnum strapped to his leg - is scary to anyone who cares about West. [...]

 

But with these question marks hanging over West, the Cavs' backcourt is not a strong as it appeared only a few weeks ago.

The whole story is a good one, from one of the better basketball writers around. And with West's future up in the air, it's a reminder that much of Cleveland's success--and who knows, struggles this year would certainly have a bearing on Lebron's impending free agency--rests on the abilities of Delonte West. There are some serious problems to be dealt with, here--both in West's life, and, it seems, the Cleveland lineup.

The Cavaliers are moving forward as best they can with Delonte West, meeting with their troubled guard in Cleveland over the weekend. Both the team and the NBA may hold off on any disciplinary actions until they see how the legal proceedings unfold (West’s first court date is scheduled for Nov. 20), but it’s worth nothing that in the league’s recent history, “players who have plead guilty to misdemeanors involving gun charges have received suspensions ranging from 3-7 games from Commissioner David Stern.”

For now, the Cavs are more concerned with the mental well-being of West.

The Cavs, however, are likely just as concerned with West’s mental state and his ongoing treatment for a mood disorder.

When disclosing his battle last year, West said he is prone to depression at times when things in his life are going well. Last year, he had just signed a new contract when he left the team to seek treatment. This summer, West got married and was enjoying his new home in Maryland that he purchased after signing the contract.

Over at the Sporting Blog, Bethelem Shoals explains that the stories of Delonte West and Michael Beasley are intermingled:

To put it bluntly, Beasley was the nutjob, West the goofball. When West missed some time last season while seeking treatment for depression (reported later to be “a mood disorder,” then bipolar disorder), all the emphasis had been on his increased role on the Cavs and just how important he would be to a championship run. He was a veteran with a kooky streak.

But I prefer to believe that, for lack of a better term, the Beasley fiasco was a gateway story. Had it not been for that hectic few days of full-on “what’s in Beasley’s brain?” talk, people would just be flat-out alienated by West. At least the pump’s been primed. Now, instead of clinging to preconceptions and side-bets about who’s the craziest NBA player, we can take a cold, hard look at Delonte West and maybe learn a little something about how mental illness really works.

The entire article is thought provoking, so check it out. And indeed, it’s a subject that has been ignored in professional sports since the beginning of time. There are two areas of adult life that have consistently remained taboo among athletes and even management in the NBA and other leagues: homosexuality, and people with mental illness.

That West’s behavior—three guns on a motorcycle means you’re either mentally imbalanced or making a beer run in Iraq—may have a significant bearing on his future, and by extension the Cavs’ success this season, means that at least in this case, the league will have to pay it some attention. But with both West and Beasley, the league and the media have an opportunity to go beyond the quick fix, here, and put a structure in place whereby these issues are confronted before they mushroom into disastrous circumstances.

Neither West’s nor Beasley’s circumstances could be called a disaster, of course, but what about when Nets C Jayson Williams allegedly murdered someone? Keep in mind: all three of West’s guns were loaded.

Delonte West and Michael Beasley are symptoms of a disease (broadly speaking, psychological disorders) that’s far more prevalent than anyone in the league office would like to acknowledge. But they should, and soon. Here’s to hoping that these public incidents will speed that process along—before someone gets seriously hurt.

The Washington Post helps explain exactly how West was managing to carry three loaded guns while driving a motorcycle:

West was driving a three-wheeled motorcycle north on Interstate 95 near Route 214 in the Largo area when he cut off a Prince George’s County police officer, authorities said. The officer pulled him over, and West told the officer that he was carrying a handgun in his waistband.

That prompted the officer to call for backup, and investigators found that West was actually carrying three guns: a Beretta 9mm in his waistband, a Ruger .357 strapped to his leg and a shotgun in a guitar case slung over his back, said Maj. Andy Ellis, a spokesman for the Prince George’s County Police Department.