Delonte trial now in late April

[papacass]

Windy Twitter: "Delonte West motions hearing and trial on gun charges pushed to late April. Hearing was supposed to be Fri., trial Feb. 18. Now Apr. 26. "

The good news: There is no chance of Delonte serving any type of league-imposed suspension this season.

The bad news: There is a chance he might have to miss intermittent games during the playoffs to attend court proceedings.

[Ziner]

Hope the judge isn't a Wizards fan

[davemanddd]

Hope the judge isn't a Wizards fan

now "that" would suck.

[Cerebral_DownTime]

Hope the judge isn't a Wizards fan

I'd love to be a fly on the wall if Delonte testified.

[davemanddd]

kobe was able to fly back and forth to his rape trial in utah during the playoffs that year, so why couldn't redz do the same this year???

[papacass]

kobe was able to fly back and forth to his rape trial in utah during the playoffs that year, so why couldn't redz do the same this year???

Colorado. And it's up to the judge, the date of the hearings, the date of the games, and what city the Cavs are playing in.

[khetti]

kobe was able to fly back and forth to his rape trial in utah during the playoffs that year, so why couldn't redz do the same this year???

I don't think there is any doubt that he physically could if the dates align; however, the real crux here is Delonte's mental state at the time and if he could handle the rigors of both a trial and the playoffs concurrently. It could either make him more focused -- or it could completely send him into the doldrums.

[Jimmy Dudley]

There is not going to be a trial. Redz was caught red-handed. The only question is what kind of deal can his lawyer work out given Delonte's mental state. Unless the trial is postponed again, look for him to agree to a deal that will likely lead to Stern suspending him for a while (though probably not as long as Arenas, since Delonte had the good sense not to bring his guns to an NBA arena).

[papacass]

There is not going to be a trial. Redz was caught red-handed. The only question is what kind of deal can his lawyer work out given Delonte's mental state. Unless the trial is postponed again, look for him to agree to a deal that will likely lead to Stern suspending him for a while (though probably not as long as Arenas, since Delonte had the good sense not to bring his guns to an NBA arena).

Everything I've read says Delonte and his reps are pretty well determined to let this go to trial. That's his right as a U.S. citizen. I don't think a plea deal is coming, unless the D.A. wants to make some pretty appealing concessions. I don't think that's going to happen.

I've probably written this 15 times before, but Stephen Jackson was suspended seven games in 2007 for firing a gun outside a nightclub. Given that Delonte didn't actually brandish or fire a gun, his suspension should be less than or on par with what Jackson received. And given Delonte's history of emotional problems, there is reason to believe that Stern won't throw the book at him. He'll punish him, but not so much as to make an example of him.

Nobody should be using the Gil Arenas fiasco as a gauge for what awaits Delonte. Arenas A) brought guns into the locker room, B) actually brandished his guns in a dispute, whether jokingly or not, and C) openly mocked Stern's authority on two occasions in the aftermath. That's on top of the fact that Stern wasn't exactly the biggest Gil fan in the world before this whole clusterhump. The only thing that is similar about Gil and Delonte's incidents is that both occurred in or around Washington, D.C.

[Jimmy Dudley]

[

Everything I've read says Delonte and his reps are pretty well determined to let this go to trial. That's his right as a U.S. citizen. I don't think a plea deal is coming, unless the D.A. wants to make some pretty appealing concessions. I don't think that's going to happen.

Of course the lawyer's public statements say that Delonte is going to go to trial. That's the way a good lawyer gets a good deal for his client--not by acting as though they are afraid to do it. However, IMHO, there will only be a trial if the DA wants to run for office on being a tough guy and won't offer a deal that makes sense.

As far as the league suspension, I agree the Arenas situation is not really analogous. With Delonte's case coming as it does on the heels of the Arenas fiasco, though, he will likely fare worse than he otherwise would have.