Readaloo

Cleveland fans gathered around televisions and yelled in anguish Thursday night as LeBron James announced he will leave the Cavaliers and sign with the Miami Heat.

At a shopping area in suburban Westlake, a loud "No" was heard the moment after James said on ESPN that he was going to South Beach. Hundreds of people who had clamored to see the announcement turned their backs and headed home in droves.

"I'm really stunned, I never thought he'd leave," said Tom Sheehan, 15, of Westlake, who wore a James Cavaliers jersey as he watched the announcement. "It's like we just lost a championship on the final shot at the buzzer. It's so disappointing."

Jerseys were burned by fans outside a bar in suburban Lakewood, according to WEWS-TV of Cleveland. Footage on the station's website shows a fan taking off a T-shirt reading "Please stay LBJ" and laying it atop a pile of burning No. 23 Cavaliers jerseys.

In downtown Cleveland, police had additional patrols to deal with crowds, but Patrol Officer Nancy Dominik said no problems were reported.

At the Harry Buffalo bar across the street from the Cavs' Quicken Loans Arena, fans fell silent as the announcement was made, with some covering their faces and looking as if they were crying. Some yelled "Turn it off" and others shouted profanities aimed at James.

Within five minutes, the packed bar was nearly empty.

At The Purple Shamrock bar's two locations, owner Frank Borally had promised to pick up patrons' food tabs if James had chosen to stay with the Cavs.

"I would have paid it threefold ... if he would have stayed," Borally said. "It's bad, it's not good. We'll deal with it. It's Cleveland, it's typical Cleveland."

Bar-goers had started making reservations for tables of eight and 10 by mid-afternoon.

"We were packed, and then everybody left," he said.

He said James' presence kept his business going when Cavs' fans went to the games, especially during cold-weather months.

"I hope Mr. Gilbert has a good plan set up, but we need a miracle," he said, referring to Cavaliers owner Dan Gilbert.

In Berea, at a bar about a half mile from the Cleveland Browns' training camp, fans in Browns jerseys were asked if what James did is worse than Art Modell, who took his Browns franchise to Baltimore in 1995, where the team stayed until fans in Cleveland fought to get it back.

"No way. LeBron did us a favor," said Fred Sczerpak of Berea. "He's a loser. He turned his back on us and good riddance.

"The difference is, Modell took a team everybody loved. That's why we hate him even more."

In Westlake in the minutes before James revealed his decision, Bill Lincoln of Bay Village described it as "like Christmas morning, only somebody is taking away your presents."

Fans across the northeast Ohio region had sung, danced and cheered in a campaign to keep James. On Thursday, "LeBron Watch" parties throughout the region featured dunk tanks, beer specials and poster giveaways.

The Harry Buffalo bar had painted "STAY LBJ" in white on the building. On the sidewalk were cardboard cutouts of James dunking, and several posters for the "More Than a Player" campaign were hung about.

Many fans had written messages to him on the sidewalk in chalk. One said: "We will always love LBJ, but we'll love you more if you stay."

Also making an appearance was the pleasedontleave23.com campaign's "Witness Mobile," a 1987 Oldsmobile Cutlass Supreme covered with signatures of fans who wanted James to stay in Cleveland.

The Positively Cleveland convention and visitors bureau estimates that Cavs' home games each net about $3.7 million in ticket sales, souvenirs, food and hotel bookings.

James has been with Cleveland since he was drafted in 2003. The team had an average home attendance of about 11,500 the season before he joined, and sold out every game in its 20,000-seat arena last season.

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade played together during the All-Star game -- now, will they play together during the regular season?

Investors on Wall Street may have been betting this afternoon that LeBron James will head to the New York Knicks.

Shares of the Knicks' owner, Madison Square Garden, rose 6.41 percent, or $1.30, to $21.57 Wednesday on Nasdaq. Much of the rise happened late in the session before the trading day ended at 4 p.m. ET.

David Joyce, a media analyst with Miller Tabak & Co., told Reuters that the rise is probably because of speculation that James may announce Thursday that he'll sign with the Knicks.

The Reuters report didn't give details about the speculation. But one thing that may have fueled the hopes of Knicks fans was a Twitter post by Phoenix Suns player Jared Dudley.

At about 2 p.m. ET, Dudley tweeted the following: "Breaking News!!! My sources tell me Lebron will announce that he will be goin to the NY KNICKS tomorrow on ESPN.. This is serious.. WOW!!!!"

Later Wednesday, he tweeted this: "That's what I'm hearing.. I don't care where he goes lol.. I personally thought he would stay in Cleveland.."

The first post was retweeted widely among Twitter users, including ESPN's Trey Wingo and Dudley teammate and former NBA MVP Steve Nash.

[Posted at 11:43 a.m.] LeBron James plans to tell us all where he plans to play next season live in an hour-long special his team is calling "The Decision" on ESPN tomorrow night.  Here’s what we know already:

He’s going to likely get a contract worth between 96 million and 125 million dollars.  He gets the higher amount if he re-signs with his hometown Cleveland Cavaliers, takes less if he changes teams.  Those are the leagues’ salary cap rules.

The two most coveted free agents after LeBron, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh said today they are going to play together for the Miami Heat. They want LeBron to join them there.

LeBron started a twitter account yesterday. His bio says “King of Akron.” He's also got a website.

We don’t know why LeBron has decided to reveal his decision on a nationally televised hour-long special, (proceeds from the commercials are going to the Boys and Girls Clubs of America), more importantly we don’t yet know where it’s going to take place. The location could be a key indicator of what he’s decided.

He wouldn’t be expected to go on TV from his hometown Cleveland/Akron to tell the world he was going to Miami, Chicago, New York etc. And he probably wouldn’t do the show in one of those cities if he was going to stay in Cleveland.  Of course he could do it from a “neutral” site to build up the mystery.

And we don’t know if the news will hold until tomorrow night at 9 when the big show is planned.  Lots of respected NBA reporters have been following the story closely.  Here are some who might get the scoop if you want to follow along.

Brian Wyndhorst, Cleveland Plain Dealer,  @Dcavsinsider
Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo Sports, @WojYahooNBA
Chris Broussard, ESPN, @Chris_Broussard
Stephen A. Smith @stephenasmith
Chris Mannix, SI.com, @ChrisMannixSI

As LeBron’s Nike poster said “We are all witnesses”

Video: FSR: Smith talks free agency

In the initial 24 hours of the free agency frenzy, various players have either been offered or have accepted contracts worth a total of $518 million. Within the next few days, that sum will surely be doubled and will exceed a billion.

What’s going on here?

Several teams have been diligently clearing cap space in preparation for this summer’s extravaganza — with the signing of LeBron, of course, being every franchise’s fondest desire. Many of these teams were hugely disappointed when the King named only a handful of supplicants whose offerings he would deign to consider.

The snubbed franchises then undertook to offer/sign second, third, fourth and even fifth tier players to hugely inappropriate contracts.

Let’s take a gander at some of these situations:

Toronto paying Amir Johnson $34 million for five years is the most ludicrous deal. Yes, Chris Bosh is determined to go elsewhere, but do the Raptors really believe that Johnson can in any way take Bosh’s place? All throughout his previous five seasons in the NBA, Johnson’s high-end potential has been universally celebrated but, although he’s still only 23, there have been very few signs that Johnson will ever produce the returns that the Raptors' investment demands.

This is a move that smacks of sheer desperation.

Nobody, however, is more desperate than the Hawks, whose six-year, $119M offer to Joe Johnson is patently absurd. With his 29th birthday in sight, JJ’s game is already showing alarming indications that his best years are behind him, something that was increasingly evident during his embarrassing performance in the playoffs. By the time he’s 35, he won’t be able to navigate his way into the paint. Meanwhile, the maximization of Atlanta’s salary cap will prohibit them from signing any meaningful free agents until Johnson wanders off into the sunset.

Memphis exhibited the same kind of panic when they re-upped Rudy Gay for five-years and $82 million. In truth, both Zach Randolph and O.J. Mayo are better players than Gay, and within a year or two Marc Gasol will also surpass him.

And what does Gay bring to the Grizzlies' mix? Scoring. He can’t defend or pass, and his game has been static for the last two years. In a more rational basketball universe, Gay’s true value is about half of what he’ll be paid.

The Knicks' expected inking of Amar’e Stoudemire for five years and $100 million is another act that reeks of desperation. With all of their available cap space, and with LeBron indicating that he’d rather play in Chicago, Miami, Cleveland, or anywhere else but the Big Apple, the Knicks simply had to make a dramatic move just to show to their fans that they are indeed doing something.

And what are they getting in Stoudemire? A talented player with an extremely low basketball IQ, no defensive awareness, and a selfish desire to have every offensive play run through him. Plus his chronic injuries have made his contract uninsurable. Even worse for the Knick Nation, most of Stoudemire’s point-making resulted from the genius of Steve Nash. Somehow, playing with Chris Duhon (or whoever winds up pointing Mike D’Antoni’s offense) won’t come close to duplicating the numerical successes that Stoudemire enjoyed in Phoenix.

In fact, the only rationalization for bringing Stoudemire on board is if his presence can induce either LBJ or D-Wade to join forces with him. Given Stoudemire’s many shortcomings, this is a doubtful outcome.

Is Channing Frye supposed to replace Stoudemire in Phoenix? At “only” $30 million for five years, Frye certainly comes cheaper than Stoudemire, but he’s strictly a one-dimensional player. No defense, no rebounding, no passing. Given last year’s stats and equal distribution of his money, the Suns will pay Frye $34,883.72 for each successful 3-point shot.

Milwaukee’s agreements with John Salmons (five years, $40 million) and Drew Gooden (five years, $32 million) make only marginal sense. Since the Bucks will be ninth team that has employed Gooden in what will be his ninth NBA season, Gooden’s contract is way out of line for someone who’s the epitome of a journeyman player.

Also, with Corey Maggette and Michael Redd already on the roster, what’s the need for Salmons? Especially since Maggette was such a recent acquisition and Redd’s most recent injury and humongous contract make him virtually untradable.

So far, the only player who’s worthy of his new contract is Paul Pierce — four years, $61 million (the max Boston could pay him). Too bad PP will be 33 soon and is already slowing down. Signing Pierce also indicates that the Celtics believe their current roster (with only a few tweaks, most notably obtaining big men to replace Rasheed Wallace and to fill in while Kendrick Perkins recuperates) can make another serious run for the gold.

Too many of these teams will eventually come to rue their rash and desperate moves when their costly investments inevitably prove inadequate, and their stuffed salary caps prohibit any more serious free agent deals.

Instead of “Where Caring Happens,” the NBA’s new motto should be caveat emptor. Buyer beware.

What do you get when you combine one the NBA’s most colorful and eccentric players, a microphone and a championship victory for the Los Angeles Lakers? One hell of a post-game interview and press conference, that’s what.

Last night, Lakers forward Ron Artest couldn’t contain his excitement as his team secured the NBA championship over the Boston Celtics in a thrilling game seven. The result was a legendary post-game interview where Artest thanked “everybody in my hood,” his psychiatrist, and countless others, then exploded in joy over winning his first NBA championship.

That wasn’t the end of it though; the Artest show continued with a ridiculous press conference. You knew it wasn’t going to be a normal press conference when Artest grabbed a box of Wheaties and screamed at the random journalists “behind the laptops” to acknowledge him.

The resulting videos have gone viral on YouTube  , Twitter, and Google. They are top trends on almost every social media website. Just watch the videos and you’ll see why.

Enjoy:

Ron Artest Post-Game Interview

Ron Artest Post-Game Press Conference

Suspended Washington Wizards star Gilbert Arenas was ordered Friday to spend 30 days in a halfway house for his conviction on gun charges stemming from a locker-room confrontation with a teammate.

District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Robert E. Morin also sentenced Arenas to 400 hours of community service, which cannot be conducted at basketball clinics, and a $5,000 fine.

Arenas apologized in court for his actions, saying, "Every day, I wake up wishing it did not happen."

Arenas pleaded guilty to violating the city's gun laws in a Dec. 21 incident at Verizon Center. After an argument over an unpaid gambling debt, Arenas brought several guns to the team locker room and set them in front of Javaris Crittenton's locker with a sign telling him to "PICK 1."

"The evidence is that both of you felt disrespected," Morin told Arenas of the dispute over a few hundred dollars' debt from a poker game. "Rather than acting like mature adults, you escalated the incident" by bringing guns to practice.

In court papers, prosecutors said Crittenton had a legitimate reason to believe Arenas' threat was genuine.

Prosecutors wanted Arenas to go to jail for at least three months. They said he lied repeatedly about why the guns were in the locker room and even tried to cover up what had happened. They also said he knew bringing guns into D.C. was illegal and has a prior gun conviction.

U.S. Attorney Christopher Kavanaugh wrote in court papers that "if any other individual — without the fame, power, and the wealth of this defendant — brought four firearms into Washington, D.C., for the purpose of a similar confrontation," they would surely go to jail.

Arenas' lawyers sought probation and community service, arguing that the athlete was playing a misguided prank with no intention to harm anybody. They point out that the guns were unloaded, that Arenas' lighthearted comments about the incident were misinterpreted, and that he's a good role model who excelled at community service.

"This sad saga has sent a strong message to any and all who might consider bringing guns into the district," defense attorneys wrote.

Arenas' sentence could determine whether the Wizards will attempt to void the remainder of his six-year, $111 million contract, although the players' union has vowed to fight such a move.

Regardless, Arenas' misdeed has helped contribute to the precipitous decline of a franchise that is headed for its second consecutive last-place finish after several years of regularly reaching the playoffs.

Arenas disputed claims by prosecutors that he did not take the incident seriously. He specifically referred to his gunslinging pantomime during a pre-game warmup in Philadelphia while the crime was under investigation.

"For everybody else, I'm taking it lightly," he said, referring to a widely circulated photo of him goofing around during the warmup. "I'm looking at picture where 14 or 15 guys are laughing together for the last time," he said, his voice breaking.

The maximum term for Arenas' crime is five years. The sentencing guidelines for someone with his record call for six months to two years, although those guidelines also allow for probation.

There has been little dispute about the facts of the case.

Arenas and teammate Javaris Crittenton got into an argument over a card game and exchanged threats while the team was flying home Dec. 19 from a road game. Two days later, Arenas brought his guns to the locker room and put them in a chair by Crittenton's locker with a sign saying, "Pick 1." Crittenton then retrieved his own gun and showed it to Arenas.

Crittenton pleaded guilty in January to a misdemeanor gun charge and received a year of unsupervised probation.

Arenas entered his guilty plea Jan. 15.

Morin said he took several factors into account in determining the sentence, including the fact that Crittenton only received probation and that he believed Arenas was remorseful.

After successfully stamping his world-renowned brand on shoes, sports drinks and men's underwear, Michael Jordan is confident of applying the same multimillion-dollar touch to the Charlotte Bobcats' money-losing franchise he now owns.

"My life has been like a big marketing scheme," Jordan, 47, said Thursday at Time Warner Cable Arena. "I've done commercials; I've been connected with Corporate America and have been asked to speak to charities. All the things that (the team) is going to ask in the next six months to be involved in, I have no problems getting myself involved in that."

Jordan stressed two major points at a news conference that seemed as much a business pitch as an introduction.

The first: that he would be intimately involved, from personnel — "I'd like to think my investment has entitled me to make a lot of decisions," he said with a laugh — to marketing. "The biggest challenge is evaluating the team and connecting with the public to provide an entertainment value they can feel good about," he said.

The second: that his family would have roles in the organization — although the longtime North Carolinian sidestepped questions about relocating permanently from Chicago. He did say he would have a home in Charlotte and planned to spend more time in the city.

"Now that I've invested, I assume the responsibility of putting my face on this organization and trying to move it to next level," he said. "I wouldn't say I'm a show pony. I'll be an integral part of this community. I'm making a long-term commitment."

Still, Jordan faces a challenge in trying to win over a region where Atlantic Coast Conference basketball, NASCAR and the NFL's Carolina Panthers are of more interest than an NBA team pushing toward the first playoff berth in its six-year history.

Coach Larry Brown, like the new owner a North Carolina alum, said recently that it would take more than Jordan's presence to build crowds. The Bobcats haven't ranked higher than 22nd in attendance this season.

"If we play a good style of ball and they respect what we're doing, they'll come," Brown said. "That's on us. It's not about Michael. ... I don't care how (good) your marketing is, who your owner is, who your general manager is. Everywhere I've been, if you play good, people will make every effort to come out and watch you."

Jordan said he didn't know everything.

"I've got to live vicariously through the players I put on the basketball court. I don't expect Gerald Wallace (or) Stephen Jackson to be Michael Jordan," he said. "I want to have fun. I want to provide entertainment (to) Charlotte. Hopefully, that'll translate into winning."

"The most competitive (former players), like Jordan, can't be satisfied with taking orders or being part of somebody else's management team," says former New York Yankees publicist Rick Cerrone, now an image consultant. "They need to call the shots and do their own hiring and firing."

Commissioner David Stern says there's no lingering bad blood between owners and Jordan, the five-time MVP who led the NBA to new heights of popularity and profits in the 1990s.

Jordan, 47, is the sole investor "at the moment" in his MJ Basketball Holdings LLC, Stern says, but he might decide to bring in other backers. Jordan will undergo background and financial checks, then have his application voted on by other owners. Stern expects his bid to be approved by the end of the month.

"I couldn't be more thrilled for North Carolina, for the Bobcats, for the NBA and for Michael," Stern says.

Stern dismisses the idea that having Jordan signing the checks will give the club a leg up with free agents. Most NBA franchises are managed or coached by former stars, he notes.

But the magic of Jordan's name and fame could pay dividends in a basketball-crazy state where the struggling NBA team competes for ticket and sponsorship sales with college powerhouses Duke and North Carolina, as well as the NFL's Carolina Panthers.

Jordan, who was raised in Wilmington, N.C., led the Tar Heels to the national championship in 1982 before winning six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. If the longtime Madison Avenue pitchman can market the Bobcats the way he has marketed himself for 25 years, the club could turn around financially.

"If I was selling sponsorships, I'd like to take him on a call," Stern says. "If I was doing an open house for season ticketholders, I'd ask him to stop by."

Joe Maloof, an owner of the Sacramento Kings, says it's "wonderful" the NBA's greatest star is putting his money where his mouth is. The challenge for Jordan, Maloof says, will be handling losing seasons — and realizing the buck now stops with him.

"The final risk is always with the owner. Everything stops at the top," Maloof says.

Jordan has struggled to find a second act to one of the greatest careers in sports history. He joined the Wizards as president of basketball operations in 2000, only to come out of retirement and play two more seasons before retiring for good in 2003.

He tainted his reputation by selecting Kwame Brown as the first overall pick in 2001, and his performance in Charlotte as head of basketball operations has been spotty. The Bobcats have never made the playoffs.

Superstars such as Jordan typically don't make the best coaches or leaders, says Donny Deutsch, chairman of Deutsch Inc. advertising agency. Sure, Jordan gives the Bobcats a "patina of sexiness." But the "jury is out" on his credentials as an executive, Deutsch says. Can Jordan put a winning team on the floor?

"You could make the argument that (Dallas Mavericks owner) Mark Cuban is more suited to run a team, even never playing a game of ball in his life but being a very successful entrepreneur/businessman," he says. "Whereas Jordan has not proved that yet."

Doug Collins, who coached Jordan with the Chicago Bulls and later was hired by him to coach the Wizards, defends his front-office performance, even the Brown pick: "I think Michael gets judged on one thing — the pick of Kwame Brown. Everybody wanted to pick Kwame Brown."

But even Collins wonders how Jordan, a fierce advocate for players during the 1999 labor lockout, will come down if there's a lockout in 2011 as many expect.

"Michael is the ultimate competitor. I think for him now, he feels like he can put his fingerprints on this organization," Collins says. "Michael knows he has a tremendous challenge ahead. That's one of the things that's always driven him. ... He wants a team that has a chance to compete for championships. He's going to want people in that arena watching his team."

Besides Jordan and Mario Lemieux of the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins, few former players hold controlling interests in major sports franchises. But Cerrone expects more wealthy ex-jocks to take controlling or minority stakes in sports teams.

"Derek Jeter will someday have an ownership role, maybe with the Yankees," Cerrone predicts. "I think the Yankees will want to keep Derek as tied to the franchise as possible."

The city of Chicago has probably always hoped for what transpired Friday. Their adopted son, Michael Jordan, became the owner of an NBA franchise, except instead of it being the Chicago Bulls as everyone in Chicago would have hoped for, it is in Michael Jordan's home state of North Carolina with the team he was already a partial owner of, the Charlotte Bobcats.

While details are have not been made available, it is confirmed that MJ Basketball Holdings LLC struck a deal with Bob Johnson to purchase control of the Bobcats. The agreement still needs to be approved by the other owners. Jordan was able to bring coach Larry Brown to the team, and it was generally assumed that if Jordan had not become the owner that Brown would have left.

There are a number of mountains that Jordan has to conquer if he is going to be a successful owner. Right now the team lacks a fan base, and loses millions of dollars every year. Bob Johnson, founder of BET, poured $300 million into the purchase of the franchise and has lost $150 million in debt since the team began play in the 2004-2005 season.

There is also a downtown arena that the city built in order to get another NBA team after the Hornets fled for New Orleans. The stadium has not turned a profit yet, much like the team that calls the arena home. Jordan, grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina and hit the game winning shot in the 1982 NCAA Championship Game for the University of North Carolina and will turn 47 this year.

He has made 7 trades since last season and that includes bringing Stephan Jackson to the team that has helped to bring the team into the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference. Just the same he used the overall No. 3 draft pick in the 2006 draft to get former Gonzaga star, Adam Morrison who never panned out for the team.

Bob Johnson was in bidding negotiations with Michael Jordan, and former Houston Rockets executive, George Postolos, who also had a buyer group. Postolos said that Jordan had exclusive rights until right before mid-night Friday night. Jordan submitted his bid at the last minute, to secure the purchase for his group.

Still, that did not deter Postolos, "I remain committed to becoming an NBA owner, and I'm glad that Michael will continue to bring his talent to the sport and the league. He's very, very committed." No one from either the Johnson or Jordan camps were available for comment or to discuss the sale/purchase.

Former NBA star Jayson Williams was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday for fatally shooting a hired driver in 2002, ending an eight-year legal odyssey by tearfully apologizing to the victim's family. He will be eligible for parole in 18 months.

Williams, avoiding a retrial on a reckless manslaughter count that deadlocked the jury at his 2004 trial, pleaded guilty last month to aggravated assault in the death of Costas Christofi in February 2002. At the same 2004 trial, he was acquitted of aggravated manslaughter but convicted on four counts of covering up the shooting.

The sentences on the assault and cover-up counts will run concurrently. State Superior Court Judge Edward Coleman went along with a plea agreement that spelled out the five-year prison sentence and the potential for Williams to be released as early as summer 2011.

In court Tuesday, a tearful Williams turned and apologized to Andrea Adams, Christofi's sister, saying "there's not a day I wake up that I don't feel sorry for what I did to Mr. Christofi and that I put you through this."

Adams wrote in a letter read by a court employee that the punishment "didn't fit the crime" and spoke of "eight years of agony watching Jayson Williams prance around and live his life and acting like nothing happened."

Williams paid Christofi's family more than $2 million in 2003 to settle a wrongful death lawsuit.

He had been free on bail since being charged in 2002, but was taken from the courtroom in handcuffs to begin serving his sentence.

Most of the facts of the shooting are not in dispute. Christofi had driven Williams and several of the basketball player's friends to Williams' mansion after taking them to a local restaurant.

Williams admitted at his plea hearing last month that he gave the group a tour of the house and showed them his gun collection in his bedroom. While showing off a double-barreled 12-gauge shotgun, Williams admitted, he failed to check the safety mechanism and inspected only one of the two barrels before snapping it shut.

The gun fired, striking Christofi once in the chest and killing him. Witnesses testified that Williams tried to cover up his involvement by initially placing the gun in Christofi's hands and instructing those present in the bedroom to lie about what happened.

"Had the defendant exercised one ounce of caution that night, Gus Christofi would still be alive and we wouldn't be here," Deputy Attorney General Steven Farman said Tuesday.

The legal wrangling in the case eventually took on a life of its own, beginning with a change of venue for the trial from Hunterdon County, the site of the shooting, to Somerset County.

In 2007, defense attorneys tried to get the case tossed out after Hunterdon County Prosecutor J. Patrick Barnes divulged that a white investigator in his office had used a racial slur to describe Williams, who is black, in a 2002 meeting.

Williams, who turned 42 on Monday, played nine seasons with the Philadelphia 76ers and New Jersey Nets before a leg injury forced him to retire in 2000. He was in the second year of a six-year, $86 million contract.

He became an NBA analyst for NBC but was suspended after Christofi's shooting. He attempted a short-lived comeback in the minor league Continental Basketball Association in 2005.

Williams has suffered several recent personal setbacks.

His wife filed for divorce last year, but has attended some of his recent court appearances.

Police used a stun gun on him in a New York hotel last year after a female friend said he was acting suicidal. He was charged with assault in May after allegedly punching a man in the face outside a North Carolina bar, but charges were dropped. His father, E.J., with whom he owned a construction business, died in South Carolina in November.

Last month he was charged with drunken driving after he crashed his SUV in Manhattan. Prosecutors said his blood alcohol level was more than twice the legal limit.

"To my family, please forgive me for the pain I've caused you," Williams said Tuesday as he read from a statement. "You deserve a better father, a better brother and son than I have been. I am not a bad man, but I acted badly on Feb. 14. I will work endlessly to improve myself and make positive contributions to society."