Bad news for Delonte. Suspended guard Delonte West will not return to the Dallas Mavericks, a source said. This comes after he was suspended twice in one month and went on a Twitter rant yesterday saying he didn’t do anything wrong.
The team is in the process of negotiating terms of West’s departure with his agent, Dan Fegan, after the fiery guard was suspended Thursday for conduct detrimental to the team. It was the second time the team suspended West in two weeks, although the first suspension lasted only 21 hours, ending after West met with coach Rick Carlisle and president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson.
The source said both suspensions stemmed from frequent behavioral missteps by West, an eight-year veteran who was a valuable role player for the Mavs last season, averaging 9.6 points and 3.2 assists while playing tenacious defense at both guard spots.
When reached by ESPNDallas.com on Thursday morning, West said he was being blamed for an argument between teammates after the Mavs’ 88-76 exhibition loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday night in Wichita, Kan. He said he got a text Thursday morning telling him not to come to the American Airlines Center for practice.
“There was an argument between two teammates in the locker room last night that didn’t involve me,” said West, who had two points, one assist and three turnovers in 21 minutes against the Thunder. “Somehow I’m being blamed for it. I had nothing to do with it. I don’t know what’s going on.”
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WRITTEN BY Tim MacMahon | ESPNDallas.com & FULL STORY HERE
