Sebastian Telfair suspended 3 games by NBA after weapons Plea

Sebastian Telfair, one of the last remnants of the Portland Trailblazers “Jail Blazers” era to be eradicated from the Rose City, has been suspended 3 games by the NBA after pleading guilty to criminal possession of a weapon.

Telfair entered the league with glowing credentials—Slam Magazine gushed that he was “one of the best point guards ever to come into the league”, an assertion that has proven laughable.  Ever since he was selected by Portland with the 13th pick in the 2004 NBA draft he’s been more interested in running around and acting like a “thug” than he has in improving as a professional athlete.  Telfair’s career highlights include running around with loaded weapons, implications of gang association, rumors that he was somehow involved in the shooting of some rapper named “Fabulous”, and an unintentionally laughable incident where he left a preseason basketball game to attend a police lineup after someone allegedly stole a gold chain worth a reported $50,000 from Telfair while a patron at a restaurant owned by famed rap impresario P. Diddy.

He was run out of Portland after the franchise hit rock bottom and began to rebuild with players who had talent on the court and class off of it such as Brandon Roy and Lamarcus Aldridge.  He was originally peddled off to Boston, and they were all too happy to throw him in as part of the deal that brought Kevin Garnett to the Celtics.  He put up decent numbers in Minnesota last season and as one of the few teams in the NBA desperate enough for talent to want Telfair signed to a multiyear deal, the TWolves gave him a new three year contract worth $7.5 million. The lessons from his runs in Portland and Boston are readily apparent—teams begin to win when Telfair leaves town.

The latest incident stems from a 2007 traffic stop while with Boston where Telfair was found with a loaded gun.  He was sentenced to three years probation last month after his guilty plea.  The suspension comes on the heels of the Golden State Warriors suspending Monta Ellis 30 games for an offseason moped accident prohibited by his contract.  Nothing better underscores the convoluted sense of right and wrong among NBA players than the fact that Ellis received a ten times more severe punishment for riding a moped than Telfair did for a felony weapons plea.