No matter what you may think of Agent Zero at this point, you gotta admit this is one crappy birthday present:
“Although it is clear that the actions of Mr. Arenas will ultimately result in a substantial suspension, and perhaps worse, his ongoing conduct has led me to conclude that he is not currently fit to take the court in an NBA game,” commissioner David Stern said in a statement Wednesday. “Accordingly, I am suspending Mr. Arenas indefinitely, without pay, effective immediately pending the completion of the investigation by the NBA.”
Every game Arenas ends up missing during the suspension will cost him $147,208.
Arenas turned 28 today. On Monday, he met with local law enforcement officials to discuss why he had four unloaded guns stored at the Verizon Center, and exactly why he took them out and displayed them inside the locker room last month. Arenas has admitted that he placed the guns on a chair in an effort to play a “misguided” joke on teammate Javaris Crittenton. Then last night, during a pregame warmup in Philadelphia, Arenas threw a series of finger pistols around at his teammates, in an apparent attempt at levity. Based on Stern’s statement today, we’re guessing he didn’t think that was very funny, either.