There have been so many ridiculous stories in the NBA this week that I felt they needed their own post. Some of these stories are a bit old now, but they were just too outrageous to forget or bury somewhere in a WotN.

First off, Jay Williams and the Chicago Bulls.

Your 2002-03 Bulls

All of a sudden, Ron Artest's halftime Hennessy drinking doesn't seem so bad. Jay Williams came forth this week with claims that the '03 Bulls were, among other things, high all the time, even during games. This information came out during an interview with the New York Times for their article on him: A Leg Rebuilt, a Life Renewed.

This brings up a lot of questions, such as: Why now? Doesn't the NBA test players for controlled substances during the season? And...Why the hell is the New York Times doing a several page article on Jay Williams?

Some of these questions are easier to answer than others. I have no idea why Jay Williams would bring this up now. Perhaps, he was inspired by David Stern's recent declaration that the NBA was going to step up their drug testing, but this is mere speculation. The 2nd question is easy, and the answer is yes. The NBA has been administering random drug tests during the NBA season since 1983. As for the third question, that is perhaps the most baffling for me, and I can't even speculate as to the reasons why the Old Grey Lady wanted to give several pages to Jay Williams. Granted, his revelations have turned into news now, but the Times probably didn't anticipate that when they decided to interview him. It's a lengthy article and these allegations are only a small part, which the interviewer doesn't even seem that interested in pursuing. In case you haven't heard the quotes from the article yet, I'll provide them here.

Guys were on the bench trying to kick it to girls in the stands, having ball boys run over. I mean, some guys were high. There were guys smoking weed before games. Guys asking in the middle of the game, 'do you smell popcorn?'

If you're wondering why I'd use the same quotes you've read in countless internet articles at this point, it's because those are the only pertinent quotes in the article. They occur midway through the lengthy interview and seemingly elicit no follow-up questions. So much for investigative journalism, right? There was no 'like who?' to satisfy our curiosity, nor did the reporter attempt a loaded question such as, 'you mean, besides Eddy Curry and Corie Blount?'. 

Even though the New York Times doesn't seem interested in these answers, most people who've heard of the allegations are. There have been a lot of theories floating around, and some of Jay's former teammates have come forth to try to clear the air. Tyson Chandler is one of the more notable members of that 30 win squad, and he disputed the claims.

I don't know why he'd say something like that. I think that's ridiculous that he would come out and say something. I don't remember that, to be honest with you.

Memory problems, eh? I have a gut feeling that Williams might find away to dispute that rebuttal, so I'll offer another one, this time from former teammate Donyell Marshall.

My thing is, why say these things now? You don't need to be making people assume. You're messing up situations for other people. Now, instead of Fred (Hoiberg, coach of Iowa State) focusing on the NCAA tournament or whatever, he's got to deal with that.

Leave it to Donyell Marshall to be the voice of reason. I for one am skeptical that a team with Cory 'pass the giant' Blount would be involved in this sort of thing, but I suppose anything's possible. The point is that Jay Williams has probably already done the Bulls enough favors, and this is one curtain that didn't need to be pulled back. At least, not unless the details provided are going to be more lurid. Popcorn? It's funny and all, but he could've weaved a better one given the cast of characters.

Mike Bibby: If you haven't seen it already, below is the footage of Mike Bibby being escorted by police from his son's high school basketball game.


OK, show of hands: how many people just realized Mike Bibby is no longer in the NBA? Don't be shy. I'll admit it. It's not that I thought he was in the NBA; Bibby simply hasn't popped into my head since the last time I saw him, probably in a Knicks uniform. His retirement (nobody wanting to pay him anymore) occurred with so little fanfare, and it's not like I spend a lot of time wondering: Where's Mike Bibby? What team is he on? How come I haven't seen him in weekly ESPN countdowns?

Well, now we know he's retired from the league, but clearly not from the love of the game. So why did he get kicked out of his son's high school game? It's the same reason he got kicked out of the 2002 finals—fucking refs. Bibby described the situation thusly:

I think the ref had a little ego problem before the game started. I kind of got on him early in the game and he told the police to watch me, or whatever. I was just sitting there and I told him, 'that was a bad angle, number 23 wasn't in the play, ref' and he just pointed to the police and the police came and got me.

I guess that just about sums it up. The ref had an ego problem.

Hedo Turkoglu: If I had told you back in 2010 that two members of that year's Magic squad were going to get suspended for steroid use, I'm guessing you wouldn't have gone with Hedo Turkoglu and Rashard Lewis. I was under the impression that steroids were supposed to give you some sort of an advantage.

This is some NASA level photoshopping

Am I missing something here? Do NBA players just have the world's shittiest steroids dealer? At least Mark McGwire and Barry Bonds set some records. Hedo has scored 32 total points this year. All the same, the NBA has suspended him for 20 games without pay after he tested positive for methenolone, an anabolic steroid. Addressing the media, Hedo was quite contrite.

As a player this is the worst situation that you want to be in...I took something that I shouldn't be taking. I should've double-searched, researched, what I should take, and I shouldn't be in this situation right now.  

I understand that PED's are a serious issue for the NBA to grapple with, but I have to wonder if this suspension is the best way to deal with the situation. Wouldn't it have been more effective to just let him play, sort of as a cautionary tale to would be users?