The Trials and Tribulations of Spree

My friend Dilb sent me a very interesting email on monday.  It read:  Former NBA Player forclosed on mansion.....HAHAHA ITS SPREE!!!

This is where we are in the life of Latrell Sprewell.  The career of Spree has been one of many ups and downs, with the downs outweighing the ups.  Lets look at the career of Spree.

Spree came out of Milwaukee, possibly the only exciting person/thing that ever came out of the middle of nowhere in Wisconsin.  He went on to star at Alabama for 3 years after a stint at the prestigous Three Rivers Community College in Poplar Bluff, Missouri.  Now Spree was no angel, he got into some fights, was not ever a happy camper, and had a huge chip on his shoulder, but the fame a fortune eventually got to him.  When he was picked 24th by the Warriors, he surprised the NBA world and become an explosive scorer.  Here is a commerical before the Spree we know today took off.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb7wRp545YA

As I said, Spree was no angel.   In 1995, Sprewell fought with teammate Jerome Kersey and returned to practice carrying a two-by-four, and reportedly threatened to return with a gun.


Finally, almost a year to the day, December 1st, 1997, Spree had an argument with coach P.J Carlisa-shit and....well we all know what happend.  Spree choked him and to turn a long story short ended his days with Golden State and cost him a year in the NBA.  Not to be outdone, during his suspension, Sprewell was charged with reckless driving for his role in a 90 mph accident that injured two people, spending three months under house arrest as part of a no-contest plea.

So of course the Knicks pick him up and in three seasons 1999,2000,and 2001 Spree was a huge part of the Knicks success and frankly on his best behavior.  In fact, most Knicks fans and some NBA fans thought he had changed his act, that Spree had grown up.  He helped lead the Knicks to an NBA Finals appreance, which has been their last as of now, and also helped the Knicks to an Eastern Conference Finals apperance as well as a 4th seed in 2001.  He averaged 18.6 points for his Knicks career, and despite getting destroyed in the NBA Finals in 1999, Spree put up 26 a game, including a 35-10 in Game 5.  He even had a commerical that just showed him doing his hair.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s6DYYh5f2sg&feature=related

 However, the Knicks do what they do best, making dumb decisions and signed him to a 5 year $62 million extension.  Things went downhill from here.

In 2002 Spree showed up fat and out of shape to training camp.  Spree showed up to camp with a broken hand as well, which he claimed occurred when he slipped on his yacht; the Knicks fined him a record $250,000 for failing to report the incident to them. Sprewell sued the New York Post for claiming that he broke his hand in a fight.  This of course was proven that he broke his hand on the yacht while he was having a massive blowout on his boat.

You could tell, despite Sprewell's success in the 2002-2003 season that his time with the Knicks were coming to an end.  It soured after that enourmous fine, and Spree quit on the Knicks, forcing a trade in the offseason that sent him to the T'Wolves that brought the legendary Keith Van Fish to the Knicks. 

Right before opening night 2004, Spree turned down a 3 year $21 million extension from the Wolves as he was insulted by the low offer and stated, "I have a family to feed."  I bet you wish you had the money now Spree.  He had the the worst season of his career that year and in 2005 a bunch of teams inquired about him.  However, only Latrell Sprewell would demand a big contract despite being a free agent during the season and all the teams told him to basically go to hell. 

One month into the 2005-06 season and without a contract, Sprewell's agent, Bob Gist, said his client would rather retire than play for the NBA minimum salary, telling Sports Illustrated, "Latrell doesn't need the money that badly. To go from being offered $7 million to taking $1 million, that would be a slap in the face." Several days later, Gist said that Sprewell planned to wait until "teams get desperate" around the trade deadline in February, and then sign with a contending team (an eventuality that never materialized). Gist said that Sprewell would not be interested in signing for any team's $5 million mid-level exception, calling that amount "a level beneath which [Sprewell] would not stoop or kneel!"
In March 2006, Sprewell was offered contracts by the Dallas Mavericks and San Antonio Spurs, both of whom were considered at the time to be strong favorites to win the NBA Championship; however, when contacted by these teams, Sprewell failed to respond with an answer to whether he would sign with them. As a result, the Mavericks and Spurs were no longer pursuing him, and he remained a free agent as the season came to a close. There was also some interest in Sprewell by the Los Angeles Lakers at the beginning of the 2005-2006 season, but a disagreement in the contract offer resulted in a failure to reach a deal.


Then there came the post NBA troubles for Spree.

Remember that wheel company he had, Sprewell rims or whatever, the one that was used on Pimp My Ride and all that stuff?  Yea, well it went bankrupt.

On August 30, 2006, Milwaukee police investigated a claim by a 21-year-old female who claimed that she and Sprewell were having consensual sex aboard his 70-foot (21 m) yacht, named "Milwaukee's Best," when Sprewell began to strangle her. Police allegedly observed red marks on the woman's neck. Police investigating the allegation searched Sprewell's yacht for evidence. On September 6, 2006, police indicated that he would not face any charges from the alleged incident. Sprewell is seeking a restraining order against the woman along with "civil remedies" against the accuser.
On January 31, 2007, Sprewell's long term companion sued him for $200 million for ending their relationship agreement. She claims Sprewell agreed to support her and their four children since they were in college. 

On August 22, 2007, it was reported by multiple news agencies that Latrell Sprewell's yacht was repossessed by federal marshals after Sprewell failed to maintain payments and insurance for the vessel, for which he reportedly still owed approximately $1.3 million. In addition, while piloted by Sprewell, the yacht was run ashore near Atwater Beach, just north of Milwaukee. Sprewell refused to contract with a professional salvage firm to remove the yacht. The yacht was eventually freed with the help of a local fishing vessel.
In February 2008, Sprewell's yacht was auctioned for $856,000 after he defaulted on a $1.5 million mortgage, and in May 2008 a Milwaukee area home owned by Sprewell went into foreclosure status. He also owes more than $72,000 in unpaid taxes and his company, Sprewell Motorsports, has not paid credit card bills in months.

In other reports Sprewell has not paid his takes in over "5 years, maybe more, no the guy has no money."  So there you go, the once promising career of Latrell Sprewell, who averaged 20 plus a night for Golden State, who brought the Knicks to the NBA Finals, who made over $100 million in his NBA career, is now broke, faces millions of dollars in lawsuits, and STILL CHOKES PEOPLE!!!

- Lew