PORTLAND, Oregon (Ticker) Zach Randolph had been the lone bright spot in a miserable season for the Portland Trail Blazers. Not anymore.
The team announced on Monday that their leading scorer and rebounder has been suspended and fined for insubordinate and detrimental conduct.”Zach Randolph committed a series of separate actions that were insubordinate and detrimental to the team, culminating in his decision to leave the arena during the third quarter of Saturday’s game (against Golden State) while on the inactive list,” Trail Blazers general manager John Nash said.
Randolph will be suspended for Monday’s game at Golden State.
The Trail Blazers own the worst record in the NBA at 21-59 and close their season at home against Phoenix on Wednesday.
Randolph, 24, is averaging 18.0 points and 8.0 rebounds in 74 games this season. He won the NBA’s Most Improved Player Award in 2003-04, when he averaged 20.1 points and 10.5 rebounds, more than doubling his marks from the previous season.
BOSTON (Ticker) The Boston Celtics’ slim playoff hopes have taken a major hit.
The team announced that swingman Wally Szczerbiak will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Monday and miss the remainder of the season.
“Instead of playing through it at this point, we decided he (Szczerbiak) should have the surgery now,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “Instead of coming to camp in July rehabbing, Wally should be fine by July.”
Szczerbiak, 28, has been bothered by swelling in the knee since being acquired by the Celtics from Minnesota in a seven-player trade on January 26.
A pure shooter who relieved some of the scoring pressure on Paul Pierce, the 6-7 Szczerbiak averaged 17.5 points in 32 games with Boston. He averaged 20.1 points in 40 games with Minnesota.
An All-Star in 2002, Szczerbiak is owed $36 million over the next three years.
The Celtics (31-44) trail Chicago by four games with seven games left in the race for the eighth playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
