Chapter 1192: Chapter 379: Remember, No Japanese
There was a fierce argument between the two sides, and both of them threatened to bring guns to the locker room the next day to settle the dispute.
Caron Butler was just talking tough at the time, not taking it seriously.
The teammates also thought the two were just talking big.
But the next day, when Gilbert Arenas really pulled out a gun from his locker, even Pat Riley, who had witnessed Magic wielding guns in the locker room, was stunned.
This wasn’t the first time the casual Great General had done such a thing. Back when Arenas was with the Warriors during his rookie season, he was asked by veteran teammates to buy donuts. In NBA locker rooms, this is a very common "rookie task."
But the Great General was very unwilling to endure this kind of thing, so he licked all the donuts he bought and smeared them with baby powder before handing them to his teammates.
Naturally, the result was that Gilbert Arenas was tied up and thrown into the washing machine.
Feeling insulted, the Great General drove home to get a gun and then rushed back to the locker room to settle the score with his teammates. Fortunately, the locker room was already empty except for a security guard who found him breaking in with a gun.
However, since it didn’t cause much impact, this matter didn’t create much of a stir at the time.
This time, the lucky escape gave the Great General a false perception that bringing a gun into the locker room wasn’t a big deal.
So this time, he really brought a gun into the locker room to confront Caron Butler.
Of course, there was no bloody conflict in the locker room in the end, and Gilbert Arenas didn’t even point the gun at Butler. He just wanted to show he was a tough guy, nothing more.
But since the incident happened with the locker room full of people, it seriously endangered locker room safety and was widely covered by the media.
The Great General’s "gun incident" thus became the biggest joke in the NBA for that period, and also became the main cause of David Stern’s recent insomnia.
He had worked so hard to rescue the NBA from drugs, violence, and roughness. Aside from Roger’s absurd private life comparable to Magic and Chamberlain, which was not having a good influence, NBA players had been packaged into a bunch of inspirational, positive, and sunny quality idols.
But Gilbert Arenas’s gun incident seemed to tell the whole world: David Stern’s decades of effort were a waste of time. Wake up, the NBA is essentially a barbaric league composed of low-quality roughnecks.
An enraged David Stern directly suspended Gilbert Arenas for 50 games, and Pat Riley, for the safety of the locker room, also prepared to deal with Caron Butler.
Although Caron Butler wasn’t the one who initiated the incident, he was the one who first suggested bringing a gun to the locker room.
Pat Riley didn’t want such a ticking time bomb with a gang background to stay in the locker room any longer.
Thus, while fans were eagerly watching the gun incident, Caron Butler was quietly put on the trading block.
For a time, many championship-contending teams were scrambling for this versatile, accurate mid-range shooting, and hard-working defender young small forward.
However, all these teams had to consider the risk Caron Butler brought, as his gang background could continue to cause trouble in the locker room.
Roger was surprised by the early occurrence of the "gun incident," and at the same time, he was very concerned about Caron Butler’s whereabouts.
The Warriors no longer had a spot for Caron Butler and didn’t have the trade assets.
And if a correct team used the right assets to get him, he would become a problem.
Caron Butler wasn’t a star player who could carry the team alone, but he was an excellent piece of the puzzle.
No one knew which team he would ultimately be traded to and what kind of impact it would have on the season’s situation.
However, it can be predicted that the Warriors trading away Allan Houston wouldn’t be the only move by championship teams mid-season.
The variables in this season remain large.
In the coming December, the heat of the gun incident continued, with major media outlets discussing the issue of NBA locker room safety.
Even Roger, who had nothing to do with this matter, couldn’t escape being teased: "Thankfully, because of Roger’s joining, the Warriors traded Gilbert Arenas away. Otherwise, with their tempers, the NBA might have witnessed the first locker room shooting in North America’s four major leagues. Damn, why am I starting to look forward to this happening?"
And during this period, the Warriors played relatively smoothly.
The team experienced a few minor injuries in December, with Marcus Camby, Tayshaun Prince, Stephen Jackson, and Old Cat Mobley all having minor injuries that required them to rest for a few games.
These injuries weren’t serious, but unfortunately, they all happened to occur together.
Overall, though, the team’s record remained steady, losing only to the Pistons on December 10, the Pacers on the 14th, and getting revenged by the Mavericks on the 18th.
Before the Christmas game, the Warriors had a record of 19 wins and 6 losses, ranking second in the West, with the first-place Lakers at 20 wins and 5 losses. Offensive teams often perform splendidly in regular seasons.
However, the records of all West teams paled in comparison to the New York Knicks, who, as of now, had a record of 22 wins and 3 losses.
They stood at the true pinnacle of the pyramid, shining brightly under the sun.