HoopsHype.com Rumors

NBA security had an anti-LeBron fan-held placard featuring a picture of Delonte West removed from behind the Heat bench. Sulia

Indiana Pacers, Miami Heat, LeBron James, Delonte West 

West also touched on a variety of subjects, including his thoughts on free agency. "It's in the Lord's hands,'' he said. "All I know is that it's always tough in free agency. I hope I showed this team and the NBA that I'm invested in the future. I kind of really found my groove this year and I'm still a young man, but I also have so much playoff experience. "I've been to the playoffs (almost) every year and I'm just going into my prime. Once I incorporate the floater into my game, I feel I'll be very valuable to anybody's team. In these playoffs, I see how deep all these teams are and a guard like myself could be very valuable. I've found a home here in Dallas. And I'd like to finish my career out here.'' Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Free Agency, Delonte West 

The odds are rather low that West, whose feisty play and quirky personality quickly made him a fan favorite, will be back. West hopes he played himself back into position to sign a multi-year deal somewhere. It's just doubtful it will be here. "Prayerfully, man," West said when asked if he believes he's proven to be worth a multiyear contract after two seasons of one-year, minimum deals stemming from his 2009 arrest. "I haven't even thought about nothing like that, even now. But, I mean, I hope I showed this league -- I know this league already knows what I'm capable of doing -- that I removed myself far from that incident that happened (three) years ago and I'm going to the prime of my career. "I know what I can do, play multiple positions, score, shoot, shoot the long ball, defend, assists; I come with the whole package." ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, Free Agency, Delonte West 

When the Mavs signed the 6-foot-3 guard for the league minimum Dec. 12, initially to back up Jason Kidd, they could be confident only in what they knew of the player: fierce competitor, intense defender, crafty mid-range shooter. As for the person, they could only go on what they were told: bipolar, intensely loyal to family, deeply caring, a convicted felon, a survivor. The unknown part that West would arrive flat broke and sleep in the Mavs' locker room would be dumbfounding. His teammates would soon come to understand why it was not. "He's a great person, a very caring person," Kidd said of West, who as a youngster on the playgrounds in Maryland and Washington, D.C., was called "Little Kidd" for his light skin and emulation of Kidd's game. "He's a competitor and he can play. He's a big part of our success here. Being around him this season has been great and I've learned a lot about him. He'll give you his last dollar if you need it." ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, Delonte West 

West thinks about his older brother, Dmitri Jr., and his brother's wife and four children, who live in the house West bought them not far from his mother's home. The brothers talk on the phone every day. Dmitri was the first one West called after the unfortunate ear poke in Utah, the "West willy" that drew a $25,000 league fine, a stern lecture from coach Rick Carlisle and a string of easy pop-shots at West's character. "He didn't take the situation light. He was real upset with himself," his brother said. "He was disappointed in himself after he did that. I said, 'Bro, what you doing, man?' He said, 'I know, my bad.' He apologized to me because, believe it or not, sometimes it's out of his control because you know that he's dealing sometimes with the medical issue. Sometimes you're like, 'Did he go off again? What are you doing?'" ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, Delonte West 

In the shifting environments of West's childhood, from home to home and school to school, aunts and great aunts became extended mothers, uncles were de facto fathers, and cousins -- even close friends who would move in -- became brothers and sisters. Asked how many siblings he has, West looked up as if it were a question he needed time to ponder and said, "Twenty? More." West said he was raised by a village. Dmitri Jr. calls his family and all its tentacles a clan. "At the end of the day, when the world beats you up and you got nobody to turn to, your family is always going to be there," West said. "I was raised in that system. I was raised with a village. My family is like that because cousins, close friends lived with us or we lived with them for years at a time. Their families were down and out or my parents. Four or five of us slept in one bed at the time same time. We just made it work and that's how it is. When my family had nothing, all my uncles and aunts made sure we were taken care of." ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, Delonte West 

He acknowledges frivolous purchases in the early days, buying things just because he could. Just because when he was 13 on Christmas Eve, he was on a neighbor's rooftop making repairs to earn money for Christmas presents. Just because when other high school kids from his area with his talent were traveling to Las Vegas and California on the AAU circuit, he was pounding the asphalt at the park, practicing alone. "Every single time I talked to him, and I'm not exaggerating," St. Joseph's coach Phil Martelli said, "so if I talked to him once every other day in the summer, he was always going to the park to shoot or he had just come back from the park to shoot. So he was a kid that was playing outdoors when kids weren't playing outdoors, and he was always practicing alone when no one was practicing." ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, Delonte West 

West was swerving wildly on the highway. The medication caused him to doze in and out until he realized he had passed his exit. A police car tailed him and, West says, he flagged them down. He pulled over, told the police he was medicated and out of sorts and carrying weapons. "I was already in two years with a contract with Cleveland," said West, who was looking forward to a lucrative extension on a team with LeBron James that was favored to win the championship. "Then I got into the incident and no teams wanted to even deal with me. I got written off as some crazy, gun-toting terrorist or something of that sort. From there, it had nothing to do with what I do on the basketball court." ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, Delonte West 

Delonte West's first inclination was to fight city hall. He wanted to appeal the $25,000 fine the NBA tagged him with on Wednesday for his finger to the ear of Utah's Gordon Hayward. Then, he thought better of it. "When you've been to the principal's office,'' West said, "you don't really want to go back and see that ruler again.'' Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Delonte West 

"I didn't think it was going to be that steep,'' West said before Wednesday's game against Houston. "That's a whole month's check for me. I probably won't have cable in a couple days. Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Delonte West 

Dallas Mavericks guard Delonte West has been fined $25,000 for a physical taunt by poking Gordon Hayward of the Utah Jazz in the ear, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President Basketball Operations. The incident occurred with 3:40 remaining in the second quarter of Utah's 123-121 win over Dallas at EnergySolutions Arena on April 16. Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, Delonte West, Gordon Hayward 

Jody Genessy: Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor said the Delonte West incident is still being reviewed by the NBA, as far as he knows. Twitter

Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, Delonte West, Gordon Hayward 

Utah Jazz swingman Gordon Hayward said he initially felt like ripping Delonte West's finger off and fighting him after he jabbed it into Hayward's right ear during the second quarter of Monday night's triple-overtime win against Dallas. "I wanted to fight right there, but you can't do that," Hayward said before Tuesday's practice. "It wouldn't have been the smart idea. I'd risk getting a technical foul, getting suspended for the season, whatever. There's more important things than fighting someone out on the court. The more important thing was getting the win and we were able to do that." MSNBC.com

Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, Delonte West, Gordon Hayward 

After reviewing the play on TV, the officials gave West a technical foul but, strangely perhaps, did not eject him for an incident that could have triggered something worse. Said Hayward, "He bumped me and it’s like, ‘O.K., he’s obviously frustrated.’ Then, when he did the second [thing], it’s like, ‘Man, we’ve got him right where we want him.’ Salt Lake Tribune

Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, Delonte West, Gordon Hayward 

The NBA didn't rule on a fine and/or suspension for Dallas Mavericks guard Delonte West today. West poked a finger into the ear of Utah Jazz guard Gordon Hayward with 3:40 left in the second period of. West was assessed a technical foul on the play, and a league spokesman said the NBA could make a ruling on the situation as early as Wednesday. Fort Worth Star-Telegram

Dallas Mavericks, Delonte West 

That had to have been the thought running through Jazzman Gordon Hayward’s head Monday night after Dallas’ Delonte West ran his finger through his ear. In one of the most bizarre scenes ever in an NBA game, West, already well-known for his odd behavior, fouled Hayward while the Jazz were on a fastbreak. Seconds later he walked up to the 22-year-old and stuck his finger in his right ear. Ogden Standard-Examiner

Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, Delonte West, Gordon Hayward 

Hayward stuck both hands in the air and walked away, waiting for referees to respond. Oddly enough, none of the three officials saw the incident, but did call West for a technical foul after reviewing the play. “He had some lint in his hair,” West said after the game. “I was just trying to get it out for him. I was giving him a ‘wet willy’ that’s all.’” Ogden Standard-Examiner

Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, Delonte West, Gordon Hayward 

West didn’t find anything wrong with his behavior and offered no apologies. “We’re two warriors,” he said. “We’re out here battling on the battlefield. I forgot the NBA is a gentleman’s game so we have to fight and scrap and do it nicely.” Ogden Standard-Examiner

Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, Delonte West, Gordon Hayward 

When he’s able to separate the two, West is an X-factor at the NBA level, a combination guard who can be a significant factor. Sometimes, like Monday night against the Utah Jazz, he goes overboard. His "wet willy" of Gordon Hayward, sticking his finger in Hayward’s ear, earned him a technical foul and a seat on the bench. It earned him a spotlight in the media after Utah’s 123-121 triple overtime win at EnergySolutions Arena. It could earn him a fine from David Stern’s office as well. "I went over the line," West said. "I saw some lint in his hair, and I wanted to get it out for him. Seriously, we were like two warriors out there. But I forgot the NBA is a gentlemen’s game. They want us to battle and scrap, but they want us to do it nicely." West went on to lament on how physical an NBA game is and how emotional the moments are. What he forgot — and failed to mention — is that the Mavericks are fighting for their postseason lives, despite their lofty status as defending NBA champions. Salt Lake Tribune

Dallas Mavericks, Utah Jazz, Delonte West 

Watching West then shift his attention to his still-healing right ring finger, wrapping it tight to his middle finger and then both over padding, that he mangled in mid-February only to return to action last week, Mavs strength and conditioning coach Robert Hackett was asked how many guys tape their own body parts. "None," Hackett said. Smith, who said Steve Novak used to tape his own ankles, joked that West likes to call himself a D-League athletic trainer. Smith would give West a final check-over in the training room before West donned his head band and headed to the court for pre-game warmups. ESPN.com

Dallas Mavericks, Delonte West