During my time here at That NBA Lottery Pick, I have come across some pretty strange stories in the world of the NBA but the below one ranks among the best.
Former Sacramento King Antoine Wright claims that he was released from the organization because of a argument he had with assistant coach Mario Elie over Elie's refusal to take a picture with his mother.
We get more from
Sports Illustrated:
"I had an issue with one of the coaches and my mother," said Wright, who was with the then-Mavericks assistant Elie and Kings coach Paul Westphal in Dallas from 2008-09 as a key reserve. "Mario Elie. I'll say his name because I had a history with him. We had just lost a game. It was over the holiday, Thanksgiving holiday, and my mother was in town and in the [team] family room [at Power Balance Pavilion in Sacramento]. She came up to Mario Elie, and said, 'I'm Antoine Wright's mom. Can I have a picture with you?' My mom is a fan of the game, a big fan of Mario Elie, and he said, 'No, I'm with my family.'
"We're a team now, so I came into practice [the next day] and told everybody, I said, 'When we go into film, I'm just going to put Mario on blast.' So I walk in last, and I come in through the front and Mario is in the back, and I said, 'Man, you know what? That's foul what you did to my mom. All she wanted was a picture. Everybody in this room would have took a picture with your mom if she asked, or anybody else's mom in this room. That's probably why we don't have any team chemistry.'
"The next day [Kings officials] came in and were like, 'Uh, this is not really working for you. It's not working for us. No hard feelings. We wish you the best.' I said, 'Thanks for the opportunity, and I'm gone.'
Geez, that's a pretty terrible way to get sent packing from the NBA but I have a sinking suspicion that it had more to do with Wright's DUI when he was with the team.
However, if this is true, shame on you, Mario Elie.
