Are You Threatening Me?

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Los Angeles Lakers forward Matt Barnes has been released from jail after being arrested on suspicion of threatening a police officer who stopped him for a traffic warrant.

Matt Barnes is accused of threatening a police officer.

Manhattan Beach police Sgt. Paul Ford said Barnes posted $51,000 bail and was released shortly before 11:30 p.m. Monday, some three hours after his arrest.

Barnes, 32, was walking in the Los Angeles suburb when he was stopped and arrested on a misdemeanor warrant for driving on a suspended license.

Ford said Barnes made a verbal threat to the officer.

A call to the Lakers seeking comment wasn’t immediately returned early Tuesday.

Barnes was the Lakers’ top-scoring reserve this past season, averaging 7.8 points per game.

License To Drive

MIAMI BEACH, Fla. (AP) – Miami Beach police say a New York Knicks player has been arrested on a bench warrant for not having a valid driver’s license.

Sgt. Bobby Hernandez says J.R. Smith, 26, was stopped Thursday night on Washington Avenue in South Beach. A routine search revealed the bench warrant, and he was arrested.

Hernandez says Smith was taken to the Miami-Dade County jail, where he bonded out early Friday.

Smith was drafted by the New Orleans Hornets in 2004. He played in China during the NBA lockout last fall and played for the New York Knicks in 2012.

Drunken Woods

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) – Authorities said former NBA player Loren Woods was arrested on DUI charges in Tampa.

Loren Woods

Jail records show Woods, 33, refused a blood-alcohol test when he was arrested early Wednesday. He was later released on $2,500 bail.

According to the NBA’s website, Woods played for six years, including a brief stint with the Miami Heat.

Woods was arrested on a misdemeanor DUI charge and a felony count of bribery of a public servant.

Slam! (Duh Duh Duh, Duh Duh Duh) Let The Boys Be Boys!

PONTIAC, Mich. (AP) – Detroit Pistons center Ben Wallace has pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges of drunken driving and possessing a firearm while under the influence of alcohol.

Ben Wallace faces 93 days in jail when he returns to court next month. Courtesy of CloutOnline.com

Wallace appeared Tuesday in Oakland County Circuit Court in Pontiac. He faces a maximum penalty of 93 days in jail when he returns to court Dec. 13, but his attorney expects probation. A felony charge of possessing a concealed weapon was dropped.

Police in Bloomfield Township stopped the 37-year-old in a Cadillac Escalade about 3 a.m. Sept. 24. An unloaded pistol registered to his wife was discovered in a backpack.

A breath test showed Wallace had a blood-alcohol level of 0.14 percent, which is above Michigan’s legal limit of 0.08 percent.

Assistant prosecutor Robert Novy says Wallace was very cooperative.

Above The Rim, Then The Law

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Former NBA player Javaris Crittenton has appeared in a Los Angeles court and waived extradition proceedings in connection with his murder arrest in Atlanta.

Javaris Crittenton

Crittenton told the court Wednesday that he had signed the waiver voluntarily.

He is expected to be returned to Georgia between Sept. 15 and Sept. 30.

Crittenton appeared in court after the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office charged him with being a fugitive from justice. He was arrested earlier this week at a Southern California airport.