Delonte West’s need for help seemingly long has been apparent.
Unfortunately for the former NBA guard, it wasn’t always detected or acknowledged by those around him.
West, a nine-year NBA veteran who last played in the 2011-12 season, made headlines this week for a pair of disturbing videos. One showed West, 36, engaged in a fight in the middle of the road, while the other featured him shirtless and handcuffed as he incoherently spoke to law enforcement.
The Boston Globe’s Celtics reporter Gary Washburn on Thursday offered insight into West’s troubles. Washburn, who covered West during his stint with the Seattle SuperSonics, recalled a time West’s issues might have been overlooked.
From Washburn:
There was one instance that concerned me during the half season West was with the Sonics. He played well in a difficult loss to the Spurs but made a key turnover and missed two free throws down the stretch. After the game, as his teammates casually dressed and prepared to board the bus for a road trip, West sat sullen at his locker in full uniform.
He felt as if he blew the game. The Sonics fell to 2-12 and West believed he was blowing his opportunity for major minutes. He needed to be uplifted. Instead, his teammates dressed around as team officials implored the players to dress quickly to catch the bus. That hardly mattered to West, who mourned as if he had blown the state championship.
Finally, he snapped out of his malaise. Still in his drenched game uniform, West opted to skip his shower and started putting on his dress clothes for the bus. We waited for West to talk to the media, and he began speaking as he dressed without showering. He was apologetic and regretful about his mistakes.
West needed emotional support, but he didn’t receive any, not on this professional level where there is little sympathy for millionaires who lose difficult games. Wally Szczerbiak, a Sonics teammate who came over to Seattle from Boston, looked at me and said, “You see what the (berating) coaching does to him?”
While the situation probably never should have reached this steep of a low point, it looks like help soon could be on the way for West. His coach at Saint Joseph’s, Phil Martelli, on Tuesday noted he and several others will be working with the basketball world to lift West back up.
