Griffin’s Back Better, Speights and Tucker have DUI Troubles

NBA players are enjoying their offseason, but they are still grabbing the headlines.

Blake Griffin the power forward for the Los Angeles Clippers pulled out of practices for Team USA to allow a tiny fracture in his back to heal. However, he is continuing to work out and said he will be ready for the start of the next NBA season.

Griffin said the fracture was hairline and that all was intact. He can do workouts and everything he was able to before, except he should not play or practice every day just yet.

He stopped practicing with Team USA in July. Griffin is working out in LA with DeAndre Jordan his teammate and Sasha Vujacic a former Clipper and Laker.

Griffin wants to make sure his back is completely healed heading into training camp. However, he insists it is not as if he has pain or his back is broken.

Marreese Speights a center for the Golden State Warriors was arrested this week in Florida and charged with driving under the influence only hours after turning 27.

Speights according to the arrest record online was arrested on Tuesday at 3:31 a.m. He was then released on bond of $500.

An officer in St. Petersburg, Florida said Speights was administered two breathalyzer tests. He registered blood alcohol levels of .106 and .103. Florida law states a driver is impaired when he or she has a level of 0.08.

Speights is 6-foot-11 and weighs 270 pounds. He averaged 6.3 points and 3.6 rebounds last season for the Warriors, his first with Golden State.

Speights played his college basketball at Florida.

Golden State officials said they had been aware of Speights arrest but would not comment.

P.J. Tucker a forward for the Phoenix Suns was given a sentence of three day behind bars and home detention of 11 days this week after he pled guilty to super extreme driving while intoxicated.

Police said Tucker had a .22 blood alcohol level following his May 10 arrest in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Tucker will have to have a device on his vehicle for the next 18 months, undergo counseling for substance abuse and pay a fine of $2,750. He also will be on probation for 5 years.

Tucker was pulled over in his Mercedes Benz in May by a police officer in Scottsdale. The report by police said he had slurred speech, bloodshot eyes and nearly fell down while taking a sobriety test.

The Suns knew of his arrest when they signed Tucker to contract worth $16.5 million in July.

Tucker wrote about how much he was blessed and was grateful nothing happened to anyone else because of his actions.

He thanked the Suns, his family and friends for helping him during this period.

The NBA is not playing, but its players are grabbing the headlines and not for all the right reasons.

Griffin hopes to have his back healed for training camp, while Speights and Tucker hope to straighten out their personal situations prior to the pressures of another NBA season.