(Eddie Jordan and his playoff-bound Wizards were hoping to watch the end of the Nets/Pacers game, but some smart-ass changed the channel to show Isiah Thomas’ appearance on “The Apprentice”)
Not content with screaming matches with Kwame Brown, the Wizards’ Brendan Haywood is now in a war of words with da Baby Bulls’ Tyson Chandler. In the wake of DC’s 93-82 victory on Wednesday (and prior to last night’s further blow to Cleveland’s playoff hopes), the Washington Post’s Michael Lee reported the following.
The Wizards have been playing physical games for the past few weeks, but Chicago’s Tyson Chandler took the rough play to another level when he was ejected after he grabbed Haywood by the throat, slammed him to the floor and appeared to kick Haywood in the midsection. “It was just a cheap shot,” said Haywood, who was suspended three games after sparring with Bulls forward Antonio Davis in the preseason.
“It was a sucker move. The bottom line is, whenever we see each other in public, he never has anything to say then. Who’s tough with a bunch of referees around? Nobody. It was a weak move,” Haywood said. “If you go to the playoffs, you got to keep your head. Me and Tyson never got along, for some reason he has some sort of vendetta against me. Maybe I’m dating one of his sisters or something, I don’t know. Y’all can quote me, I don’t care. What is he going to do to me?”
Chandler tried to play down any feud with Haywood, saying: “It’s not as intense as it’s made out to be. I’m not going to fight somebody that I watched one of my teammates chase out of the arena before he would turn around and fight him. So it’s blown out of proportion.”
Told of Chandler’s comments a day later, Haywood said: “I’m not going to get into that. I’m not trying to give the league any more money, so they don’t have to worry about me fighting anybody.”