#robert swift

Out From The Darkness: Robert Swift's road from NBA lottery pick to drug addict to... (by Chris Ballard)

This is a must-read for many reasons, including this great story:

The first time he guards Tim Duncan, Swift pushes up on him on the block, trying to impress him.

“Nah, nah, don’t do that,” Duncan says.

Swift is surprised. Duncan never talks to opponents. And yet...

“The ball’s going to swing to the other side, get position,” Duncan continues.

The ball swings. Swift follows orders, shuffling his feet across the lane, staying behind Duncan.

“No, further up,” Duncan says. Swift takes a half-step.

“No, a little higher, don’t let me duck in on you.”

Swift complies.

“All right, now come back,” Duncan says, moving across the lane. “The ball’s about to be swung back, but it’s not coming to me this time so don’t worry about it. But now you know how to play it.”

El ex jugador de la NBA, Robert Swift es arrestado por presunto robo con asalto a una casa

Es increíble como una carrera NBA se puede truncar tanto como para, en apenas 6 o 7 años, estar fuera por completo del mundo del baloncesto y con problemas con la justicia. Es el caso de un jugador que fue drafteado por los Seattle Supersonics en la duodécima posición del Draft de 2004, Robert Swift. Además, también  jugó para los Oklahoma City Thunder cuando relocalizaron la franquicia.

Desde…

Robert Swift was not long for the NBA. He battled injuries on his rookie deal with the Sonics and was eventually waived when that team moved to Oklahoma City. He spent a year in the D-League before dropping to lower-level minors, including the Japanese league. And now, apparently, he is broke. This is not terribly surprising.

KOMO-TV reports that he lost his Seattle mansion to foreclosure last year, but continued living in the home. Someone else had bought the home, but Swift would never answer the door. Finally, he moved out over the weekend. And the new owners were able to see the interior of the home. And ...

Animal feces clogs the deck. Walls are punched out on different levels of the house. One even has an autograph. Pizza boxes and beer bottles stack in piles on the kitchen granite. Multiple guns were seen in the home. Some appear to be air guns, but live ammo was also found. [The new owner] said a handgun was found inside. A makeshift shooting range is in the basement storage area. Eric Dalzell said load-bearing beams have graze marks from bullets. Part of the foundation appeared to stop some of the slugs. But let's get really sad for a minute.

Like REALLY capital-S Sad. 

A box of letters from colleges around the nation sits pushed against a downstairs wall. It looked like another trash box. Crests and logos of UCLA, Arizona, UConn and others are jammed together as untold memories of what could have been for Swift. He never attended one of those powerhouse schools. He didn't even open some of the letters.

:(