SRB - Vlad comes clean

LOS ANGELES (NBA) - Serbia forward Vladimir Radmanovic has admitted lying to the Los Angeles Lakers about how he suffered a back injury which is expected to keep him out for six to eight weeks.

Radmanovic had told the Lakers he slipped while walking on some ice, but this weekend he came clean, admitting he had been snowboarding - an activity specifically prohibited in his contract.

"I wasn't thinking too much," Radmanovic said of his initial explanation.

"After a couple of days, when things settled down, I realised I did the wrong thing.

"I did a stupid thing snowboarding. I don't want to be a liar.”

Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak was not surprised when Radmanovic came to him with the real story.

"When a person goes to a ski resort and gets an injury associated with winter sports, your antenna goes up," he said in the Los Angeles Times.

"After a couple of days," Radmanovic said, "I figured out the best thing to do was to come out with the truth, no matter what the consequences and penalties were going to be.

"Unfortunately before I stepped on that board, I wasn't really thinking," he said. "Things happen, but you never really think it's going to happen to you.

"Coming down a slope, I just flipped forward and fell on my shoulder."

Radmanovic separated his shoulder in the accident, knocking him out of action at a crucial time as the Lakers step up their bid to secure a play-off bid.

Given the nature of Radmanovic’s injury, the team has several options for a punishment - the harshest of which would be to void the 26-year-old’s five-year $30.2 million contract which started this season.

That is unlikely. A suspension seems pointless given that the 6ft 10in forward is injured, so a fine is the likely outcome.

Radmanovic has been a disappointment with the Lakers, averaging only 6.9 points and 3.4 rebounds a game since joining from city-rivals the Clippers in the summer.

Prior to suffering the injury, Radmanovic had said he was available to play for his country at EuroBasket 2007 providing coach Dragan Sakota offered him a starting role.

Ian Parker
FIBA