Wizards' Crittenton says he had gun because he feared Arenas

Washington Wizards guard Javaris Crittenton pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor gun charge Monday, explaining he had a pistol because he feared teammate Gilbert Arenas would shoot him or blow up his car after the two argued over a card game.

The hearing marked the first time authorities confirmed Crittenton was the other player involved in the confrontation with Arenas, who pleaded guilty Jan. 15 to a felony gun charge.

D.C. Superior Court Senior Judge Bruce Beaudin sentenced Crittenton, 22, to a year of unsupervised probation after Crittenton pleaded guilty to misdemeanor possession of an unregistered firearm. Beaudin ordered Crittenton to mentor young people in Washington and to help with relief efforts for Haiti.

Beaudin didn't order a specific amount of community service but said his lawyer must report regularly on the work.

Crittenton must also pay a $1,000 fine and $250 into a victims' fund.

"I accept full responsibility for my bad judgment, my terrible mistake," Crittenton, who appeared in court wearing a gray suit and glasses, told the judge as he entered the plea. "I'm deeply sorry to the city of Washington, to the Wizards, to my family and to the NBA for this embarrassment."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Chris Kavanaugh said the two players first clashed Dec. 19 over a card game on a team flight back from a game in Phoenix. Arenas said he was too old for a fistfight and threatened to shoot Crittenton in the face, and Crittenton replied he would shoot Arenas in his surgically repaired knee, Kavanaugh said.

Later, Arenas said he would blow up or burn Crittenton's car, Kavanaugh said.

Two days later, Crittenton put his legally owned, unloaded handgun into his backpack before he left his apartment in Arlington, Va., for practice at the Verizon Center, Kavanaugh said.

Crittenton put the backpack in his locker and went to see team trainers, Kavanaugh said. When he returned he saw several guns - Crittenton's lawyer said there were three, not four, as previously reported - on a chair in front of his locker with a sign saying, "Pick 1."

Crittenton tossed one of the guns on the floor and told Arenas to get the weapons off the chair. Then, fearing for his safety, Crittenton took the handgun out of his backpack and showed it to Arenas, Kavanaugh said.

However, Kavanaugh said there is no evidence Crittenton ever threatened anyone with the gun.

Prosecutors said Arenas told Crittenton: "You are going to need more than that little gun."

Kavanaugh said Crittenton voluntarily surrendered his gun to authorities. Police had searched his apartment Jan. 14 but didn't find it.

Obama meets with Lakers: President Barack Obama welcomed the NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers to the White House on Monday, praising the team for their accomplishments on the basketball court and their service in the community.

An avid basketball fan himself, Obama said he gets enormous pleasure from watching excellence on the court - and nobody exemplified excellence more than the Lakers last year, as they won their 15th league title, defeating the Orlando Magic.

Obama said he was especially excited to meet Lakers' coach Phil Jackson, who has won 10 championships, though he didn't hesitate to point out that six of those victories were with Obama's hometown Bulls.

"You remember that," Obama joked with former Lakers all-star Magic Johnson, who was on the losing end of the Bulls 1991 victory.

Tip-ins: Boston Celtics forward Glen "Big Baby" Davis is looking to erase his troubled past this season and hopes to start by first dropping his nickname. Davis, who missed the start of the season after breaking his thumb in a fight with a childhood friend and having surgery, was recently fined $25,000 for directing inappropriate language at a fan during a game against Detroit last Wednesday. He said he feels like he needs to grow up.

- The Utah Jazz signed rookie point guard Sundiata Gaines for the rest of the season.

Gaines, who had two 10-day contracts with the Jazz, has been a fan favorite since his 3-pointer at the buzzer beat Cleveland on Jan. 14.

- The Denver Nuggets decided not to suspend J.R. Smith over his behavior on the bench that rubbed management the wrong way.