Scottie Pippen questioned in altercation with ‘intoxicated’ man

This post has been corrected, as noted below.

An altercation involving Chicago Bulls legend Scottie Pippen is a “complex” situation and will require more investigation to determine whether any arrests should be made, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said.

The sheriff’s department said Monday that Pippen was wanted on suspicion of assault with intent to commit great bodily injury stemming from an incident Sunday evening at Nobu restaurant in Malibu.

Witnesses told authorities the former basketball player was “one of the combatants” in the incident, reported about 6:30 p.m. Sunday in the 22700 block of Pacific Coast Highway, the department statement said. Responding deputies found a man with a head injury who was taken to a hospital and released Monday morning.

Los Angeles County sheriff’s spokesman Steve Whitmore said the altercation occurred between Pippen and another man. Witnesses told deputies the other man appeared to be intoxicated, Whitmore said.

“We are going to be investigating all avenues connected to this,” Whitmore said, adding that deputies are trying to determine “whether the injuries were the result of the altercation or for some other reason.”

Pippen voluntarily spoke to authorities on Monday afternoon and was allowed to leave without being arrested, Whitmore said. The NBA star was cooperative during the interview, he said.

A woman who answered the phone at Nobu declined to comment on the incident.

Pippen, whose NBA career spanned nearly two decades, is best known for his 11 seasons with the Chicago Bulls, where he and Michael Jordan led the team to six championships in the 1990s. He was part of the much-revered “Dream Team” that won a gold medal at the 1992 Olympics, and earned another gold at the 1996 games.

He works as a special advisor to the Bulls’ president and chief operating officer, according to his Facebook page.

[For the record, 5 p.m. June 24: An earlier version of this post incorrectly identified the restaurant where the altercation occurred as Geoffrey’s in Malibu. It was Nobu.]

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andrew.blankstein@latimes.com