Clippers Suspend Furious Roberts

Center Stanley Roberts was suspended indefinitely and fined by the Clippers Tuesday after shouting profanities at Coach Bill Fitch at the end of practice Monday night.

“He really jumped on coach,” said a player who witnessed the argument. “It wasn’t called for. I didn’t see the need for an explosion. I think Stanley was just a little frustrated.”

Roberts had complained earlier Monday that the Clippers forced him to play last season with bone spurs that required surgery at the end of the season.

He was unavailable for comment after being suspended.

“The club will not tolerate insubordination from any player,” General Manager Elgin Baylor said. “The authority of the head coach will be respected.”

Baylor said Roberts would be fined for each practice and game that he misses during the suspension, per team policy. Under Clipper rules, players are fined $1,000 for the first practice and $2,500 for each subsequent practice they miss. Players also are fined $4,000 for each exhibition game they miss. Baylor said he talked with the league office and received approval to fine Roberts.

But Fitch and the Clippers apparently were sending Roberts a message.

“I think if you sum it up, he’s not in shape to play basketball, mentally or physically,” Fitch said of Roberts, who weighed more than 300 pounds when he reported to camp a day late after flying to South Carolina for the funeral of an uncle.

“He came out here and shot his mouth off and did a lot of things that he shouldn’t,” said Fitch, who had threatened to suspend Roberts after he reported to camp overweight and out of shape last year. “He mouthed off to me and he didn’t work. It’s more of the same and more of the same don’t cut it.

“You can’t coach a guy who doesn’t want to be coached. He’ll be gone until he makes a total commitment to basketball and making the type of money that he’s paid. I’ve got films of last night and he’s just struggling to walk up and down the floor at the end. . . .

“That doesn’t mean he’s all of a sudden become a bad guy. He’s a good guy to go have a chocolate sundae or a banana split with. But when he’s out here and he’s frustrated, he’s a bad guy.”

Roberts has missed two seasons because of Achilles’ tendon injuries.

Fitch said that the Clippers, who haven’t signed free-agent center Brian Williams, have talked with free-agent center Oliver Miller, who was dropped by the Toronto Raptors last summer, and free-agent center Kevin Duckworth, who just left a weight-reduction clinic.