nba021208.sprewell

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All's not well with Sprewell; banks move in on property

Last update: February 12, 2008 - 9:28 AM

MILWAUKEE - Latrell Sprewell's home is up for foreclosure and his yacht sold at auction to help pay off the $1.3 million the four-time NBA All-Star owes on the boat, according to court filings.

Sprewell -- who in 2004 turned down a three-year, $21 million contract extension from the Timberwolves, at the time saying, "I've got my family to feed" -- has apparently fallen on tough times.

RBS Citizens NA, or Citizens Bank, filed a foreclosure suit last week in Milwaukee County for the $405,000 home Sprewell bought in the Milwaukee suburb of River Hills in 1994. In court documents, the bank said Sprewell owed $295,138 in outstanding payments plus interest.

Sprewell failed to make his mortgage payments of $2,593 per month from September 2007 to January '08, the documents said.

The Associated Press tried to reach Sprewell on Monday, but a telephone number in his name was disconnected. A message to one of his attorneys, Robert A. Gist of Atlanta, and an agency in New York were not immediately returned.

Sprewell, 37, played 13 NBA seasons for Golden State, New York and the Wolves (2003-05), helping them reach the 2004 Western Conference finals. The Milwaukee native is perhaps best known for choking coach P.J. Carlesimo during a Warriors practice in 1997.

He hasn't played professional basketball since turning down the $21 million extension from the Wolves during the 2004-05 season. He was making $14.6 million at the time, and in November 2004 he said, "I think for me to go from $14 million to 7 for what I've done for this team, I think I deserve a little more than that."

Last month, Sprewell's 70-foot yacht, named "Milwaukee's Best," was sold at auction for $856,000. It was originally worth about $1.5 million. The bank holding that mortgage, New York-based North Fork Bank, asked that it be seized to pay off $1.3 million in debt.

STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS