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The Honolulu Advertiser
Updated at 11:54 a.m., Tuesday, October 14, 2008

NBA: Telfair suspended for 3 games after gun charge

Associated Press

MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Sebastian Telfair was suspended today for three games after pleading guilty to criminal possession of a weapon.

Telfair was sentenced last month to three years' probation. He was arrested in April 2007 when police found him carrying a loaded gun in his car while he was a member of the Boston Celtics.

The Celtics traded him to Minnesota in the deal for Kevin Garnett, and Telfair had a solid and incident-free first season in Minnesota. He signed a three-year, $7.5 million deal this summer to remain with the Timberwolves. He is the top backup to starter Randy Foye.

"I've talked to Sebastian about the incident. This is something that happened in the past, and he is looking forward to putting this behind him," Timberwolves vice president of basketball operations Kevin McHale said. "Since he has been a member of the Timberwolves, Sebastian has been a great teammate and has been actively involved in the community. I couldn't be more proud of Sebastian's continued improvement as a basketball player and as a young man."

The Timberwolves were in Chicago for a preseason game against the Bulls and Telfair was not immediately available for comment.

After an underwhelming first three seasons in Portland and Boston, Telfair notched career highs in games started (51), shooting percentage (40) and assists per game (5.9) and averaged 9.3 points last year for Minnesota.

He will miss home games against Sacramento and Dallas and a road game at Oklahoma City. Telfair is eligible to return for a home game on Nov. 5 against San Antonio.