In 1997 PJ was the coach of the Golden State Warriors and Latrell was one of their premier players. In November, PJ pulled Sprewell out of a game against the Lakers and called him a joke because Sprewell was laughing in the huddle during a timeout of a game the Lakers were winning big. A few weeks later Sprewell was fined for missing a team flight and arriving late in Utah. And three days after that Sprewell lashed out. In a practice session PJ asked Sprewell to throw crisper passes. Sprewell told the coach he didn't want to hear it that day and to back off him. When PJ ignored Sprewell, Latrell grabbed him by the throat for 10 seconds until other players stepped in. Sprewell then left only to return 20 minutes later and threw punches at his coach landing a blow. Two days later the Warriors terminated Sprewell's contract and the NBA suspended him for a year.