Wizard GM Unseld Angry

Wes Unseld, general manager of the Washington Wizards, bristled over another off-the-court distraction when he learned that his two most highly paid, high-profile players, Juwan Howard and Chris Webber, are the subjects of a sexual-assault investigation.

“Quite frankly, I’m angry and disappointed that I’m standing here because of the lack of judgment that some of our players have used this season that has allowed them to be put into positions of having accusations leveled at them,” Unseld said.

No charges have been filed against Howard or Webber, who were named in a complaint filed by a woman Monday in Montgomery County, Md. Police spent Tuesday interviewing potential witnesses who attended a party at Howard’s house late Sunday and early Monday, when the alleged assault took place.

Howard and Webber “were in attendance at this party, and they were named, they were implicated by this woman,” police spokeswoman Ann Evans said. “But to what degree their involvement is, whether they were the assaulters, we don’t have a clear picture of it yet.”

Montgomery County police spokesman George Ludington, asked by a group of reporters if he could rule anything out, answered, “Rape. There was no rape.”

Police have searched both players’ houses and now want to question Howard and Webber.

Unseld said he spoke to both players Monday, and that “Chris and Juwan told me that the accusations are false.”

The investigation compounds an already troublesome year for the Wizards. Over the last 17 months, Webber, Howard and point guard Rod Strickland have been arrested in vehicle-related incidents, and Strickland and forward Tracy Murray got into a fistfight in a Charlotte hotel and were fined $25,000 each.

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Suspended Golden State Warriors guard Latrell Sprewell pleaded not guilty to reckless driving in connection with an accident that injured two people on March 1 near San Francisco.

A pretrial hearing was scheduled for May 5.