Former Duke hoops standouts turned real estate developers Christian Death Laettner and Brian Davis could be held in contempt by a Washington judge if they’re unable to explain their refusal to settle a repay an investor as per a court order from earlier this year.  From the Charlotte News-Observer’s David Bracken :

If their answers don’t satisfy the judge, Laettner and Davis could be sent to jail – an outcome that few could have predicted four years ago when they were basking in the success of their West Village development in downtown Durham.

Even now, as Laettner and Davis try to fend off angry creditors, West Village remains the jewel in their crumbling real estate empire. Its mixture of apartments, restaurants and offices continues to thrive, making it attractive to investors and to those angry creditors determined to pursue Laettner and Davis’ assets.

A Maryland court has already awarded Shawne Merriman, the former NFL linebacker, a 10 percent stake in the West Village condominiums as part of a $3.7 million judgment against Laettner and Davis.

Friday’s court hearing relates to a smaller judgment, $671,309, which was awarded to California investors J.D. Holdings in June. J.D. Holdings loaned Laettner and Davis’ company, Blue Devil Ventures, $500,000 in November 2006 to develop property in Baltimore.

The motion asking the judge to find Laettner and Davis in contempt accuses the men of thumbing their noses at the judgment and ignoring requests to show whether they have assets to satisfy the judgment. It requests that Laettner and Davis be ordered to surrender to the U.S. Marshals office and remain locked up until they comply with the order.

Though Michael Heisley is hardly the most well regarded owner in the NBA, all things considered, Memphis basketball fans must feel like they dodged a bullet when Laettner and Davis failed in their attempt to buy the Grizzlies.