EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) Forward Eddie Griffin took a leave from the New Jersey Nets on Wednesday, three weeks after signing with the team.

``Eddie has informed the team that he is not ready to resume his NBA career at this point in time,'' Nets president and general manager Rod Thorn said in a statement.

Thorn said there was no timetable for Griffin to return to the Nets.

Griffin told the team he will return to Houston, where he was recently convicted of marijuana possession. Griffin also faces a separate charge of felony aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

Messages left Wednesday night with the Nets and with Griffin's agent, Jeff Wernick, were not immediately returned.

The Nets signed Griffin, 21, a former Seton Hall star, after he was released by the Houston Rockets. He was on the injured list and did not appear in any games for New Jersey.

Griffin had troubles on and off the court in Houston. The Rockets suspended him on Oct. 16 for a series of missed practices and a skipped flight to Sacramento. Also that month, he checked into a hospital to get help for undisclosed problems.

Griffin was charged in November with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after a woman accused him of hitting her three times in the face and shooting at her as she drove away from his home on Oct. 25.

He was convicted of marijuana possession in Houston on Jan. 20 and is scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 13.

The 6-foot-10, 232-pound forward averaged 8.7 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.63 blocks in 150 career games over two seasons with the Rockets. The Nets selected him with the seventh pick in the 2001 draft and then traded his rights to the Rockets for three first-round draft picks _ Richard Jefferson, Brandon Armstrong and Jason Collins.