August 2013 – Page 5 – NBA Blog

Former Knicks player Dean Meminger found dead

Dean Meminger, the former Marquette guard who played a reserve role on the New York Knicks’ 1973 NBA championship team, was found dead Friday in a Manhattan hotel room. He was 65.

New York City police said staff at the Hamilton Heights Hotel found Meminger unconscious and unresponsive inside a room and emergency medical personnel pronounced him dead. Police said there were no signs of trauma and that the cause of death hadn’t been determined. They said an investigation is ongoing.

”We want to thank everyone for their prayers and condolences during this difficult time for our family,” Meminger’s family said in a statement. ”Dean ‘The Dream’ Meminger touched the hearts of so many on and off the basketball court. Through basketball and education, he helped countless people around the country receive scholarships, high school and college admissions, and even employment.”

Reported by the Associated Press

Warriors sign guard Seth Curry

OAKLAND, CA – The Golden State Warriors have signed free agent guard Seth Curry to a contract, the team announced today. It is likely not a guaranteed contract. Curry probably must still fight to make the actual regular season roster. But we have not confirmed this.

Curry, 23, went undrafted in the 2013 NBA Draft following his senior season at Duke University in which the 6-2 guard averaged a team-leading 17.5 points to go along with 2.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 32.3 minutes over 35 games. He ranked second in the ACC in scoring and three-point percentage (.438), earning First-Team All-ACC honors and Second-Team All-America recognition from The Sporting News. In four NCAA Tournament games, he averaged 21.0 points per contest, including a 29-point effort in a Sweet 16 victory over Michigan State. On April 15, 2013, Curry underwent surgery on the right lower leg injury that he played on throughout the 2012-13 campaign, an injury that kept him out of a majority of the team’s practices during the season.

A native of Charlotte, NC, Curry enjoyed a three-year career at Duke in which he averaged 13.2 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.2 steals and 29.1 minutes in 106 games (86 starts). He closed his Duke career ranked third on the school’s all-time list in three-point percentage (.420), fifth in free throw percentage (.825) and eighth in three-pointers made (223). Prior to transferring to Duke, Curry began his college career at Liberty University in 2008-09. At Liberty he earned Big South Freshman of the Year honors after averaging 20.2 points per game, which was the highest scoring average in the country amongst freshmen.

Seth is the younger brother of fifth-year Warriors guard Stephen Curry. In 2012-13, the duo became the highest scoring brother tandem in NCAA history, finishing their college careers with a combined 4,736 points (Seth – 2,101 points at Liberty and Duke; Stephen – 2,635 in four years at

New York City may host two NBA All-Star weekends in a three-year period

The NBA All-Star Game could be coming to New York. Twice. In a three-year period.

Multiple league sources maintain the 2015 All-Star Game will be played at Madison Square Garden on Sunday of All-Star weekend with the Friday and Saturday night events — the skills, shooting and dunk competitions — set for Barclays Center.

The league and the Nets and Knicks still are negotiating on a proposal to have a reversal in either 2017 or 2018; Brooklyn would stage the game while the Knicks and the Garden would serve as host for the Friday and Saturday events. The Nets, sources said, are not completely sold on the host role down the road for myriad reasons.

Reported by Fred Kerber of the New York Post

Kobe Bryant meets with terminally ill Army Sergeant

Suffering from terminal cancer, Army Sgt. Anthony Zavala dreamed of meeting Kobe Bryant.

Last week, nonprofit organization Hounds and Heroes made it happen.

Visiting with Bryant and his wife, Vanessa, at Nokia Theatre prior to “Kobe Up Close Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel,” Zavala was overcome.

“After being diagnosed, I’ve been so depressed knowing I’m going to die,” Zavala said. “This is the best day of my life.”

Reported by Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Blog)

Grizzlies trade guard Tony Wroten to 76ers

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that they have acquired point guard Tony Wroten (ROH-ten) from Memphis in exchange for future draft considerations.

The Sixers are in rebuilding mode and should be in for a rough season. Lots of bench guys on this roster have a chance to contribute a bit more than might normally be expected of them. Still, Wroten isn’t likely to get serious minutes.

Wroten (6-6, 210) appeared in 35 regular season games as a rookie for the Grizzlies last season and also saw action in six games during Memphis’ run to the Western Conference Finals. Additionally, Wroten was the fifth youngest player in the NBA last season.

The 20-year-old was assigned to the Reno Bighorns of NBA Development League and appeared in a total of 11 D-League games with three starts, averaging 17.0 points, almost four assists, three rebounds and one steal in nearly 27 minutes per game. He scored a season-high 30 points in the season finale vs. the Canton Charge on April 6.

Wroten was originally the 25th overall pick by Memphis in the 2012 NBA Draft following his freshman season at the University of Washington. In his only season with the Huskies, Wroten averaged 16 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals and became the first freshman in school history to earn First Team All-Conference honors. He was also named Pac-12 Freshman of the Year after setting numerous freshman school marks, including most points (559), assists (130) and steals (66).

A native of Seattle, Wroten attended Garfield High School which also produced former NBA All-Star Brandon Roy. His father, Tony, played football at Washington and his mother, Shirley, ran track at Washington and Arizona State. Wroten’s aunt, Joyce Walker, was a two-time All-American at Louisiana State and played for the Harlem Globetrotters. His cousin, Nate Robinson, plays for the Denver Nuggets.

The trade is pending the completion and passing of a physical.

DeJuan Blair does not know why Gregg Popovich stopped playing him

The new Mavericks big man once was an up-and-comer with the Spurs before things went sideways, Tiago Splitter arrived and Blair’s stock went down faster than a margarita on the Riverwalk.

So what happened?

“I don’t know,” Blair said. “Pop stopped [playing] me. I couldn’t tell you what was going through that man’s head at all. Nobody knows but him.”

What was perfectly clear, though, was that Blair needed a change of address.

“I had to leave and come here where I think they’ll give me confidence and believe in me,” he said. “I didn’t think they believed in me in San Antonio, so that’s pretty good here. I feel supported. That’s how it is.”

As a rookie, after being the 37th overall draft pick in the 2009 draft (in which the Mavericks got Roddy Beaubois 12 picks earlier), Blair played in all 82 games and started 23. He would start 127 games over the following two seasons and missed only three games during that time.

Reported by Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News (Blog)

Kings add Ryan Bowen to staff

The Kings hired Ryan Bowen as an assistant coach and assistant director of player development Wednesday.

Bowen, an assistant coach for the Denver Nuggets the past two seasons, joins Brendan Malone, Chris Jent, Corliss Williamson, Dee Brown and Micah Nori on new coach Michael Malone’s staff.

In 10 NBA seasons, Bowen played in 507 games with the Nuggets (1999-2000, 2003-04), Houston Rockets (2004-06), New Orleans Hornets (2007-09) and Oklahoma City Thunder (2009-10). He also played for Oyak Renault (Turkey) in 1998-99 and Ironi Nahariya (Israel) in 2007.

Reported by the Sacramento Bee

Knicks work to prevent store from selling offensive knockoff shirt

The Knicks acted quickly after learning that a Midtown store was selling a racially offensive t-shirt with their team logo at the centerpiece.

The shirt had K-N-I spelled out, but C-K-S was replaced by G-G-A. The shirt was selling for $45, or $10 more than the unedited shirt, according to NBC 4 in New York…

“We absolutely do not condone this t-shirt, which violates our trademark rights and now that it has been brought to our attention, the Knicks are working with the NBA to have the store cease and desist from selling them,” the team said in a statement.

Reported by Justin Terranova of the New York Post

Jason Kidd glad that some Nets players are already working out together

It might be more than a month until training camp begins, but that hasn’t stopped Deron Williams from getting several of his teammates together in Los Angeles this week to begin preparing for the upcoming season.

For Jason Kidd, the fact most of his team — including starters Williams, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett — already is putting in extra offseason work is music to the ears of the first-year head coach.

“Yeah, for sure,” Kidd said after playing in The Barclays Pro-Am at Liberty National Golf Course in Jersey City Thursday. “To be able to start gelling and getting to know each other [is good], because it is kind of a different team.

“For the young guys, Mason [Plumlee] and [Tyshawn Taylor], to be out there, [Garnett] and Paul and Joe, it just shows that these guys are going in the right direction, and being very professional. I know during the summer time they could do something else, but to come together for a couple days shows that they’re trying to get ready and they want to win.”

Reported by Tim Bontemps of the New York Post

Few minutes may be available for Jimmer Fredette on Kings

The Kings acquired Greivis Vasquez to be their starting point guard, likely pushing incumbent Isaiah Thomas to a backup role. Look for rookie Ray McCallum, who impressed coaches this summer in Las Vegas, to be ahead of Fredette at the point, too.

Things are just as crowded at shooting guard, with first-round draft pick Ben McLemore expected to start and Marcus Thornton getting plenty of playing time, too. Throw veteran John Salmons into the mix and that means there will be few minutes for Fredette.

So where does that leave the guard who made “Jimmermania” a household word and won every major college award as a senior at BYU just two years ago?

Reported by Tom Couzens of the Sacramento Bee