Inside Hoops – Page 1266 – NBA Blog

Dwight Howard did not enjoy having Kobe Bryant as a teammate

Among center Dwight Howard’s demands when he met with the Los Angeles Lakers before signing with the Houston Rockets were quieting or releasing star Kobe Bryant and firing coach Mike D’Antoni.

Comcast Sports Net Bay Area reported that Howard wanted the Lakers to either “muzzle” Bryant or amnesty him. Howard did not see eye-to-eye with the hyper-competitive Bryant.

Howard also wanted the team to cut ties with D’Antoni. It has been reported by several media outlets that Howard did not get along with D’Antoni and did not fit in with his high-tempo offense.

— Reported by the Sports Xchange

LeBron James and Greg Oden already working out together

Miami Heat star LeBron James has evidence that he is trying to establish some chemistry with recently-signed center Greg Oden.

James posted a photo on Instagram of him and Oden working out in a weight room.

Oden, a former No. 1 draft pick who has not appeared in an NBA game since 2009 because of knee problems, signed a two-year deal with the Heat this summer.

— Reported by the Sports Xchange

TMZ releases alarming report on Lamar Odom

TMZ are one of the world’s leading kings of gossip. They have extremely good sources, and a long period of time have proven themselves to be right far more often than they are wrong.

That said, we at InsideHoops.com hope that the following report about Lamar Odom is inaccurate:

The marriage of Khloe Kardashian and Lamar Odom is in crisis, and TMZ has learned … the core reason is hardcore drug abuse.

Multiple sources familiar with the situation tell TMZ … Lamar has had a problem for 2 years. It got so bad, last August Khloe pressured Lamar to go to rehab. Lamar went to a facility in San Diego, but he was so resistant Khloe hired private investigators to secretly stand guard at the rehab place to make sure he didn’t leave. The P.I.s stood guard 24/7.

Our sources say Lamar constantly threatened to leave and Khloe made several visits to prevail upon him to stay. We’re told after 3 weeks, Lamar left for good.

Reported by TMZ.com

We wish the best for Odom, and will keep an eye on this story if anything additional develops.

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