Washington Wizards Blog – Page 54 – NBA Blog

Georgia judge frees Javaris Crittenton on bond in murder case

The AP reports:

A judge granted bond Tuesday to ex-NBA player Javaris Crittenton, charged with murder in an August drive-by shooting in Atlanta.

Fulton County Magistrate Judge Karen Woodson allowed Crittenton to go free on $230,000 bond after hearing hours of testimony from the player’s friends and coaches. She also ordered former Georgia Tech coach Paul Hewitt and others who testified on his behalf to co-sign the bond.

Woodson rejected a motion to dismiss the charges against Crittenton in the shooting of 22-year-old Julian Jones, who was killed as she walked along an Atlanta street. Police have said the shots were aimed at someone walking with Jones.

Defense attorney Brian Steel said his client is not guilty and the charges are based on faulty eyewitness testimony. Crittenton has denied any involvement and his attorney said he will be exonerated.

Team Philly beats LeBron, CP3 and Team Melo in Battle of I-95 game

The AP reports:

LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul couldn’t lead their team back from a dreadful start, as Team Philly beat Melo’s stars of Baltimore 131-122 on Sunday night at the Palestra…

A sold-out crowd that greeted James with thunderous boos when he came onto the floor roared in the final minute when former Rookie of the Year Tyreke Evans used a series of fakes to drive into the lane for a basket that put it away at 131-119.

James had 43 points and 23 rebounds, and Anthony had 31 and 17, but Paul wasn’t in top shape in rare action during this NBA summer of inactivity. All three played all 48 minutes.

Former Villanova guard Kyle Lowry of the Rockets scored 34 points and Lou Williams of the hometown 76ers had 31 for Team Philly in what was called the “Battle of I-95.” Evans finished with 18 points and 18 rebounds…

The Melo team is based in Baltimore, but Anthony went outside his city to find James (Ohio) and Paul (North Carolina)…

Paul shot only 3 of 12 for six points and struggled to keep up with Philly’s speedsters.

Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News reports:

The atmosphere was one usually more conducive to a rock concert. Though slated to start at 6 p.m. at the Palestra, the sellout crowd patiently waited the near 45-minute delay of the “Battle of I-95.” And when it did finally get under way, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house; nor was there a dry shirt, brow or face. The old Palestra was a virtual sauna, and that was before any of the players took to the floor…

James led Team Melo with 43 points, while Anthony chipped in 31. . .Kyle Lowry had 34 and Williams 31 for Philly. . .Eagles receiver DeSean Jackson made a brief appearance and was cheered loudly by fans. . .Former Sixer guard Willie Green was sitting courtside. . .Markieff and Marcus Morris both were no-shows. They had a commitment Saturday night at Kansas. . .Super agent Leon Rose was seated at midcourt. . .The letters BBNS were on the back of both team’s shirts, standing for Basketball Never Stops.

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NBA postpones training camps, cancels October 9-15 preseason games

The NBA announced today that player training camps for the 2011-12 season have been postponed indefinitely because a new collective bargaining agreement has not been reached with the National Basketball Players Association. Training camps were scheduled to open on October 3.

In addition, the league canceled all preseason games scheduled from October 9 through October 15.

“We have regretfully reached the point on the calendar where we are not able to open training camps on time and need to cancel the first week of preseason games,” said NBA Deputy Commissioner Adam Silver. “We will make further decisions as warranted.”

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Kevin Seraphin signs in Spain

Euroleague.net reports:

Caja Laboral addressed a need for frontcourt players with the signing of Kevin Seraphin. The big man comes off a silver-medal winning performance at EuroBasket 2011 with the French national team. Seraphin (2.05 meters, 21 years old) averaged 4.7 points and 1.9 rebounds over nine games in Lithuania for les Bleus. He spent last season for Washington in the NBA where he produced 2.7 points and 2.6 rebounds over 58 appearances. A native of French Guiana, Seraphin developed at Cholet Basket where he made his professional debut as a teenager.

Javaris Crittenton back in Atlanta to face murder charge

The AP reports:

Former Washington Wizards guard Javaris Crittenton is back in Atlanta to face a murder charge in the shooting death of a woman.

Crittenton is charged in the death of 22-year-old Julian Jones, a mother of four who was hit by gunfire during a drive-by shooting. Police say the shots apparently were aimed at someone walking with her.

Fulton County sheriff’s office spokeswoman Tracy Flanagan says Crittenton arrived Thursday night from Los Angeles. He’s being held at the county jail.

Team Philly vs Team Melo game set for Philadelphia Sept. 25

Ryan Feldman of CSN Philly reports:

There may or may not be an NBA season this year, but that won’t stop the NBA from coming to Philadelphia.

Team Philly, a team made up of basketball stars from the Philly area, will take on Team Melo, a team led by Carmelo Anthony, on Sunday, Sept. 25 at 6 p.m. at The Palestra.

Team Philly will include Hakim Warrick (Phoenix Suns), Markieff Morris (Phoenix Suns), Marcus Morris (Houston Rockets), Lou Williams (Sixers), Kyle Lowry (Houston Rockets), John Salmons (Sacramento Kings), Wayne Ellington (Minnesota Timberwolves), Jason Thompson (Sacramento Kings), former NBA player Flip Murray and Philly street ball legend Aaron “AO” Owens.

Team Melo, comprised of players from the Baltimore area, will include Anthony, Josh Selby (Memphis Grizzlies), Donte Greene (Sacramento Kings), Gary Neal (San Antonio Spurs), Eric Bledsoe (Los Angeles Clippers) and “more suprise (sp.) guests,” according to Rahim Thompson’s Twitter account @RTChosenleague.

Thompson, the commissioner of a basketball league in Philly called The Chosen League, organized the game and announced the details via Twitter.

Andray Blatche looking to make changes

Michael Lee of the Washington Post blog reports:

After determining that he had yet to truly turn his potential into more than flirtations of production, Blatche has taken some steps toward getting better. He recently hired powerful agent Andy Miller after going without representation for all of what turned out to be a difficult season — even after he had secured a lucrative extension with the Wizards. And he also decided to separate himself from people who weren’t interested in his personal development.

Blatche has been more visible with his community projects this summer. He spent most of his offseason working out in Miami, with the hope that the results will be noticeable in the upcoming season.

“I’m 25 years old,” said Blatche, who celebrated his birthday last month with John Wall, Hamady Ndiaye, Josh Howard and Trevor Booker in South Beach. “I’ve been in the league six years now. I know my goal. I want to be an all-star. And to be an all-star, I have to make changes, and those are the changes that I have to make now.

“I took the time to cut back on some friends and some people, and built myself around better people that know what’s best for me,” he said. “I’m sorry that it took so long for me to realize it, but it’s all about growing and maturing and that’s basically what I’m doing.”

Xtreme Basketball Xhibition (XBX) coming to Washington DC

On November 11, 2011, Washington D.C. will host the first ever “Xtreme Basketball Xhibition” (XBX) event at “DMV’s” basketball mecca, the Capital Sports Complex. XBX, featuring 100 amateur basketball players, including Hugh Jones a.k.a. “Baby Shaq” (Washington, D.C.), Grayson Boucher a.k.a. “The Professor” (Keizer, Ore.), Corey Williams a.k.a. “Homicide” (N.Y., N.Y.) and Taurion Fontenette a.k.a. “Mr. 720” (Hitchcock, Texas), will showcase never before seen extreme individual and team basketball competitions.

The newly created Xtreme Basketball Xhibition will give amateur basketball players the opportunity to display their talents, while being ranked and awarded prizes by a select committee of talent judges from the worlds of sports and entertainment. Players competing in XBX will have their skills tested in dunking, shooting, ball handling, one-on-one and three-on-three competitions – each having a unique style and elevated level of difficulty, unlike standard skills challenges. The event will also include “ringer” events and exhibition games. The event will run from Fri., Nov. 11 through Sun., Nov. 13.

Players interested in participating in the Xtreme Basketball Xhibition’s kickoff event on Nov. 11 can enter a qualifier on October 15 at the Capital Sports Complex. Players interested in registering for the qualifier can go to www.theXBX.com. The competition is open to basketball players, male and female, of all ages, except for college age/athletic scholarship eligible athletes.

The event expects to draw basketball players from across the country and thousands of basketball enthusiasts 10 to 40 years of age. In addition to the competition and exhibition on the hardwood, XBX will feature an “Expo” where related global brands and local businesses will showcase and sell merchandise.

The Xtreme Basketball Xhibition was created by Georgetown Hoya alum Lonnie “Prime Objective” Harrell, a former professional basketball player (New Jersey Nets, Orlando Magic and the And1 Mix Tour).

Indy Pro-Am vs Goodman League basketball game at Butler University

The majority of the high-profile events have been based on the East Coast, but the Midwest will finally get a taste of spotlight later this month. On Sept. 24, Indianapolis’ Butler University will host an affair pitting the Indy Pro-Am against the Washington, D.C.-based Goodman League — the same outfit that took on both the Los Angeles-based Drew League and a Baltimore-based “Melo League” squad featuring LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul — last month, CSNChicago.com confirmed with Indy Pro-Am founder Carlos Knox.

Knox said he expects Indy Pro-Am participants such as Grizzlies forward Zach Randolph, former Butler star and Jazz swingman Gordon Hayward, Jazz first-round draft pick Alec Burks, Pacers guard Lance Stephenson, Pacers guard and Indianapolis native George Hill and Wizards draft pick Shelvin Mack, another recent Butler product, to participate. On the Goodman end, reigning two-time NBA scoring champion and Thunder superstar Kevin Durant, a Washington native, and Wizards star John Wall are the reported headliners.

Being that Indianapolis is only an approximately three-hour drive away, it might be the closest Chicago will get to a high-profile exhibition — even without labor negotiations as of yet resolved, look for several of these events to crop up this month, before the official opening of NBA training camps officially open in October — this offseason, for the time being.

— Reported by Aggrey Sam of CSN Chicago.

Hakim Warrick trying to set up Philly vs Baltimore basketball game

As NBA players realize that sitting around bored is no way to spend the summer, some really fun exhibition games loosely pitting city against city have emerged. Wish there were more of these games? Same here.

If Hakim Warrick gets his way, another good one should come soon.

Marc Stein of ESPN reports:

After watching Carmelo Anthony host some of the game’s biggest names for a glitzy summer-league game in his hometown, Phoenix Suns forward and Philadelphia native Hakim Warrick is trying to arrange a Philly-versus-Baltimore showdown against Anthony’s crew.

Warrick told ESPN.com that he and Anthony, former college teammates at Syracuse, spoke Wednesday and have tentatively arranged to stage an exhibition game in Philadelphia before the end of September.

“I was trying to do a Philly and Baltimore game awhile ago,” Warrick said. “Then when I saw Drew League vs. Goodman League and Team Melo vs. Goodman [on Tuesday night], I was like, ‘Man, let me go ahead and set this up.’

“I told [Anthony] that we want to play them next and they have to come up to Philly. And he said he’s with it.”

Warrick says he’ll try to recruit Philadelphia-reared stalwarts such as Sacramento’s Tyreke Evans, Orlando’s Jameer Nelson and Detroit’s Richard Hamilton to play on the Philly squad. Other players Warrick expects to play include Houston’s Kyle Lowry, Sacramento’s John Salmons, Minnesota’s Wayne Ellington, Charlotte’s Gerald Henderson, veteran NBA guard Ronald Murray (who finished last season in Turkey) and recent draftees Markieff and Marcus Morris, who were selected in the first round in June by Phoenix and Houston, respectively.

In the ideal world, we’d have a game like this every week, all summer long.

Of course, in an even more ideal world, there’d be no lockout, and we’d be previewing the upcoming season.

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