NBA roundup: Bill Sharman dies
Hall of Famer Bill Sharman died Friday, his wife told the Los Angeles Times. He was 87.
Joyce Sharman said her husband had a stroke last week and died at his home in Redondo Beach, Calif.
Sharman, who was part of three NBA titles as a player for the Boston Celtics, also coached the Los Angeles Lakers to their first NBA championship in 1972.
The eight-time All-Star averaged 17.8 points in 11 years in the NBA. He was a member of the 1958-59 Celtics that won the first of eight straight titles.
Sharman began coaching the Lakers in the 1971-72 season.
Sharman was inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame as a player in 1976 and as a coach in 2004.
---The Washington Wizards have reached agreement with Phoenix on a trade that would send injured Ameka Okafor to the Suns in exchange for Marcin Gortat, ESPN reported.
The Suns also would receive Shannon Brown, Malcolm Lee, Kendall Marshall and the Wizards' first-round draft pick in 2014, which is protected to No. 12. That would give Phoenix four first-round picks in next year's deep draft.
Okafor is out indefinitely with a herniated disc in his neck.
The 6-foot-11 Gortat is in the final year of a contract that will pay him $7.7 million this season.
---Mike Miller, who was waived by the Miami Heat over the summer using the amnesty clause, is considering suing the Heat over a scam that victimized Miller, the Miami Herald reported.
According to the Herald, Miller, who is now a member of the Memphis Grizzlies, may file a complaint in court asking the Heat for over $1.7 million in damages because the person who orchestrated the scam was introduced to Miller by a Heat employee.
Miller claims he lost $1.7 million in a scam allegedly set up by Haider Zafar, who presented himself as a member of a wealthy Pakistani family.
In his complaint, Miller says a Heat employee who is no longer with the team introduced Miller to Zafar. Zafar then used $700,000 of the money he obtained from Miller to pay for courtside Heat tickets.
---The Los Angeles Lakers are concerned about the health of point guard Steve Nash.
Nash, 39, is coming off a season in which he had a leg fracture and complications from his degenerative back condition. Until Thursday, he had not fully practiced this preseason.
Nash is averaging just 3.5 points and 3.5 assists in 16.7 minutes per game in the preseason, including missing a game.
Coach Mike D'Antoni said Nash could be held out the Lakers' preseason finale Friday night in Anaheim.
--- The Philadelphia 76ers announced that they waived forwards Royce White and Mac Koshwal, and guards Vander Blue and Khalif Wyatt.
The moves cut the Sixers' roster to 16 players.
White, a former first-round draft pick, averaged 5.0 points, 4.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 3.4 turnovers in 18.7 minutes in five preseason games.
---The Golden State Warriors waived three players, including Seth Curry, and exercised their contract options on Klay Thompson, Harrison Barnes and Festus Ezeli, all for the 2014-2015 seasons.
Besides waiving Curry, who is the younger brother of Warriors star Steph Curry, the Warriors waived forward Joe Alexander and center Dewayne Dedmon, the team announced.
---The Cleveland Cavaliers waived center DeSagana Diop, forward Kenny Kadji, guard Jermaine Taylor and guard Elliot Williams, the team announced.
The Cavaliers roster is at 15 players.
---The Atlanta Hawks waived guard Royal Ivey.
Atlanta's roster is at 16 players. Ivey, a nine-year veteran, played in three preseason games.
---The Minnesota Timberwolves announced that they have waived two players -- guards Lorenzo Brown and Othyus Jeffers.
Brown, a second-round pick in this year's NBA draft, averaged 12.6 minutes, 4.0 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.0 assists in three preseason games.
