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Garrett Temple: Much respect to my teammate @jasoncollins34 for being #real Twitter

Jason Collins, Garrett Temple 

Michael Lee: Garrett Temple on Jason Collins coming out as gay: "I had no idea. Me & Jason, we’re...right next to each other in the locker room." Twitter @MrMichaelLee

Washington Wizards, Jason Collins, Garrett Temple 

Michael Lee: Temple: "A lot of ignorant people are going to say some things but..to be the player to do it, much respect to him. I’m real proud of him." Twitter @MrMichaelLee

Washington Wizards, Jason Collins, Garrett Temple 

Garrett Temple grew up in nearby Baton Rouge, and I asked him how he felt about the name. "Out of the 30 NBA teams, I really wished it wouldn’t be New Orleans,” he said. “But, it is the state bird. I learned about that in sixth grade in Louisiana history, that the pelican was the state bird. Not that I’ve seen a lot of pelicans in New Orleans. Washington Post

Washington Wizards, Garrett Temple, New Orleans Pelicans 

“I wish we could just get the Jazz back, because there’s a lot of jazz in New Orleans,” Temple continued. “There’s not a lot of jazz in Utah. I don’t know what Utah would be. Do a name trade, something.” Washington Post

Utah Jazz, Washington Wizards, Garrett Temple, New Orleans Pelicans 

A free agent when the season is over, Temple would like to remain here and put stress of signing 10-day contracts behind him. The Wizards are his sixth NBA team. He also has spent a lot of time in the D-League. “I would love to be here next year. We just have a great thing building here with young guys, especially the way we've ended the season with the last 50 games, playing the way we've been playing since John’s been back,” Temple said. “We have a team that can contend in the East. I love this city. It’s easily the most home like place I've been playing in the NBA in the last three-and-a-half years. CSNWashington.com

Washington Wizards, Free Agency, Garrett Temple 

The Wizards have a small basket of gum in the locker room for the players, but on Tuesday I got to see the main supply for the first time, and it was impressive. Dentyne Ice, Trident, something called Bubbaloo and the ever-popular Bubblicious, with some cough drops thrown in for good measure. But why does an NBA locker room need so much gum? “The GOAT, the greatest to ever do it, chewed gum, so I think it’s spurred basketball players chewing gum,” Garrett Temple told me. “[Michael Jordan] used to always have gum in his mouth, chewing it while we was waiting for free throws or something like that. They’d always show that. That’s the reason I always tried to chew gum, but I got to the point where I found myself losing my breath quicker when I’d run up and down the court having to chew gum also.” Washington Post

Washington Wizards, Michael Jordan, Garrett Temple 

Gum is a staple in a lot of NBA locker rooms, but apparently the Wizards gum game is particularly strong. “I like the fact that they have Strawberry and Grape Bubblicious,” said a smiling Temple. “I hadn’t seen Bubblicious in a while, so when I got here, I was like wow. Bubblicious? So I had to chew some. I don’t see locker rooms have Bubblicious. Usually they have Juicy Fruit and Wrigley’s. The Dentyne and stuff like that. But they have everything here.” Washington Post

Washington Wizards, Garrett Temple 

Martin shared Booker’s sentiments on Temple’s gum of choice. “My favorite is the Trident, the orange citrus flavor,” he said. “The flavor tends to go away too quick on the other ones. I need something that can maintain its juiciness.” Washington Post

Washington Wizards, Garrett Temple 

The Washington Wizards held Kids Day over the weekend. To help promote Kids Day, they invited De’La, a Wizards Junior Reporter, in to interview some of the Wizards. She asked Martell Webster (“Marty”), Garrett Temple, Cartier Martin and John Wall about their shoe sizes and celebrity crushes. She even got John Wall to do the Dougie, but she had to do it with him. The results were adorable as the Washington players joked around and mostly just made her giggle the entire time. The Big Lead

Washington Wizards, John Wall, Martell Webster, Cartier Martin, Garrett Temple 

“It’s an amazing place. I got chills when the lady was telling us about it,” Garrett Temple said. “To put a smile on some kids faces, going to the hospital and being able to talk to some kids and understand you have a little bit of influence and make their day better than it was, was just a blessing to be able to do that.” Webster has his own foundation to work with inner-city kids and is also a father of three daughters. He said the visit was an invaluable experience. “Every living moment, it should be cherished, because you never know when life could be snatched away. Seeing these kids definitely reminds me of how important it is to love your family and children and to love other children,” he said. “The whole time, all I wanted to do was pick up one of those kids and give them a hug. Going into some of the inpatient rooms, we couldn’t come in and have parents come out with their kids to take pictures with me and the team, was amazing.” Washington Post

Washington Wizards, Garrett Temple 

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has signed free agent guards Shelvin Mack and Garrett Temple. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not released. NBA.com

Washington Wizards, Free Agency, Ernie Grunfeld, Garrett Temple, Shelvin Mack 

Washington Wizards President Ernie Grunfeld announced today that the team has signed free agent guards Shelvin Mack and Garrett Temple. Per team policy, terms of the deals were not released. Mack (6-3, 207) was originally selected by Washington with the 34th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft. In 11 games this season with the Maine Red Claws of the NBA D-League, he has averaged 19.7 points (ranked sixth) and a D-League best 7.5 assists in 40.7 minutes per contest. He was named NBA D-League Performer of the Week on December 10. In 64 games during his rookie campaign with the Wizards, Mack averaged 3.6 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 12.2 minutes per game. The former Butler Bulldog averaged 4.1 points in eight games during the 2012 preseason with Washington before being waived on October 28, 2012. NBA.com

Washington Wizards, Free Agency, Garrett Temple, Shelvin Mack 

Marc Stein: Word is Wizards lining up Garrett Temple (formerly of Rockets, Kings, Spurs, Bucks and Bobcats) for D-League call-up along w/Shelvin Mack Twitter @ESPNSteinLine

Washington Wizards, D-League, Garrett Temple 

Ira Winderman: The Heat waived Garrett Temple. Roster now at regular-season maximum of 15. Means Terrel Harris, Josh Harrellson, Pittman, Jones on roster. Twitter @IraHeatBeat

Miami Heat, Garrett Temple 

Chris Tomasson: This pretty much means Josh Harrellson has made final roster Terrel Harris battling Garrett Temple for last spot Twitter @christomasson

Miami Heat, Garrett Temple, Josh Harrellson, Terrel Harris 

Joseph Goodman: I think Garrett Temple might actually make this team. Maybe Terrel Harris gets cut after all. Twitter @MiamiHeraldHeat

Miami Heat, Garrett Temple, Terrel Harris 

Substitute Glen Davis, yes "Big Baby," for Michael Oher, the Baltimore Ravens tackle, and you get closer to the essence of the Garrett Temple story. Temple, you see, forged an early bond with Davis, a promising athlete, who, like Oher, had lost his way and his youth amid the mean streets, in this case, not of Oher's Memphis, but rather of Baton Rouge. Enter the Temple family, in this case Collis Temple, Garrett's father and the first-ever black basketball player at LSU, in 1971-72. In Davis, Collis Temple saw hope. So he took him in. South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Miami Heat, Orlando Magic, Glen Davis, Garrett Temple 

For Garrett Temple, it meant family, a future renewed for his friend, and a bond he hopes could yet resume in the NBA. The current Heat training-camp hopeful picks up the story from there. "We met each other around nine or 10," Temple says before a recent preseason break. "We started playing rec basketball with each other. Then, when we got to eighth, ninth grade, he was always coming over to our house a lot. And then my dad knew his mom from back when they were younger and he ended up moving in with us my sophomore and junior year. We went to the same high school. So we really grew up as bothers. "He was living with his grandmother. He went to the [high] school on LSU's campus and we were a half mile from campus, and in moving in with us, it gave him a little more stability and just gave him a chance to blossom maybe a little more than he would have, in the situation that he was in. Our family took him in with open arms. And since I knew him, as a bother, growing up with him, it was easier for me. My older brothers had moved out, so it was just us two at the house." South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Miami Heat, Garrett Temple 

Q: Ira, who do you think will take the last two spots the Heat have left? -- Paul, Miami. A: It is a constantly evolving decision. None of the lower-end big men have been particularly impressive, although Mickell Gladness had his defensive moments Thursday against the Clippers. Terrel Harris hardly has distanced himself, while Garrett Temple is somewhat intriguing. At the moment, I still think Josh Harrellson might get the benefit of the doubt up front based on his body of work last season with the Knicks. South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Miami Heat, Mickell Gladness, Garrett Temple, Josh Harrellson, Terrel Harris