At Game 5, Seth Curry walks in his brother’s shoes – literally

Seth Curry was at Oracle Arena on Monday supporting his brother, two-time league MVP and Warriors guard Steph, in more ways than one.

Seth stood courtside before Game 5 of the NBA Finals watching warmups and wearing a pair of Steph’s newest shoes, the Curry 2 Low sneakers, which were released last week by Under Armour and quickly mocked on social media.

The sneakers were dubbed “mall-walker shoes” and “Dad Force Ones,” among other names. Steph Curry was asked about the backlash after Game 4 and said he liked the shoes, describing them as “fire.” At the Warriors’ practice Sunday, Steph wore a pair with a fire emoji drawn on the right toe.

“I’m not defending them at all – I like them,” Seth Curry said Monday, grinning. “The jokes are funny. It is what it is.”

Seth, who in April chose not to exercise his player option for next season with the Kings, said he is looking forward to exploring free agency this summer. He expects the Kings to extend him a qualifying offer, which would make him a restricted free agent. In that case, the Kings could retain Curry by matching any offer from another team.

Last season, Seth averaged 6.8 points and 1.5 assists in 44 games for the Kings, but when given an opportunity in the last seven games of the season averaged 16.4 points and 5.3 assists in 32.5 minutes while shooting 48.9 percent from the floor.

“I’ve never been through (free agency) before,” Curry said. “I feel like I played well to set myself up for good things to come in free agency, so we’ll see what happens come July.”

Though now used to playing in packed NBA arenas, Seth said it can be nerve-wracking watching his brother compete in the Finals.

“It’s kind of stressful, just the stakes that guys are playing for,” Seth said. “You want to see him win; you want to see him play well. Just like any other fan, that’s how I’m watching the game.”

Small world – Former Kings coach and current Warriors CSN Bay Area analyst Garry St. Jean said he stays in touch with Hall of Famers Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond through his son, Greg.

Mullin left his position as a consultant to Kings owner Vivek Ranadive late in the 2014-15 season and became the coach at St. John’s, his alma mater. Both Richmond and the younger St. Jean are on Mullin’s staff.

“Imagine two Hall of Famers walking into your house (for recruiting),” St. Jean noted. “This year’s recruiting class was rated the best in the (Big East) Conference.

“Greg is loving it. I saw him at the Maui Invitational during Thanksgiving week, and I was thinking, ‘Mullie and Mitch have known my son since he was born.’ Basketball is such a small world.”

Another shot – Jeff Austin, the agent for Seth Curry and former Kings guard Jimmer Fredette, said Fredette plans to play in the Las Vegas Summer League in hopes of attracting NBA suitors.

Fredette spent most of this past season with the Knicks’ D-League team, averaging 21.1 points. Austin said Fredette will play in the NBA next year if he gets a contract or in Europe.

“He’s in the same situation Seth was a year ago,” Austin said. “We just have to re-establish Jimmer as an NBA player.”

Odd man out – Warriors coach Steve Kerr said he’d like to see the NBA change a rule that required suspended forward Draymond Green to be active for Game 5. Reserve guard Ian Clark instead was inactive Monday night for the first time this postseason.

“I guess the point is if you suspend a player that the team should be punished and not have an extra player,” Kerr said before the game. “But in my mind you should not punish a different player.

“Ian has been working his entire life on his game and preparing. And here it is the NBA Finals and because Draymond is suspended I can’t suit up Ian. I don’t think that’s fair.”

Old hand – Warriors assistant coach Ron Adams, the senior member of Kerr’s staff and former head coach at Fresno State, tapes his left thumb and wrist before practices and pregame warmups.

“To protect the tendons,” he said. The thumb and wrist have been damaged from years of gripping basketballs.

Thinking of Orlando – A moment of silence was observed before tipoff for the victims of the mass shooting in Orlando, Fla., early Sunday at a nightclub that left 50 dead, including the gunman, and 53 injured.

Former NBA All-Star Grant Hill addressed the crowd before the moment of silence. Hill played for the Magic from 2000 to 2007 and still lives in Orlando.

This story was originally published June 13, 2016 at 7:11 PM with the headline "At Game 5, Seth Curry walks in his brother’s shoes – literally."