The Rockets do not plan to discipline Morey, according to one person with knowledge of the ownership’s thinking who was not authorized to discuss the situation publicly. Yet it remains to be seen how much Morey’s apology will mollify the fans and various entities in China that expressed such loud dismay about Morey’s original Twitter post, in which he shared an image that read, “Fight for Freedom. Stand with Hong Kong” — referencing the protests that have raged for months. The slogan is commonly chanted at demonstrations and has been spray-painted throughout the city.
The Rockets do not plan to discipline Morey, according …
October 23, 2020 | 7:37 pm EDT Update
Revenue projections for the league this season were missed by about $1.5 billion, the person said. The losses were the result of a combination of factors — the shutdown caused by the pandemic, the cancelation of 171 regular-season games, completing the season in a bubble at Walt Disney World without fans, the nearly $200 million price tag for operating that bubble and a yearlong rift with the Chinese government that saw NBA games not shown on state television there.
No decisions have been finalized on next season and talks with the National Basketball Players Association remain ongoing on many matters, including the financial parameters for the coming year. Those talks, especially on the money issue, would have to be concluded before any real decisions about next season are made. The NBPA has not made any final decisions on how it wants to see the league proceed, either. But this plan, starting in December and ending in June, would get the 2021-22 season — virus-permitting — back to normal, with 82-game slates starting in October.
If you’re looking for a pick-up basketball game at the Surf Club in Madison, be aware you might just end of guarding the NBA’s all-time leading three-point shooter. “I always just come prepared because they might need one and today they needed one,” said Ray Allen, who brought his three kids to play an outdoor pick-up game in Madison Wednesday.
“We’ve pretty much been doing this on and off during the summer,” Allen said. “It’s unfortunate because we haven’t had access to gyms, so for the kids to get out and play, it’s an awesome thing. I have three boys out here and you know I just try to amp their level of competition up a little bit.”
The Golden 1 Center is one of 18 vote center locations opening Saturday, October 24. It will be the largest vote center in Sacramento County. “Yeah. We really think Golden 1 Center is the center hub for Sacramento County and our region. More than just basketball and events, and this is really one of those true examples of that where this building is going to be the center of our county for one of the most important days that we have in our history,” said John Rinehart, Sacramento Kings President of Business Operations.
The Miami Heat’s push to bring voting to the AmericanAirlines Arena was going so well with the county’s Elections Department that it was on a draft list of polling places. The next day, the county’s elections supervisor received a text from her boss, Mayor Carlos Gimenez. “We [need] to talk,” Gimenez wrote Elections Supervisor Christina White, forwarding an article about the the NBA’s plan to channel demands for social justice into a voting drive by turning arenas into polling places. Miami-Dade’s Election Department announced it had rejected the Heat’s offer on Sept. 5, saying the logistics and transit options were better at the nearby Frost Science Museum.
“Polling places are supposed to be apolitical,” said Deputy Mayor Jennifer Moon, who oversees the Elections Department. “That was part of the discussion. Would it be an apolitical site?… I think we couldn’t conclude it would be completely apolitical. We don’t have control over the entire building.” At the time, the arena had a large “Black Lives Matter” sign facing Biscayne Boulevard, and NBA players had been active in the racial-justice protests that followed George Floyd’s May 25 death by Minneapolis police, including by sitting out games.
