Shams Charania: Sources: On the ever-elusive question — What if a player tests positive upon return — Adam Silver told players the NBA would hope for daily testing at that point and no stoppage of play, having the player(s) isolated in quarantine.
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Shams Charania: Sources: Commissioner Adam Silver told NBA players on call Friday: - If season resumes, no fans expected - 40% of league revenue comes from fans - Season decision can go into June - Until coronavirus vaccine, there is risk; will be living with the virus for foreseeable future
Sacramento Kings guard Yogi Ferrell is donating hundreds of meals and servings of ice cream to foster youth residing at Sacramento Children’s Home and the organization’s staff who are facing currently increased needs due to the COVID-19 health crisis. With his donation, Ferrell is also supporting several local restaurants and small businesses navigating this unprecedented time.
Popovich, an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump, called Trump a “sociopath” in his interview with TSL, and said “the more we ignore him, the better off we’ll all be.” But overall, he thinks the U.S. is trying to do the right thing in its response to the pandemic. “I think that the country, with governors and mayors and localities, are really trying to do this right, and they understand about flattening the curve, and they understand about staying the course for longer than just today, that this thing is gonna be with us for a long time,” he said.
“We want to be as routine-oriented as we can, but it’s just not always feasible. And so, this particular situation, as COVID-19 shut down more and more businesses and shut down our league, became more real to all of us, then it affected everyone’s routine,” Stevens said. "It’s not an athlete thing, it’s not a coach thing, it’s an everyone thing. And so everybody is dealing with that, and I think that as an athlete, the different curveballs that come out of left field that you get used to hitting I think are good preparation for times that are going to challenge you like this.”
More than a dozen conversations with CBA players, coaches, team officials and agents have revealed a deeper frustration with how the league has yo-yoed from decision to decision amid the COVID-19 crisis. The issue is not the CBA’s caution—“If we can keep people safe by delaying our league and holding out on competitions for a second, we should,” says Mayo—but the uncertainty and lack of transparency that’s resulted in such a mad scramble for so many."
As a precautionary measure upon reaching Liaoning, Mayo entered government-mandated quarantine in a nearby hotel for 14 days. While there, he binge-watched countless hours of Netflix, received four coronavirus tests—two blood samples and two throat swabs—and worked out twice a day with a team trainer over video chat. But on April 14, less than a week after Mayo emerged with the medical all-clear to join his team, another hammer dropped: The CBA had determined that play wouldn’t resume until July at the earliest.
“In my opinion, I felt like they were rushing to try to start the league when they weren’t going to start anyway,” says Zhejiang Golden Bulls guard Marcus Denmon, a second-round Spurs pick out of Missouri in 2012. “For what reason? I’m not sure. But I feel like for them to say, come over here to ground zero during this pandemic, without even a guaranteed date to start, put you in jeopardy by making you get on a plane and travel … I didn’t think it was fair for the players.”
Irving also donated 3,000 N95 masks for essential workers in the tribe. Irving’s late mother was a member of the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe.
The CBA’s attempts to restart have taken on a similarly cyclical feel. As the world’s first major sports league to indefinitely suspend operations amid the growing pandemic, it was supposed to be a guiding light for other outfits looking to return—not to mention proof that the Chinese government, heavily criticized for how it handled the outbreak’s early stages, had brought life back on line.
Instead, as Korean and Taiwanese baseball leagues restart play (albeit without fans), the German Bundesliga readies to kickoff anew on May 16, and normalcy begins tiptoeing into arenas and stadiums across the world, the CBA has become a cautionary tale—a measure of the difficulties facing every league in the age of COVID-19. Its experience is especially relevant to its basketball brother, the NBA, which has floated restart plans similar to those sketched out by the CBA.
In China, scant official explanation has been offered for the fits and starts—or of when a final resolution can be expected. As one Chinese player put it to Sports Illustrated, “We stopped listening to all the rumors because there is a new message delivered to us almost every week.”
Still more have been caught in between: fleeing to their home countries during the initial suspension, rushing to China and quarantining for the mid-April restart, and finally flying home again when the latest delay came down. “It’s just a big disaster,” says one U.S. player, a high-scoring CBA veteran who requested to remain anonymous to avoid reprisal. “They called us back for nothing.”
Adrian Wojnarowski: Orlando has been granted written authorization from the Orange County (FL) Department of Health and approval from NBA to test its players for the coronavirus, a team spokesman said.
As team facilities reopen in the coming days and weeks, organizations such as the Orlando Magic, LA Clippers and Los Angeles Lakers are expected to be among the teams allowed to conduct coronavirus tests of every player and staff member entering facilities for individual workouts -- regardless of whether they are experiencing symptoms, sources said.
The NBA recently informed teams of a "limited exception" to guidelines that forbid the testing of asymptomatic individuals in this preliminary phase of players returning to practice facilities. Essentially, the NBA will approve a written authorization from a local health authority that confirms a "robust testing program in place for at-risk health care workers" in the team's community, sources said.
The NBA plans to regularly test players for COVID-19 upon a formal resumption of the season, but the league has been reluctant in these voluntary scenarios of one-hour workouts to have a perception that the NBA is needlessly using tests that might otherwise serve those at greater risk in a community. Teams will follow numerous protocols upon players returning to facilities for these workouts, including the taking of temperatures, sources said.
If the NBA resumes play in a bubble, there will be complications as everyone arrives at a central location. Of course, everyone must get there first. That won’t necessarily be simple for international players like Luka Doncic.
Adrian Wojnarowski: The Denver Nuggets are planning to re-open the team practice facility for voluntary individual player workouts on Monday -- not today, sources tell ESPN.
Ryan Wolstat: Raptors general manager Bobby Webster said the team pushed to get players shooting back internally in large part for mental health purposes. Get them out of their apartments back on court shooting. Says those players in town mostly interested in taking part.
MICHELE ROBERTS CAN'T remember when she first heard about the "bubble," the idea of isolating NBA players in a hotel so the league could resume its season amid the coronavirus pandemic. But she remembers her reaction to it vividly. "When that one was first floated," said Roberts, the executive director of the National Basketball Players Association, "there was some consternation."
A strict bubble where players are separated from their families, and only go to and from practices and games to a hotel, might seem attractive initially, Roberts said. But to enforce it, everyone inside would likely have to submit to some level of surveillance. And to Roberts, a former public defender and trial lawyer, that was problematic from the jump. "Are we going to arm guards around the hotel?" Roberts wondered. "That sounds like incarceration to me."
The hypothetical also didn't sit well with her constituents, the NBA's players. If a quarantined zone guaranteed players and coaches wouldn't get COVID-19, they told her it would be worth the sacrifice of separating from family and friends for several months. But without surveillance, how could anyone guarantee the bubble was impenetrable? What if a team staffer went to get a slice of pizza and became infected? What if an asymptomatic family member or significant other came to visit and spread the virus? If the honor code was too lax, but a police state was too draconian, what was the point of a bubble?
But one thing has changed -- the growing acceptance that if and when the NBA does resume, it will be in a world where the risk of contracting COVID-19 is ever-present. If the NBA is to come back in some form, there will be, by definition, risk. "This is a world with the virus," Roberts said. "And we have to figure out a way to work, play and live in a world with the virus. "The questions have now evolved from, 'Are we going to play again?' to, 'If we play, what are the risks going to look like?'"
Doug Smith: Raptors say they have permission for limited opening of training facility under tight NBA guidelines and rules. It will begin "the week of May 11" Th is not -- NOT -- a precursor to any resumption of play, it's letting a few employees at time back in the workplace
Publicly, the NBA has been vague about its plans to restart after suspending the season on March 11. There is no schedule for full teams to return to practice, nevermind to play real games. Privately, however, commissioner Adam Silver and his team in the league office have been making contingency plans for every imaginable scenario for how the coronavirus pandemic develops, according to recent conversations with sources from teams, agents, and the league. “What’s been hard for people to understand is the amount of flexibility that Adam has,” said one source with knowledge of discussions in the league office. “He doesn’t need to make a decision until he has as much information as possible based on where we are as a country and where the NBA is as a league.”
Multiple sources corroborated that Silver and his team have a decision tree that will guide the NBA’s choices. The league has the ability to chop off portions of the remaining schedule depending on what happens from both a player and public health standpoint. Here’s the league’s thinking based on a variety of possible events:
The Warriors are eliminated from postseason contention. The Cavaliers and Hawks are close, as are many other teams in the league, like the Timberwolves and Pistons. There is a belief around the league that their seasons are over. Some players want to get back on the court. “I’m excited to get some reps,” Cavs big man Larry Nance Jr. said. “I want the year to come back. I’m not gonna act like I know if we will, but I just really hope we do.” But one front office executive on a Western Conference lottery team said that while the NBA isn’t messaging that their seasons are finished, the thought is that the league won’t have the time or resources to bring all 30 teams to one location and play out the regular season.
“The first game when we get back will probably be a playoff game,” said a league source with knowledge of plans for resuming games.
A postseason play-in tournament has been weighed but is considered highly unlikely, according to multiple league sources. While a tournament could be attractive to fans and lucrative for the league in future seasons, it’s considered too dramatic of a shift in the short term.
It’s too soon to have this conversation, league front office executives say, because no one knows if games will be played and how much revenue those games would yield. The salary cap is set through a complex process based on revenue from the prior season, so right now projecting the 2020-21 salary cap is impossible without knowing if any more games will be played in 2019-20. And since no one knows when fans will be allowed back in arenas, next season’s revenue could still fall well short of expectations considering the amount of money made from live games.
The Israeli basketball championship will begin again on June 20, the board of directors of the Winner League decided. Winner League announced the detailed program and the stages that will lead to the gradual resumption of the season and its completion with the traditional Final Four format.
The NBA could buy or get as many rapid test kits as it needs to attempt to restart without fans, sources said. But politically, that's a nonstarter right now. "In order to do testing, you need the machines, you need the cartridges, you need the swabs, you need reagents, you need personal protective equipment, and a shortage of any one of these makes it difficult," said former U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who has advised the NBA on the virus. "Which is why you've seen backlogs in so many parts of the country."
According to sources, teams believe they would need local officials to allow gatherings of up to 50 people to practice again and gatherings of up to 200 to play games again, likely at home practice facilities or Disney World in Orlando, Florida. This could theoretically accommodate families and be seen as a semi-bubble, a compromise where players wouldn't necessarily be subjected to such harsh social isolation or surveillance measures.
While the first wave of NBA teams prepares to reopen facilities for individual workouts on Friday, several team officials say the psychological effects of returning to organized activities during a global pandemic must be considered for players and staffers around the league -- especially those who already have a heightened concern about germs.
Several general managers and athletic trainers pointed to a number of players -- though they say it's not a large percentage -- whom they would describe as "germophobes." These team officials say there are several executives and other league staffers in the same position. "I'm one of them," one veteran front-office executive for a team in postseason contention told ESPN. Said one Eastern Conference general manager: "I'm not a germophobe, and I'm afraid."
Several team officials said there are players and staffers on their respective teams who fit that "germophobe" description, though none felt comfortable sharing their identities -- and none faulted them for being extremely cautious on that front. But multiple Western Conference athletic training officials referred to this psychological impact as a powerful added stressor for some players that could no doubt inhibit their ability to perform, even if the NBA was able to create an ideal environment at some point in the near future.
Marc Stein: The Cleveland Cavaliers' Larry Nance Jr. tells @NYTSports that he plans to go into the Cavaliers' practice facility Friday when the Cavs join Portland and Denver as the first three teams to open their doors for voluntary individual workouts on the NBA's first allowable day. It is doubly significant because Nance suffers from Crohn's disease, which is typically treated with immunosuppressive medication that can make Crohn's sufferers more vulnerable to infections. But Nance says he has confidence in the drug (Remicade) he takes to combat Crohn's
While the first wave of NBA teams prepares to reopen facilities for individual workouts on Friday, several team officials say the psychological effects of returning to organized activities during a global pandemic must be considered for players and staffers around the league -- especially those who already have a heightened concern about germs.
Several general managers and athletic trainers pointed to a number of players -- though they say it's not a large percentage -- whom they would describe as "germophobes." These team officials say there are several executives and other league staffers in the same position. "I'm one of them," one veteran front-office executive for a team in postseason contention told ESPN. Said one Eastern Conference general manager: "I'm not a germophobe, and I'm afraid."
Several team officials said there are players and staffers on their respective teams who fit that "germophobe" description, though none felt comfortable sharing their identities -- and none faulted them for being extremely cautious on that front. But multiple Western Conference athletic training officials referred to this psychological impact as a powerful added stressor for some players that could no doubt inhibit their ability to perform, even if the NBA was able to create an ideal environment at some point in the near future.
Marc Stein: The Cleveland Cavaliers' Larry Nance Jr. tells @NYTSports that he plans to go into the Cavaliers' practice facility Friday when the Cavs join Portland and Denver as the first three teams to open their doors for voluntary individual workouts on the NBA's first allowable day. It is doubly significant because Nance suffers from Crohn's disease, which is typically treated with immunosuppressive medication that can make Crohn's sufferers more vulnerable to infections. But Nance says he has confidence in the drug (Remicade) he takes to combat Crohn's
Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton delivered a double-double off the court Tuesday in showing appreciation for those working during the COVID-19 pandemic. Ayton had meals delivered from Ocean 44 to workers at Talking Stick Resort Arena and had Aioli Burger food truck provide 300 gourmet burgers to Banner Thunderbird Medical Center staff.
Dr. Priya Sampathkumar gets asked by her two teen-aged sons every day when they can expect to see NBA games again. She's among the doctors desperately trying to answer that question — and the NBA is now trying to help. Sampathkumar is on the staff at the Mayo Clinic, which is starting to get support from the NBA and its players for a study that will aim to shed more light on how antibody testing can help the medical world further understand COVID-19. NBA teams were told this week about the study through an invitation for players and staff to volunteer to take part.
Teams were told that the study would also help doctors understand the prevalence of COVID-19 among infected individuals who were asymptomatic or experienced only mild symptoms. "From a team perspective, and saying this broadly across all teams, participation across the NBA allows for more robust information from the community at large in providing prevalence data," said Dr. Jimmie Mancell, the team physician for the Memphis Grizzlies.
It's a relatively simple process: Teams will receive materials from researchers, then have phlebotomists collect specimens that will be shipped back to the Mayo Clinic. Participants will also have to fill out a survey to gauge their level of potential exposure. Within two days, test results will be known — and because this is about antibodies, it will not take resources away from those doing other testing to identify those who are sick with the virus. Additional goals of the study include being able to identify more patients who could donate plasma and improve care for patients who are dealing with the coronavirus, plus potentially move researchers closer to a vaccine.
It was a worrisome time for the Celtics, who were put into self-quarantine when they arrived back to Boston from their trip to Milwaukee, but they had all the confidence in the world that Smart would beat COVID-19. He is, after all, Marcus Smart, Boston’s defensive bulldog who doesn’t back down from anything. “Marcus is just a great guy with a huge heart. I think COVID took a look at him and said ‘to heck with it,'” Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck joked during an interview with WBZ-TV’s Dan Roche. “He’s so strong. Not to make a joke of it, but we’re glad he’s back and he’s fine. Everyone is working out and shooting baskets and hopefully we can unlock basketball soon enough.”
Healthcare workers are on the frontlines of the race to slow down the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, working grueling hours and risking their own lives to help save others. On Thursday, Denver Nuggets point guard Jamal Murray showed his appreciation by donating 200 meals from renowned Denver Middle Eastern restaurant, Ash'Kara.
“I just wanted to express my gratitude and know that your work is not going underappreciated,” Murray said in a video to UCHealth employees. “We appreciate it a lot. Thank you for working those long hours and taking care of us. Stay strong, stay together and we’ll get through it.”
When basketball stopped in Italy around early March, Aaron Craft faced a decision that many U.S. basketball players abroad had to consider: go home or wait out the pandemic on foreign soil? Two of Craft’s American teammates on his Italian club, Aquila Basket, didn’t hesitate; they flew home as soon as possible. Craft had a personal holdup. He didn’t think it would be safe for his then-13-month-old baby to travel in the middle of such a frenzy, so he and his wife bunkered down in Trento, six hours north of Rome.
“Another factor was we were obligated contractually [to stay] at the time,” Craft said. “If we left and couldn’t come back, we forfeit the rest of our contract and salary. So we just didn’t think it was worth the chance.” While quarantining, the Crafts settled into a routine with their son, but outside things were getting worse. The death counts were rising both at home and in Italy, and lockdowns were tightening locally. Craft’s wife was stopped multiple times by Italian police on outdoor runs and told to go home. A few weeks into their decision to stay, the scales started to tip the other way. A return for basketball in Italy looked increasingly unlikely, and the risk of staying there outweighed the risk of losing any money.
“We were like, ‘OK, we’ll leave and just take our chances,’” Craft, now in Ohio, said. “‘If I need to come back, I can come back by myself and not put my wife and son through it.’”
As basketball calendars continue to get pushed back across the globe, the uncertainty hasn’t diminished, and the lasting effects on the nomadic players, teams, and leagues—including the NBA—only grow. Craft considers himself lucky, in large part because he and his family are safe, but also because he had decided before the season that this would be his last one playing basketball; the 29-year-old is planning to return to Ohio State to finish medical school. “Contracts next year for players are going to be abysmal, unless you had a guarantee that you had signed from this previous year,” Craft said, referencing clubs’ reeling financials. “I do not envy those players that are having to make these decisions moving forward.”
Scott Agness: Pacers will NOT be opening up their practice facility on Friday, the first date allowed by the NBA, for individual workouts. Indy’s stay-at-home order was extended to May 15. Nate McMillan encouraged players to ramp up training and mentally prepare for the season to resume.
Portland Trail Blazers star CJ McCollum is urging the NBA to adopt a balance between proper coronavirus safety measures and players getting back to work with the league allowing teams to open their facilities on Friday. The Trail Blazers, along with the Denver Nuggets and Cleveland Cavaliers, plan to open their facilities Friday in states in which the government has eased the stay-at-home mandate during the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been almost two months since the NBA suspended its season on March 11, and the league is seeking to exhaust all options in hopes of salvaging the 2019-20 season. Players are encouraged to stay in shape until health experts are able to decide whether a return to league play is feasible.
“I am worried like the rest of the world, but I like that it is optional and I’m pleased with the caution, structure and measures the Blazers organization has put in place to ensure the safest environment possible for all parties involved,” McCollum told Yahoo Sports. “I get the measures [the league is] taking, but you have to think at some point when there are drastic measures that need to be taken, ‘Is it really worth it?’ It’s either safe or it’s not. … And let’s just be honest, man, it’s not like it will be the first time players got gym access outside of the team’s facilities. Some people have been working out, if we’re being honest.”
Despite feeling uneasy about working out at the team facility, McCollum — who is also vice president of the National Basketball Players Association — intends to go in on Saturday to evaluate if it’s possible to safely execute a workout with so many restrictions. “The issue is you can go to your practice facility, but there’s all these stipulations,” McCollum told Yahoo Sports. “You can’t use certain stuff, can’t do certain stuff. Now they’re talking about you might have to be 12 feet away from your strength coach. How are you going to lift 12 feet away from somebody?”
The longer this basketball hiatus continues, the likelihood of canceling the season increases exponentially. McCollum is just like everyone else when it comes to not knowing what’s going to occur. “I don’t know, man,” he said. “I’m probably as optimistic as the casual fan. Some days you feel like there’s a chance, and then some days you’re like, ‘I don’t know.’ But in the meantime, if you go to work out at the facility, I get it. Work out, but we’ve got to figure out a balance between what’s safe and what’s forcing it.”
Rockets sources, however, said that D'Antoni has determined that he would coach if the season resumes, in large part because of confidence in NBA commissioner Adam Silver and the league office to create as safe an environment as possible. Sources said D'Antoni, who has been sheltering in place at his Houston home and plans to take precautions such as wearing a mask, has faith that Silver would not allow the league to resume if the safety of players, coaches and staffers would be compromised.
Tina Cervasio: Garrett Temple: #Nets Garrett Temple tells me on @fox5ny about NBPA scheduled call, where #NBA Commish Adam Silver will be checking in. "We actually have a call on Friday w/the League. I've been on a few calls as 1 of the vice presidents on the executive committee for our union. And just trying to figure it out at the end of the day. It's so fluid & really nobody has a single answer. We know obviously it's not going to happen this month, if it does start...maybe late June. Obviously a bunch of different scenarios have been thrown out, but until States, have lifted certain regulations and until we can try to get this thing, this virus under control, we really don't know what's going to happen."
Tim Reynolds: Wednesday is the day the Heat are now targeting for a reopening of their facility to players for voluntary workouts, per source. (Disclaimer: Dates for virtually everything in sports right now should be called "fluid.")
Adrian Wojnarowski: Head coaches will not be allowed to participate or observe the player workouts, per sources.
Shams Charania: Date the Lakers are targeting as of now to reopen practice facility under NBA's protocols: May 16, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
Mike Trudell: Vogel on a potential return to action 1/2: "If it was up to me, I think we need some games. I don’t know if they have to be regular season games in terms of finishing the season. Maybe they’re exhibition games that you treat as sort of your dress rehearsal."
Mike Trudell: Vogel on if he’s optimistic about eventual resumption of play this season: "I’m an optimist by nature. I feel like we’re gonna have an opportunity to finish the season. I’m very well aware that there is a possibility that it does not happen."
Tim Reynolds: NBA teams can reopen Friday, most will wait, and Erik Spoelstra sums things up perfectly: “There's a flickering of a light that we're all feeling right now, but I think it's also important that we all stay extremely aware and vigilant as we take these incremental steps forward."
Ira Winderman: On NBA Twitter with Ernie Johnson, Heat coach Erik Spoelstra non-committal to Monday as start of Heat opening gym to players.
