NBA Rumor: Season Resuming?
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Tim Bontemps: The NBA and NBPA have put out the following joint statement about play resuming Saturday, along with initiatives the players and league will work on together: pic.twitter.com/2Y2e9eFEfd
Davide Chinellato: President Donald Trump: “The #NBA has become like a political organization, and that’s not a good thing. I don’t think that’s a good thing for sports or for the country”
Alykhan Bijani: Tilman Fertitta: “It’s a different generation. If you’re not a flexible person and you don’t see other people’s views, you’re not going to do well in this world today. And so I respect them. I stand by them. They’re my partners.” #Rockets #NBA pic.twitter.com/x3nZ4c4ndt
Sopan Deb: Tilman Fertitta on the player stoppage: “I think they just needed a pause. They’ve been playing every other day. These are our partners, okay? We’re 50/50 partners. And if we do well, they do well. And if the league doesn’t do well, none of us do well. And they realize that.” pic.twitter.com/u1pGxBClfC
Alykhan Bijani: Tilman Fertitta says he disagrees with President Trump calling the NBA a political organization. “I think the #Rockets are a political organization…I think that is not a good statement. I don’t know why he made that statement. It’s disappointing.” pic.twitter.com/0zrMeVNjN3
Shams Charania: NBA statement on hopeful Postseason return on Friday or Saturday. pic.twitter.com/Qn0fcC7KHa
NBA season to resume on Saturday?
Keith Pompey: The #NBA games will resume on Saturday, according to source.
To help explain what happened and what might come next, GQ called up Len Elmore, a former NBA player with a background in law who now teaches at Columbia University on subjects including athlete activism and social justice in sports.
Even within these strange, sad times we’re living in, yesterday’s decision feels like it will echo for years to come. Just how historic was it? Len Elmore: From the standpoint of a unified position by a team, across leagues, it’s right up there with the assassinations of Dr. King and, before that even, JFK. How can you conduct sport when there’s so many larger, more significant things at hand? However, what makes this unprecedented is the fact that there’s a reason, a basis behind this. This is a protest of systemic racism catalyzed by another shooting of an unarmed Black man. We’ve never seen that. And it wasn’t spurred on by any kind of national power. This was done by the individual players, predominantly Black players, who are standing up and using their platform to make a statement. And the question is, will you sustain the impact or is this just a one-off thing that comes and goes?
Len Elmore: We have a country in upheaval. We have a situation where there are so many people in mourning—not the officials but those who participate, and it’s them who made this decision. That’s what makes this unprecedented.
Last night the league tweeted that the three playoff games have been “postponed” and will be rescheduled. Can you explain why they did this? Len Elmore: At this stage, they think that it bodes well to sympathize. Let’s see how long that lasts. The longer the players decide they’re not gonna play, the more you have an impact on the league and the owners, on their pocketbook and their profitability. If this thing lasts a week, two weeks, then it becomes a different story. This league right now is trying to maintain good will between those who are essentially adversarial, the union and management. But the longer they stay out, the more that good will dissipates.
If this were a one- or two-game boycott by the players and then they returned to action, how do you think this would be remembered? Len Elmore: I think it would be remembered as symbolic, and from a collective bargaining position down the road, it would be a tell for the owners to realize that these guys can’t hold out. I think they’d use it down the road in their bargaining strategy.
NBA players voted to resume the playoffs in a meeting Thursday morning after walking out on Wednesday’s slate of games, league sources told Yahoo Sports. The agreement occurred at Disney’s Corona Springs Resort in a meeting that lasted a little less than an hour, sources said. It was the players’ second meeting in the last 15 hours.
Thursday’s scheduled playoff games will be postponed, sources said. In Wednesday night’s meeting, frustration mounted and tension grew among the players, who were irritated by a lack of strategic unity, sources said. The Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers voted against resuming the playoffs last night and were the first two teams to exit the meeting, sources said.
LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard expressed a desire to return home, sources said, but in Thursday’s meeting, James related that it was in the best interest of the players to finish what they started. Anthony Davis was on board with whatever the players decided, sources said.
Mark Jackson: So Proud of ALL of the NBA Players!!!
Jeff Goodman: Source: LeBron James did not say one word during the meeting.
NBA season to resume Friday?
Shams Charania: Sources: NBA players — and league — are aiming to restart games Friday.
Jeff Goodman: There will be another meeting at 4 p.m. with two NBA players from each team to discuss the specific items that the players want to be addressed, source told @Stadium.
Today's NBA games still postponed
Tim MacMahon: Sources: There will be another meeting later today with two players per team.
NBA players decide to resume playoffs
Adrian Wojnarowski: The NBA’s players have decided to resume the playoffs, source tells ESPN.
Vincent Goodwill: Sources to @YahooSports: After emotional meeting, the feeling is most players want to continue playing but also want to know the board of governors are going to support them on pushing policy changes.
There is a sense of fatigue among many — emotions spilling over from the trauma of watching the shooting on video, listening to the rhetoric of the Republican National Convention and players feeling like they’re being held in captivity in the bubble. “I think there will be a chance for guys to have clearer heads on [Thursday] morning,” one team executive said. “But none of us really know where this is headed.”
Miami Heat forward Andre Iguodala explained that societal change must come through political action, which can often be tedious. How many of them, he asked, were aware that California was set to vote on a landmark police reform bill on Friday? How many were even registered to vote? The union had data suggesting that number was extremely low.
Houston Rockets assistant coach John Lucas gave a stirring speech about how far players had come since the time he’d played in the NBA. “This is your moment,” Lucas told them. He encouraged the players to speak to commissioner Adam Silver and the owners, and ask them to use their power to do more.
The league’s owners had committed to contributing $300 million over the next 10 years to a foundation that would create economic opportunity and empowerment in the Black community. But sources said that at last month’s board of governors meeting, owners had discussed whether to ask the National Basketball Players Association to contribute to that as well. “What is it they think the league can do?” one owner wondered. “We have been fully supportive.”
Optimism that majority of NBA players want to resume playoffs
Brian Robb: Chris Paul called Jayson Tatum to ask him to be a part of negotiations with the NBPA heading into restart, according to Tatum.
Jeff Zillgitt: From every conversation I’ve had privately and publicly the NBA officials, they are confident they can pull this off while protecting players/staffers/essential personnel inside the controlled environment at Disney. But concerns exists, for sure. There is no way to eliminate all risk, so they’re doing what they believe is on the correct side of risk. To answer your question more direct, we’re going to find out if the risk is worth it. — JZ
Adam Silver says NBA will shut down if they get 'a lot' of positive cases
Tim Reynolds: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver is doing a Time 100 talk today and said again that if conditions in the bubble get bad, the NBA will stop. “If cases are isolated, that’s one thing. .. But if we had a lot of cases, we’re going to stop.” He also says he won’t be there the whole time.
NBA will paint Black Lives Matter on court sidelines
The NBA is planning to paint “Black Lives Matter” on the court inside both sidelines in all three arenas it will use at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, when it resumes the 2019-20 season late next month, league sources told ESPN. The WNBA is also discussing painting “Black Lives Matter” on the court when it begins its abbreviated 2020 season at the IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, sources said.
Sources also said some WNBA players have suggested in talks with league higher-ups that players wear shooting shirts with “Say Her Name” written on them in an attempt to keep attention on female victims of police brutality — including Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed by police in her home in Louisville, Kentucky, in March.
Players have insisted the fight for racial equality and social justice be a central part of the NBA’s return to play and the WNBA’s new season. Several NBA players considered skipping the NBA’s Orlando resumption to focus on social justice issues. Several WNBA players, including Renee Montgomery of the Atlanta Dream and Natasha Cloud of the Washington Mystics, are sitting out the upcoming WNBA season to focus on social justice.
On a conference call with reporters Friday, leaders of both the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association said the league and union were discussing several methods of using the NBA’s platform in Orlando to call attention to racial equality, social justice and police brutality. Over the weekend, Chris Paul, president of the players’ union, told ESPN that the league and union were collaborating to allow players to wear uniforms with personalized messages linked to social justice on the backs of their jerseys in place of players’ last names.
Emotions are running high, from people tired of quarantine, frustrated they’ll need to burrow deeper into their hermitage, to those believing society should go back to normal regardless of the consequences. Add in the growing Black Lives Matter movement, aspiring to facilitate significant societal changes in response to the killing of George Floyd and several similar racial injustices, and the answer only grows murkier. “It’s about money, clearly,” one Western Conference executive said. “I’m just curious to see what practices they use if multiple people get it. At what point do they shut it down?”
Emotions are running high, from people tired of quarantine, frustrated they’ll need to burrow deeper into their hermitage, to those believing society should go back to normal regardless of the consequences. Add in the growing Black Lives Matter movement, aspiring to facilitate significant societal changes in response to the killing of George Floyd and several similar racial injustices, and the answer only grows murkier. “It’s about money, clearly,” one Western Conference executive said. “I’m just curious to see what practices they use if multiple people get it. At what point do they shut it down?”
JD Shaw: The complete game and national television schedules for the eight seeding games will be announced tonight, the NBA says in a press release.
Ira Winderman: The NBA schedule will be released at 7 p.m. on ESPN.
NBA and NBPA finalize return plan for 2019-20 season
The National Basketball Association and the National Basketball Players Association announced today that they have finalized a comprehensive plan for a July 30 restart to the 2019-20 season, which includes stringent health and safety protocols, a single-site campus at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida and the goal of taking collective action to combat systemic racism and promote social justice. In addition, the NBA and Disney have reached an agreement that makes the Arena, the Field House and Visa Athletic Center at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex the venues for all games for the remainder of the season, which will resume with 22 teams returning to play and with no fans in attendance.
The NBA and the NBPA confirmed today an agreement on health and safety protocols that will govern the resumption of the season. The rigorous program, which addresses risks related to COVID-19 and focuses on the well-being of players, coaches, officials and staff, was developed in consultation with public health experts, infectious disease specialists and government officials.
As announced on Wednesday, the NBA and the NBPA have agreed in principle that the goal of the season restart will be to find tangible and sustainable ways to address racial inequality across the country. Leaders from the NBA and the NBPA have also discussed strategies to increase Black representation across the NBA and its teams, ensure greater inclusion of Black-owned and operated businesses across NBA business activities, and form an NBA foundation to expand educational and economic development opportunities across the Black community. In recognition that long-term change can only come from an informed and sustained commitment, conversations regarding these efforts will continue and additional details will be released at a later date.
“We have worked together with the Players Association to establish a restart plan that prioritizes health and safety, preserves competitive fairness and provides a platform to address social justice issues,” said NBA Commissioner Adam Silver. “We are grateful to our longtime collaborator Disney for its role in playing host and making this return to play possible, and we also thank the public health officials and infectious disease specialists who helped guide the creation of comprehensive medical protocols and protections.”
“It is very exciting to officially announce the restart of the 2019-2020 season,” said NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts. “It has taken true collaboration between the League and the Union – special kudos to our Executive Committee and several other team reps – along with the continued support and assistance from medical experts, public health officials and many others. Additionally, our platform in Orlando presents a unique opportunity to extend the ongoing fight against systemic racism and police brutality in this country. We will continue to work with our players and the League to develop specific plans in Orlando as well as long-term initiatives to bring about real change on these issues.”
“We’re glad to be able to provide a unique venue where the NBA can resume its season at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex,” said Josh D’Amaro, Chairman, Disney Parks, Experiences and Products. “We look forward to welcoming the players, coaches and staff to Walt Disney World Resort as they prepare for the exciting return of professional basketball.”
Luka Doncic back in Dallas
Alykhan Bijani: Tilman Fertitta on NBA rerurn: “[Coronavirus] is here to stay. That’s why you’ve got to wear your mask. You can either panic and not keep playing games, or send people home that are sick and keep playing. And that’s what we’re gonna see is gonna happen.” pic.twitter.com/CApe7zzFMB
All staff members of Finals teams, mind you, will go approximately three months without seeing their families. If nothing else, it’s quite the culture shock to each family’s system after these past three months where they were home so much more than ever before. A source said Boston coach Brad Stevens has consistently pushed the league to reconsider its ruling that the families of staff members will not be allowed.
New Orelans made a bid to host the remainder of the season
On Wednesday, Forbes reported a group of Pelicans executives and city and state officials had put together a “strong bid” to host the remainder of the NBA season. The bid included plans to house teams in the Hyatt downtown and hold games at Smoothie King Center, Forbes said.
The NBA said Wednesday the Pelicans and the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation worked together on the city’s restart bid. “New Orleans has a rich history of hosting world-class sports and entertainment events — including NBA All-Star Games in 2008, 2014 and 2017,” NBA executive vice president Kelly Flatow said. “The New Orleans Pelicans and the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation collaborated to propose a safe and healthy environment for the NBA’s return to play. We’re appreciative of their leadership and support.”
Some are terrified, not only for the people who could spend up to three months in COVID-19 ravaged Florida starting in mid-July but also for the incredible damage the league could incur for years to come if too many players test positive and it all comes crashing down. “If the cases keep spiking in Florida, things are going to happen,” one GM told The Athletic on Monday. “I’m really, really concerned for the league big-picture wise in many, many ways.”
Others are mildly concerned, trusting of Commissioner Adam Silver and his staff that shared their 113-page “Health and Safety Protocols” memo with teams last week but also wary of the physical risks and mental health challenges that this unnatural environment will present for players and staff members alike. And that was before the positive tests of players such as Denver’s Nikola Jokic started rolling in on Tuesday. “It’s the hindsight of ‘Was it worth it?’ that worries me,” another GM said. “If something happens, it’s (the question of) ‘Was it worth it?’ If everything goes great, it’s historic, and it’ll be remembered throughout history. ‘Remember the Bubble?’ or whatever they’re going to call it. It’ll be a special thing as long as we can make it through.”
Sources say the Clippers have been the most vocal when it comes to pushing for more family and friends to be allowed earlier in the timeline, with their routinely-stated hope (via weekly calls between the NBA and front office executives) that the league will eventually allow at least one family member or friend to join players at the start of the first round. “They’re fighting for that,” a rival GM said.
Avery Bradley opting out of Orlando bubble for Lakers
ESPN, one of the NBA’s top partners, tweeted a 28-second video on June 4 to the 36.5 million followers of its “SportsCenter” account — “When You Wish Upon a Star” playing with fireworks popping around Disney’s iconic castle. The reason for the celebration? “The NBA is Back,” the ad ends. The video was the network’s response to a 29-1 vote of teams in favor of restarting the NBA season with 22 teams on the Disney World campus, reason for basketball fans and the network that airs a sizable chunk of the league’s games to celebrate. Privately, though, some NBA executives and team officials scoffed. The road to the NBA season was far from complete and bringing the NBA “back” was no guarantee.
Last Tuesday through Saturday, according to state data, 17 percent of coronavirus tests in the county returned positive results. That was a significant jump from the 10-day period before that, from June 6 to 15, when the positive rate was 5 percent. The spike is yet another source of apprehension to manage for league and union officials, who just emerged from weeks of complicated discussions to come to terms on all the health and safety restrictions for its restart beginning July 7.
The location of the contained campus for the restart is a fresh source of unease. The N.B.A. chose Disney World for its single-site resumption of play for many reasons — business reasons among them given Disney’s status as the league’s top media partner. But Orange County’s increase in positive tests over the past two weeks has made it an “infection hotbed,” as described by Perry Halkitis, dean of the Rutgers School of Public Health.
The main weakness in the N.B.A.’s approach, Halkitis said, is the prospect of players or team staff members leaving the campus without authorization and exposing themselves to the coronavirus — or “workers who are not staying on the grounds” bringing it in. “Do I 100 percent believe that people aren’t going to leave?” Halkitis said. “I mean, these are adults, right? Human behavior is really hard to control.”
Teams are set to ramp up training this week. A transaction window will soon open. Seeding games and the playoffs are scheduled for Disney World. When will the union actually approve this plan? Brian Windhorst of ESPN on Sunday: “This, from what everybody that I talked to, right now is too big to fail. The overwhelming majority of players are excited. They want to be there. From what I understand, Hannah, it is going to happen. They’re on the verge of coming to an agreement. That could be announced in the next 48 hours, certainly before training camps re-open the middle of this week. We are headed towards at least a restart of training camp with agreement from the union very soon.”
Magic CEO confident Orlando bubble idea is safe
Orlando Magic CEO Alex Martins told the Orlando Sentinel on Friday the NBA restart committee feels confident in the league’s safety plans. “We had a number of guiding principles as we had discussions about the restart and how we would restart, and the No. 1 guiding principle for us, for the league overall, is the health and safety of our players, coaches and staff that will be on the campus at Disney,” Martins said. “We have consulted with some of the top medical experts in the country, epidemiologists from Columbia University and Johns Hopkins, and others, [including] a former surgeon general [Vivek Murthy].
“So a lot of time and effort has been put into the safety protocols. We’re confident that the protocols that are in place will keep everybody on the Disney campus confined and amongst each other, and with little to no exposure of anyone else from the community. So in saying that, I’m confident that we have a safe plan in place and that despite the recent rise in cases in Florida that it will be a safe environment for all of our players, coaches and staff that are at Disney.”
With two major hospital systems in Orlando, leagues officials also are confident they won’t use medical supplies needed elsewhere while treating any emergency injuries. “I absolutely believe it still makes sense,” Martins said. “There will be no impact on local resources whatsoever. Both our team and our league have been in contact with the Florida Department of Health, and Dr. [Raul] Pino, [the Health Officer for the Department of Health in Orange County] in particular, and we’ve been assured there are plenty of resources available for our local residents and that we won’t be having any negative impact on that whatsoever.”
If the season gets canceled, players would lose $1.2 billion in salary (or 35 percent of their total pay), according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Also, the NBA would lose $2 billion in revenue, per ESPN’s Bobby Marks. NBA agents have been delivering “stern warnings” to their players recently, explaining “the financial implications of a lost season,” writes Wojnarowski.
This $2 billion drop in league revenue would have a significant effect on the NBA’s salary cap. Before this Orlando plan came together, experts like John Hollinger and Danny LeRoux of The Athletic estimated that a canceled regular season could lead to an $8 million dip in the cap (as HoopsHype outlined). But if the NBA playoffs were canceled as well, the cap could decrease by more than $10 million (with some estimating a dip of approximately $15 million).
September 16, 2021 | 8:36 pm EDT Update
Jimmer Fredette, Noah Vonleh to Shanghai Sharks
Keith Smith: The Shanghai Sharks have signed former NBAers Jimmer Fredette and Noah Vonleh. This will be Fredette’s 5th season with Shanghai. He last played in the NBA in 2019 with the Phoenix Suns. Vonleh was briefly with the Brooklyn Nets last season. This is his first season with Shanghai.
NBA star Giannis Antetokounmpo was in Greece for a meeting with the country’s prime minister Thursday and a special ceremony to bestow Greek citizenship on his mother Veronica and younger brother Alex. Antetokounmpo, who led the Milwaukee Bucks to the NBA championship in July, attended the ceremony at the official residence of Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis. The 26-year-old Antetokounmpo was born in Athens, the son of Nigerian immigrants. He was granted Greek citizenship in 2013, allowing him to travel to the United States and join the Bucks later that year.
“We always felt Greek, but now we have an official stamp and we are happy,” Antetokounmpo told reporters after the ceremony. “Alex and my mom are Greek citizens now.” Antetokounmpo also traveled to Greece in August with his brother Thanassis, carrying the Larry O’Brien NBA championship trophy. He took the trophy to the ancient Acropolis in Athens to celebrate with members of his family.
September 16, 2021 | 8:07 pm EDT Update
Salah Mejri headed to Kuwait
Kuwaiti team Al-Jahra announced the signing of former NBA center Salah Mejri for next season.
Keith Smith: Cleaning up some loose ends on TPEs for the Boston Celtics… The Celtics used the Daniel Theis $5M TPE to acquire Kris Dunn in the three-team deal with the Hawks and Kings. That leaves Boston with five current TPEs. Those TPEs and expiration dates are in the next tweet. 1/2
