Storyline: Season Resuming?
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Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta shared his excitement about having the Toyota Center available for players to resume workouts on KPRC’s Sports Sunday, . “I heard it was really nice and wonderful to see everybody around there and feel that life. The Toyota Center had definitely lost its soul in the last couple of months, so it felt good again. The players want to play, the NBA wants us to play, the owners want to play, and the fans want us to play, which is most important.”
Turner Sports analyst and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley didn’t feel the need to hedge in a Monday appearance on the Paul Finebaum Show. “We’re gonna make a decision in the next week,” Barkley said. “I’m 100% sure we’re going to play. I know my friends in Major League Baseball are going to play. I know that the (NHL) is going to play. … I do know this, talking to my bosses at Turner: We’re going to play basketball. It is gonna be in Florida and Vegas, or just Florida.”
“The key is gonna be the players,” Barkley said. “I mean, listen — big basketball players pushing on each other in the lane, fighting for rebounds and post position, there’s no way they can social distance. You got to worry — they say they’re gonna put them in a hotel for two or three months, I’m like, ‘Well are the maids gonna be in the hotel for two or three months?’ The maids are gonna go home every day. What about the people in room service? They’re gonna go home every day. So it’s just a lot of unanswered questions.”
In support of the Trump Administration’s reopening of the economy, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad F. Wolf signed an order that exempts certain foreign professional athletes who compete in professional sporting events organized by certain leagues, including their essential staff and their dependents, from proclamations barring their entry into the U.S.
The Department will work with the professional sporting groups to identify the specific athletes, essential staff, team and league leadership, spouses, and dependents covered by this exemption, including Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, the Professional Golfers’ Association Tour, the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour, the National Hockey League, the Association of Tennis Professionals, and the Women’s Tennis Association.
How optimistic are you that the NBA will resume play at some point? Carlisle: “I am optimistic. It feels like things are moving in what I would characterize as a generally good direction, in terms of our ability to test and control an environment. I have no absolute knowledge of anything, but I do know there’s a great desire of the players to return to playing games and get into a playoff format of some sort.”
Rick Carlisle: “I think if you look at the big picture, it probably sets up even better for the start, if the new season’s going to start in December, which a lot of people are speculating. It’s kind of like the elongated All-Star break. And some of the good things that’s brought for the remaining part of the regular season you’re coming off of an eight or nine-day break instead of a three or four-day break, as in the old days.”
Tobias Harris hasn’t shot a basketball since the 2019-20 season was halted in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. But he has been working out every day in his garage gym at his Philadelphia home to stay ready should play resume. He’s also been talking to his teammates on Zoom. “Everybody wants to be safe, so that’s the key thing,” Harris replied when asked if he has any concerns about a return. “If we can find a venue and it’s safe and we have the proper protocols in place for guys to feel comfortable, then I’m fine with it.” Harris described the idea of playing actual games in an empty gym as, “Kind of like a practice setting. But guys are competitive, so we’re always gonna go as hard as we can.”
Chris Grenham: Brian Windhorst just said on @GetUpESPN that there’s a “really good chance” the NBA elects to go with a 16-team playoff and no regular season. Added that it leaves open the possibility for seeding the teams 1-16, which would have to pass an owner vote.
Several alternatives are being considered, per Wojnarowski. “Well, they’re still considering a number of variations, Greeny, everywhere form bringing all 30 teams back to just bringing the playoffs teams back to something in between. Less than 30 but more than 16 of the playoff teams. How many teams they bring back will impact the kind of format they’re gonna have.
“Are they just gonna play regular season games with all 30 teams and then go to the playoffs, play as many as they can that are left on the schedule. Are they gonna go to a play-in tournament and maybe have teams compete for the 7th and 8th seed go down to the 9th and 10th. Maybe they go as far as the 12th seed. They also talked about a pool play to get those final seeds of the Eastern and Western Conference group.”
“Everything is pointing toward a return of the NBA this season at a single site in Orlando at Disney World,” Wojnarowski said on ESPN’s Get Up. “Teams expect the league to tell them to start recalling their players as soon as next week. There will be a two-week quarantine back in markets. Some teams might go directly to Disney to start training or somewhere in-between. But the league has started to not only put the plans in place for return in terms of testing and safety, health-wise. But really digging this week into what that format is going to look like.”
Speaking on “The JJ Redick Podcast” on The Ringer, the Pelicans sharpshooter revealed what he’s heard about the NBA’s proposed schedule format. “The scenario I’ve heard…the top six teams are basically locked. Those seeds are locked. And they basically…they either scrimmage or play games that don’t mean anything. And then seeds seven through 11 or seven through 12 in both conferences play for seeds seven and eight,” Redick explained.
The Nets announced Saturday they will open HSS Training Center for voluntary player workouts May 26. The Knicks, when contacted by The Post, did not have a comment on the news. According to a source, the Knicks are still receiving clarification from the NBA. Twenty-one teams have opened their facilities for voluntary workouts after the NBA announced it would allow franchises to do so in accordance with their local government.
Speaking on “The JJ Redick Podcast” on The Ringer, the Pelicans sharpshooter revealed what he’s heard about the NBA’s proposed schedule format. “The scenario I’ve heard…the top six teams are basically locked. Those seeds are locked. And they basically…they either scrimmage or play games that don’t mean anything. And then seeds seven through 11 or seven through 12 in both conferences play for seeds seven and eight,” Redick explained.
The Nets announced Saturday they will open HSS Training Center for voluntary player workouts May 26. The Knicks, when contacted by The Post, did not have a comment on the news. According to a source, the Knicks are still receiving clarification from the NBA. Twenty-one teams have opened their facilities for voluntary workouts after the NBA announced it would allow franchises to do so in accordance with their local government.
As the NBA is nearing a potential return to its 2020 season, some Knicks players have been told recently to be ready to report to train in early June, sources tell SNY’s Ian Begley. However, where that exact location will be is still a mystery.
League sources indicate that no decisions have been made on exactly how a return will take shape and that some of the rumors leaking out are true but some are not. The simple fact is that Silver does not have a set plan yet. He has made it clear in his few public statements that he wants to absorb as much information as he can. Every week he puts off the announcement, it allows more tests, more planning and more ability to shrink the risk.
The teams on the outside looking in seem to know which way the wind is blowing. The Knicks have not opened up their practice facility. A league source from a team outside the playoff picture indicated that he believes the season is over for his team.
Marc Stein: The 11 NBA teams, entering the weekend, that had yet to fully open their practice facilities for voluntary player workouts: Celtics Nets Knicks 76ers Bulls Pistons Hornets Wizards Mavericks Spurs Warriors
Stefan Bondy: Most of the Knicks and Nets players are not in the NY area. The Knicks, in particular, don’t know if they’ll be part of the restart in Orlando. In other words, the New York teams are awaiting guidance from the NBA and Cuomo’s announcement doesn’t change anything.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s push to get professional sports going again in New York took another step forward Sunday. Cuomo said during a press conference at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh that as of Sunday, professional sports leagues can begin holding training camps in New York, as leagues work on their plans to resume play amid the coronavirus pandemic.
“Starting today, all the New York professional sports leagues will be able to begin training camps,” Cuomo said. “I believe sports that can come back without having people in the stadium, without having people in the arena, do it! Do it! Work out the economics if you can. We want you up. We want people to be able to watch sports to the extent people are still staying home. It gives people something to do. It’s a return to normalcy. So we are working and encouraging all sports teams to start their training camps as soon as possible, and we’ll work with them to make sure that can happen.”
Nets, Knicks allowed to reopen facilities
Andrew Cuomo: Starting today, NY professional sports leagues can begin spring training. On Tuesday, veterinarians can reopen statewide.
In consultation with medical experts, Yahoo Sports laid out what a physically safe return of the season might look like. It isn’t exhaustive, nor does it account for all eventualities, but hopefully it highlights the gulf between the proposals sneaking out of meetings and the recommendations of health experts. Some ideas would be difficult to execute; some are viable. As the NBA weighs mental vs. physical health, let’s hope the question of whether this is all worth it remains on the table.
Contact tracing has found that most cases happen in indoor clusters where people interact in the same public spaces. “The Vegas setting, it’s certainly not as tight as a correctional facility or a nursing home, and certainly the individuals are healthier, but perhaps more like a cruise ship,” said Dr. Susan Hassig, associate professor of epidemiology at Tulane University. “You know how quickly it can spread on a cruise ship.”
“Transmission is easier indoors,” Dr. Boni said. “The more outdoor activities you have — eating outdoors, picnic tables with appropriate distancing, that’s better than the indoor version. Indoor air recirculates, and indoors you tend to go back to the same places and touch the same things, whether it’s a faucet or doorknob.”
The individual risk tolerance that Silver and the players are mulling has collective consequences. One player’s willingness to take a chance ups the risk for the colleagues he is in contact with, and the NBA’s collective decision-making affects the communities around them. Disney World, nestled between Orlando and Kissimmee, is surrounded on all sides by smaller towns and municipalities, where players could contract and spread the coronavirus for days before tests pick it up. The rate of false negatives, depending on the timing and type of tests, falls somewhere between 5 and 25 percent.
“If someone is infected outside the bubble, they typically will not show symptoms for five or six days, and they will likely test negative in the early stages of their infection,” Dr. Boni said. “On average, the incubation period is about five or six days long. But it can be as long as 14 days — this is not common — which is why a 14-day quarantine is recommended after someone has been exposed.”
Jusuf Nurkic: Should we do all 30 teams tournament?? Or
It remains unknown where the NBA is in the process of securing tests or developing large-scale testing protocols. Also unclear: how many regular-season games would be played before the postseason begins — or if all 30 teams would be playing. The league has asked team general managers for additional input on those matters.
Any return to play must also come with a green light from the N.B.A. players’ union. A spokeswoman for the union did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It is also unclear what the logistics of such a return would be, such as how many, if any, fans would be allowed into an arena for games, how freely players would be allowed to move around or what kind of testing would take place. The games would almost assuredly be run without fans in the stands, as has been the case for some other recent sporting events in golf and soccer. Any return to play would also have added risks for players or team personnel who have underlying health conditions, or for people over 65, a group that includes three head coaches.
At least one player, Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie, has raised one of the issues the league and the union will have to navigate if the league, as some have suggested, returns and goes straight to the playoffs. “If we go 16 teams directly to playoffs do those teams get paid more for the risk and carrying this years revenue after Corona and China?” Dinwiddie, who is not the designated players’ union representative for the Nets, posted on Twitter, referring to the loss of revenue from the league’s rift with the Chinese government.
“Places are opening up. Let’s not forget COVID isn’t magically less contagious now,” Malcolm Miller of the Toronto Raptors tweeted Saturday. “The virus itself didn’t get better… stay safe.” Teams have been allowed to welcome players back to their training facilities for voluntary sessions since May 8, and more than half of the league’s franchises have taken advantage of that opportunity.
But while front offices will likely lobby for the proposals that make the most sense for their respective teams, the ultimate decision on what is best for the league as a whole falls to commissioner Silver, though that is also dictated by advice from public health professionals. Granted, there are still many details to iron out — issues such as availability of tests for COVID-19, how hermetic a “bubble” would have to be to reduce the likelihood of new infections and how many players/coaches/staff from each team would be allowed to attend are still to be determined — and a spike in cases as states start to loosen stay-at-home restrictions, or any significant change in how the COVID-19 pandemic is playing out in the United States, could derail even the best laid plans. But after over two months of uncertainty regarding the resumption of the NBA season, we’re finally starting to get some answers.
NBA in talks to resume play at Disney
Tim Reynolds: BREAKING: The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association are engaged in exploratory conversations with Disney for a single-site return of NBA games in late July at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex — for games, practices and housing.
The NBA has entered into exploratory conversations with the Walt Disney Company about restarting the remainder of its season at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida, in late July, NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said Saturday. “The NBA, in conjunction with the National Basketball Players Association, is engaged in exploratory conversations with The Walt Disney Company about restarting the 2019-20 NBA season in late July at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida as a single site for an NBA campus for games, practices and housing, Bass said. “Our priority continues to be the health and safety of all involved, and we are working with public health experts and government officials on a comprehensive set of guidelines to ensure that appropriate medical protocols and protections are in place.”
Scott Gustin: BREAKING: Disney just sent me their statement confirming the report: “The Walt Disney Company has a great, long-standing relationship with the NBA. We are engaged in conversations with them about completing the 2019-2020 season at the ESPN Wide World of Sports…”
Scott Gustin: Everything confirmed today is the same as what has been previously reported via “sources” — today is the NBA and Disney confirming those reports. FWIW: It would be EXTREMELY surprising if the NBA and Disney confirmed these discussions unless they were VERY close to an agreement
NBA sends survey regarding options to restart the 2019-20 season
The NBA has sent a survey to its 30 general managers regarding competition formats for the resumption of the 2019-20 season, sources told The Athletic. This continues the NBA’s process of gathering information and input from its organizations prior to a restart amid the coronavirus pandemic. GMs received the survey late Friday night, which included polling on whether the NBA should do a play-in tournament, the preferred number of teams to enter the playing site and the preferred number of scrimmages or regular-season games prior to the playoffs.
According to multiple sources, the NBA, led by Silver, also held a conference call with GMs on Thursday in which several notable topics were discussed: A two-step approach to the start of games: Two-week training camp in a team’s market, then a two-week quarantined training camp in the playing location.
Players are resistant to the full nasal swab coronavirus test: As a result, the league is working on acquiring more comfortable testing via saliva or via the tip of the nose. Once in the bubble site, teams could share support services: This includes doctors and security personnel, to lessen the number of people involved.
GMs will be able to vote on a series of scenarios, The Athletic has learned. Season formats for consideration: — Advance directly to playoffs: (16 teams, four rounds, best-of-seven series) with postseason teams based on standings as of March 12 — A “Playoffs Plus” option: Expanding the number of teams with the opportunity to play, either through holding a play-in tournament to determine the final seed(s) in playoffs, to be played by “bubble teams” or replacing the first round of the playoffs with a group stage.
“You’ve just got to be very cautious and very careful about everything, and I don’t think you can take anything for granted,” said Alvin Gentry, 65, the coach of the New Orleans Pelicans. He is one of three N.B.A. head coaches who are 65 or older. When the N.B.A. abruptly suspended play on March 11, Larry Nance Jr. of the Cleveland Cavaliers feared he was done for the season, no matter what. Nance, 27, learned in high school that he had Crohn’s disease, which is often treated with medication that can put users at higher risk of infections.
Some teams have considered setting up temporary training camps at interim stops prior to arriving at Disney World in Orlando, where Eastern Conference teams expect they’ll be stationed to complete the season, sources said. Twenty-one of the league’s practice facilities are open for voluntary workouts, but most players on the Knicks and Nets haven’t returned to the epicenter of the coronavirus outbreak, New York. In most instances, front office executives say, they’re unable to get players to return to their markets to start preparing for the season’s resumption without the commissioner announcing that the season will be resumed.
On Thursday’s call, the league was vague in detailing several resumption scenarios still under consideration, including a modified 30-team regular-season schedule directly to the playoffs, pool-play rounds of a play-in tournament and play-in models with less than 30, but more than 16 teams, sources said. Several members of the league’s Board of Governors believe that the league preference isn’t to bring every team to resume the season, but remains undecided. First, the fewer teams, the fewer people at risk to spread or contract COVID-19. Also, with little chance to play more than five-to-seven regular season games, a month of preparation seems like an excessive investment for teams at the bottom of the standings. And the idea of rewarding the league’s very worst teams in a play-in tournament has been met with scant enthusiasm.
Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer always has dreamed of Central Florida becoming the nation’s No. 1 sports destination, although these are certainly not the circumstances he had in mind. As the nation confronts the health and economic crisis brought on by the coronavirus, Dyer confirmed Friday that Orlando is indeed “in the mix” to host the re-start of both the NBA and MLS seasons but insisted “nothing is set in stone” just yet.
“I didn’t envision it going exactly this way as far as enhancing our reputation as the [No. 1] sports destination in the country, but we would certainly be excited about hosting both the NBA and/or MLS for their seasons or partial seasons,” Dyer said during a radio interview Friday on 96.9-FM and 740-AM. “I’ve had communications with both and they have similar criteria. They’re going to pick somewhere to reopen where they have acceptance from the state and local government; they need facilities availability; and they need the availability of rapid [COVID-19] testing. I think we fit in all three of those categories.”
MGM Resorts International has offered to host the resumption of the NBA season in Las Vegas and has the requisite arena and hotel space. The company is an NBA partner, and its proposal centered around Mandalay Bay, which has 4,700 rooms and is connected to Mandalay Bay Convention Center — home the last two years to the league’s annual G League Winter Showcase.
Former Thomas & Mack Center director Daren Libonati said he believes Las Vegas would be an ideal location for the resumption of the NBA season, but noted that it has its challenges. “Your biggest challenge, the biggest spoke in the wheel, would be transportation, getting your people from venue to venue and creating a schedule that is organized,” said Libonati, who has 33 years of experience working in local sports an entertainment. “But … that’s what makes us probably the sexiest city in the world,” he added. “We have the ability to flip a switch and change our venues.”
Concerns of testing capacity and perception in the initial weeks have shifted to issues of protocol — the league’s position has been to closely watch other sports return to action, learn from what has gone well and adapt that information to suit its needs. Dr . Vivek Murthy has spoken to league leaders and team owners, and, informally, to others across sports who confidentially contact him. The questions are all of the same ilk: When can fans return to games? How should they respond if someone tests positive? How often should they test athletes or staffers? How should they safely keep distance between staffers and players?
“Look, there is a nonzero risk to players that being infected with COVID-19 could lead to major complications,” Murthy says. “It depends obviously on their health and preexisting conditions. The goal here is not to be alarmist and say that this is definitely going to have severe adverse effects on any NBA player who gets infected. That’s not the case. You know, most NBA players are young and healthy and the statistics say most of them would, would ultimately be OK.”
The NBA and the players’ association have formed a joint committee to study return-to-play plans. In addition to the league office, it includes health experts, Chris Paul, Dwight Powell, Kyle Lowry, Jayson Tatum and Russell Westbrook, though sources say NBA commissioner Adam Silver and some players have had similar discussions informally for weeks.
Would you be okay playing with or against a guy that you knew tested positive for COVID19?” “Curry: Oh that’d be tough. I mean, that’s one of the things that you’re having to address because that is a real scenario. If you try to play and there is no vaccine, there’s no way to really guarantee nobody’s going to get it. I think if you are at a place where everybody says yeah we’re ready to play and then they know what they’re committing to. And if not, it doesn’t make sense, then you won’t see a ball bounce.”
Vincent Goodwill: On ESPN, Doc Rivers said he’s “very” optimistic the NBA will return this summer
According to people with knowledge of the NBA’s thinking, there is plenty of confidence that the league will return to play to finish the 2019-20 season. The mechanics of that return — the when, the where and the how — are still fluid.
Nick Kosmider: Millsap: “I know what’s at stake for basketball and the NBA. I’m all for a return. It’s not about me. It’s about all the hard work that’s gone into the CBA and where we’re at today. … I’m up for it and know the NBA wouldn’t put us in an unsafe situation.”
Chris Paul appeared on The Daily Social Distancing Show with Trevor Noah on Wednesday. The Thunder guard talked about a wide variety of topics, but of course, the return of the NBA was top of mind. “There’s conversations happening every day — every day — just trying to figure out what’s the safest way,” said Paul, who is also the president of the players’ association. “We want to play. I think everybody wants us to play.”
Shams Charania: NBA shoring up its testing protocols, informing teams that it is engaged in conversations with BioReference Laboratories, LabCorp, Quest Diagnostics and Vault Health/RUCDR Infinite Biologics at Rutgers, sources said. Teams asked to create account with each company.
Asked about the report during the interview with CNBC, Harden said there have been “multiple conversations” between the league and National Basketball Players Association (NBPA). However, he added, “there are so many things that have to be figured out. But the sooner, the better.” Harden said he would play games again without fans, but would feel comfortable returning when the pandemic has “calmed down all the way to a minimum.”
“I want it to be safe,” said Harden when asked about returning. “I want it to be entertaining for the fans and players to get out there and compete. As soon as we can get this ramped up, I’m ready to go. I feel like the majority of the players feel the same way.”
Gallinari likes the idea of restarting the season but insists precautions must be taken to prevent players from being infected by the deadly virus, which can also impose lasting debilitating effects. “At the thought of going back and playing, I’m very excited,” Gallinari said. “At the same time, as a player, I want it to be as safe as possible. Everybody knows this virus is no joke. If we do it, we need to do it in a safe environment.”
On the latest episode of the Purple Talk podcast, Kings assistant coach Bobby Jackson, who is currently working out with players at the team’s practice facility, gave his opinion on the matter. “Honestly, I think the guys want to play basketball,” Jackson said. “I think they want to play in a safe environment though and I know the NBA will do a great job of putting us in a great environment that will allow us to be safe.”
“I think every guy really wants to get back, they want to get back into the swing of things, because you miss it,” Jackson added. “It’s a part of your life. It’s a part of your body. You’ve got a close knit family and brotherhood that you’ve been a part of throughout the season and nothing is better than getting back out on the floor with the guys you love going to war with.”
NBA resuming on July 15th?
Several people familiar with the details of the conversations have told The Associated Press this week that players around the league are being urged to start getting mentally and physically ready for training camps that could be just a few weeks away. It might not be a unanimously approved notion, but 2-1/2 months into this pandemic-caused shutdown, the NBA finally seems on the cusp of being able to move forward.
Joe Ingles not playing if season resumes?
Ingles, a key member of the Utah Jazz who sit in fourth place in the Western Conference, has said he is prepared to “walk away, fly to Australia and never play another game in my life and be very content with it” to protect his family from the virus. His wife, Australian netball great Renae Ingles, is expecting their third child and four-year-old son Jacob has autism and a weakened immune system.
Ingles will take a wait-and-see approach to playing games if the season does start. “It’s not worth it,” Ingles, discussing practice at the Jazz facility, told Utah radio station 1280 The Zone last week. “I have a gym, I have everything I can do. As for basketball, it’s a bit more difficult, but I think that as we go ahead and find out more information about it, it will be easier to make a decision. But I am in no way willing to risk my children, and Renae, and everything else, to go play basketball.”
Matthew Dellavedova’s Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Larry Nance Jr raised doubts about whether the tough Australian guard will play. Dellavedova and wife Anna welcomed son Anders into the world last November. “If I were him, no I’m not subjecting myself to that, because then I can bring it home to my family,” Nance Jr told reporters.
Throughout the hiatus, Milwaukee has continued to operate as if the organization will continue to play. The team is nursing the NBA’s best record (53-12), and the Greek Freak is itching to return to the court. “I have complete confidence that if there’s a way for us to return to basketball, return to play, in a healthy and safe manner, for our players and for the public and people that would be involved, that our league will figure out how to do it,” Jon Horst said. “Commissioner Silver is incredible.”
Jay King: Grant Williams said “it’s gonna be a fun time” if and when the season comes back. He thinks the NBA has done a good job of communicating during this process. “We’re just gonna go with what they give us.”
When a masked Rajon Rondo dropped off groceries to those in need back home in Louisville, Kentucky, the socially distanced recipients always said thank you. And those who recognized him often asked the same thing. “The first question was always, ‘When is the NBA season going to come back?’ ” Rondo told The Undefeated. “I got a lot of those. I told them, ‘I will know the same time you find out.’ ”
There has been some optimism over the possible return of the NBA after many teams recently reopened their practice facilities. The Los Angeles Lakers reopened theirs May 16, and while Rondo said he has yet to return, he hopes the league will return to action in a safe and healthy fashion soon. “I want to play. As a competitor, you want to play,” Rondo said. But he also wants to protect his family and the people around him. “Safety first, understanding that life. We can’t take it for granted, even though we are athletes who are some of the best people in shape as far as body and heart condition. But all it takes is one case where a body can’t fight off the virus.”
Stadium: LeBron James has held safe, private on-court workouts with some Lakers teammates at a secure location, our NBA @ShamsCharania reports.
It sounds like the NBA has made some progress towards a return to play and maybe salvaging the season. What are you hearing from the players association and does it seem like it’s realistic? Fred VanVleet: “The crazy part is that everything we hear is out, you know what I mean? Like, there are no secrets really. There’s not much that you guys don’t know that we know. Obviously, we probably have a little bit more candid conversations in private. But, yeah, as of now what’s out there is about Orlando and Vegas and trying to get back and see what that would look like, try to get teams a couple weeks to get ready to play and then see what happens.”
Fred VanVleet: “So, I think the optimism, there’s some credence to it, but obviously we all know the challenges that we’re facing. I just think that the combination of there being so much money involved and 450 guys who live and die basketball, I think there are a lot of reasons to get back to playing. So, I think the motive is there, the want to play is there, the resources are there. It’s just a matter of figuring out how we can put it together in the right way where it’s safe and efficient. There’s gonna be risk regardless. There’s risk if you cancel the season and there’s risk if we get back together. But I think the league is just trying to assess those risks and make sure we’ve got all of our bases covered.”
What would you need to see implemented or changed for you to feel comfortable going back? Fred VanVleet: “If I’m there by myself I think I’m okay with it. Now, if my kids were there, or things like that, I would be a little bit more on guard. That’s just me speaking personally. I’m pretty at ease with it. I’m not letting it freak me out but I also, to my knowledge, don’t have any pre-existing medical conditions or anything like that. So, there are guys in the league that are probably going to have real concerns about the virus itself and I understand that, but I think for me personally I’m not in that boat, so to speak.:
Fred VanVleet: “I think as long as they’re doing their due diligence and it’s not just a money play, where it’s like, ‘Okay, let’s get back to play because we have all this money we need to make up.’ I know that’s probably one of the factors but as long as there are real guidelines in terms of what we’re doing from a health standpoint, which I feel there is, I think that I’ll be okay with it. And if not, I’ve accepted it. I think we’ve been on break long enough to where I’m pretty open-minded to any idea that gets us back playing, you know what I’m saying? I wouldn’t be heartbroken if they cancelled the season because I understand all of the things that go into it, but I definitely wanna get back out there.”
May 25, 2020 | 9:30 pm EDT Update
Teammates with the Lakers for two seasons from 2014-16, Tarik Black had a front-row seat for some of the most memorable moments of the final days of Bryant’s Hall of Fame career. But none of them can top April 13, 2016. That was the date of Bryant’s last NBA game. And the former Jayhawk said he remembers every detail of that night at Staples Center. “Allen Fieldhouse was one of the most electrifying places I’ve ever played been in my life,” Black told the Journal-World during a recent phone interview from Los Angeles. “But everything else pales in comparison to that night of Kobe’s last game. I’ve never experienced a feeling or been a part of a sports moment like that in my life.”
Black remembers being with Julius Randle, Larry Nance Jr. and Jordan Clarkson the afternoon of that game when he first saw Bryant arrive at Staples Center. Together, they approached the man they affectionately called “O.G.” and gave him a simple message. “We walked up to him and said, ‘You’re going to take every shot tonight,’” Black recalled. “And he was like, ‘No I’m not. Just play basketball.’ And we were like, ‘No, O.G. You’re going to take every shot. If we get an offensive rebound, it’s coming to you.’”
During his two seasons as Bryant’s teammate, Black and Bryant became close. As luck would have it, an injury during his 2019-20 season in Israel sent him back to Los Angeles earlier than normal and he was able to see Bryant one final time just a week before the helicopter accident. It was the first time the two had seen each other since their days as teammates. And Black, unaware of what fate lied ahead, made sure to make the encounter count. “I actually got a chance to thank him for what he meant for my life,” Black said. “And he just kept saying, ‘I’m proud of you.’ So it rocked me to my core when I heard about his passing.”
Best Direction: Live Sports Event. With this award, Sportsnet was honoured for the way it captured “The Shot” in Game 7 of the 2019 Eastern Conference semifinals, in which Kawhi Leonard’s multi-bounce buzzer-beater helped propel the Toronto Raptors to an NBA championship.
May 25, 2020 | 5:30 pm EDT Update
Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta shared his excitement about having the Toyota Center available for players to resume workouts on KPRC’s Sports Sunday, . “I heard it was really nice and wonderful to see everybody around there and feel that life. The Toyota Center had definitely lost its soul in the last couple of months, so it felt good again. The players want to play, the NBA wants us to play, the owners want to play, and the fans want us to play, which is most important.”
Roc Nation Sports has signed a large class of highly regarded NBA draft prospects, including point guard LaMelo Ball, a projected top-five pick. The agency recently signed Ball’s brother, New Orleans Pelicans guard Lonzo Ball, away from CAA Sports. Roc Nation NBA agent Raymond Brothers is representing both of the Ball brothers. LaMelo Ball, who played last season in Australia on the Illawarra Hawks of the National Basketball League, is ranked No. 3 overall by website nbadraft.net. Brothers is also representing No. 12-ranked Memphis forward Precious Achiuwa.
Roc Nation signed Texas Tech guard Jahmi’us Ramsey, who is ranked No. 24: Washington power forward/center Isaiah Stewart, who is ranked No. 26; and Kentucky guard Immanuel Quickley, who is ranked No. 35 by nbadraft.net. Additionally, Roc Nation signed Temple forward Quinton Rose, American University guard Sa’eed Nelson and Indiana guard Devonte Green, brother of Los Angeles Lakers guard/forward Danny Green. Agents Brothers, Drew Gross and Sam Permut are representing the players.
Tandem Sports + Entertainment has signed Northwestern guard Pat Spencer for representation in the NBA draft. Matt Laczkowski, Tandem director of athlete and talent representation, is representing Spencer, who transferred to Northwestern after playing lacrosse for four seasons at Loyola-Maryland. Spencer was drafted No. 1 in the 2019 Premier Lacrosse League draft, but chose to spend the next year pursuing basketball as a graduate transfer at Northwestern.
Jon Rothstein: Richmond’s Blake Francis tells me that he is withdrawing from the 2020 NBA Draft and will return to school next season. Significant Atlantic 10 News.
Ty Lawson posted a cryptic message on his Instagram story Monday in which he seemed to call out UNC head coach Roy Williams. “Who talks s— about someone who won them a championship …” Lawson wrote in his Instagram story. “(You’re) weird… I got messages from 10 NBA GMs that said it came out your mouth … That’s why I don’t f— with Carolina or support anything y’all do.”
May 25, 2020 | 4:32 pm EDT Update
Turner Sports analyst and Hall of Famer Charles Barkley didn’t feel the need to hedge in a Monday appearance on the Paul Finebaum Show. “We’re gonna make a decision in the next week,” Barkley said. “I’m 100% sure we’re going to play. I know my friends in Major League Baseball are going to play. I know that the (NHL) is going to play. … I do know this, talking to my bosses at Turner: We’re going to play basketball. It is gonna be in Florida and Vegas, or just Florida.”
“The key is gonna be the players,” Barkley said. “I mean, listen — big basketball players pushing on each other in the lane, fighting for rebounds and post position, there’s no way they can social distance. You got to worry — they say they’re gonna put them in a hotel for two or three months, I’m like, ‘Well are the maids gonna be in the hotel for two or three months?’ The maids are gonna go home every day. What about the people in room service? They’re gonna go home every day. So it’s just a lot of unanswered questions.”
In support of the Trump Administration’s reopening of the economy, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad F. Wolf signed an order that exempts certain foreign professional athletes who compete in professional sporting events organized by certain leagues, including their essential staff and their dependents, from proclamations barring their entry into the U.S.
The Department will work with the professional sporting groups to identify the specific athletes, essential staff, team and league leadership, spouses, and dependents covered by this exemption, including Major League Baseball, the National Basketball Association, the Women’s National Basketball Association, the Professional Golfers’ Association Tour, the Ladies Professional Golf Association Tour, the National Hockey League, the Association of Tennis Professionals, and the Women’s Tennis Association.
Japan Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says the swift development of vaccines and effective treatments for COVID-19 are priorities towards achieving the Tokyo Olympics next year. Abe says recovery from the coronavirus pandemic only in Japan would not be enough to hold the Games because it involves spectators and athletes from around the world. He reiterates that the government hopes to hold the Tokyo Games “in a complete form” with spectators as a proof of human victory against the coronavirus.
Part of VICE TV’s VICE VERSA series of documentary specials, One Man and His Shoes essentially serves as an expanded version of what Episode 5 (and to some extent, Episode 1) of The Last Dance touched on: The cultural phenomenon of Nike’s Air Jordan shoe line. Director Yemi Bamiro doesn’t have to tell a larger narrative (though his film eventually goes there), so he can zoom in on this aspect of Jordan’s story.
The documentary gets into the history of the shoe, what it did for Nike, what it did for Jordan and the NBA, and what it’s done to black culture. Altogether, it’s a fascinating chronicle of the shoe business and sneaker culture, with the one man who fueled both trends becoming a global icon.
May 25, 2020 | 4:26 pm EDT Update
How optimistic are you that the NBA will resume play at some point? Carlisle: “I am optimistic. It feels like things are moving in what I would characterize as a generally good direction, in terms of our ability to test and control an environment. I have no absolute knowledge of anything, but I do know there’s a great desire of the players to return to playing games and get into a playoff format of some sort.”
Rick Carlisle: “I think if you look at the big picture, it probably sets up even better for the start, if the new season’s going to start in December, which a lot of people are speculating. It’s kind of like the elongated All-Star break. And some of the good things that’s brought for the remaining part of the regular season you’re coming off of an eight or nine-day break instead of a three or four-day break, as in the old days.”
Isiah Thomas: “I think in Ja we are watching the next generation of the great point guards that have been coming through our league. You have that group of Stephen Curry, Kyrie Irving, Damian Lillard, John Wall and so forth, but for the younger generation of point guards, I think Ja – who is projected to win the 2019-20 Rookie of the Year award – is going to be leading that evolution of great point guard play.”
In leading the ‘Bad Boy’ Pistons to back-to-back NBA titles (1988-89 as well as 1989-90), Thomas consistently compromised his private numbers to guarantee group success. It is a high quality he likewise sees in Morant. “That is a unique gift,” Thomas claimed. “Team- friends will certainly like you for it yet analytics will certainly despise you for it. Sharing the basketball as well as obtaining everybody entailed, being prepared to make the ‘hockey’ aid instead of keeping the round to obtain the aid on your own … you see Ja doing all of those points in the program of a basketball video game.
Mike Bibby sat down with CBS Local’s DJ Sixsmith and talked about his run with Sacramento — a fit that was comfortable for Bibby right away. Even though trading for him meant bidding farewell to Jason Williams, a guy Kings fans were in love with. “The guys treated me like I was there for five, six, seven years,” Bibby said. “I got there and Jason Williams was a prized possession in Sacramento and when I got traded for him, I just wanted to fit in, I didn’t know if the fans would like me or if the team would like me. In my first year we had the best record in the West. I had the best time of my life and my career playing in Sacramento with those guys. I think Sacramento is the best team I played on.”
Bibby detailed the trade, along with the special relationship he and Webber had throughout that stretch and how selfless the Kings were. It didn’t matter who scored, they were a strong team and wanted to win. “That’s the way basketball is supposed to be played,” Bibby said. “That was the best time of my life — being in Sacramento.”
May 25, 2020 | 4:09 pm EDT Update
Tobias Harris hasn’t shot a basketball since the 2019-20 season was halted in March due to the coronavirus pandemic. But he has been working out every day in his garage gym at his Philadelphia home to stay ready should play resume. He’s also been talking to his teammates on Zoom. “Everybody wants to be safe, so that’s the key thing,” Harris replied when asked if he has any concerns about a return. “If we can find a venue and it’s safe and we have the proper protocols in place for guys to feel comfortable, then I’m fine with it.” Harris described the idea of playing actual games in an empty gym as, “Kind of like a practice setting. But guys are competitive, so we’re always gonna go as hard as we can.”
Hearing Chicago Bulls star Michael Jordan in “The Last Dance”, crying on the locker room floor following his Father’s Day championship in 1996 — MJ’s first title since his dad, James, was murdered — caused Harris himself to become emotional. “I ain’t going to lie, I was shedding a tear when I saw Jordan crying,” Harris told Yahoo Sports in a recent telephone interview. “I thought they should’ve just stopped the episode right then and there. It was touching. I’d seen the photo a whole lot, but I was probably too young to understand. And now you can really see all the emotion that’s in it. I did some research after the show ended. You hear about his father passing away, but then you dive in and it’s a pretty crazy story.”
Harris, a Long Island native, was fortunate enough to see Jordan play at Madison Square Garden when he was a kid alongside his father, longtime NBA agent Torrel Harris — founder and CEO of Unique Sports Management — and his older brother, Tyler Harris. It proved to be a memorable evening. “We kept asking my dad if we could meet him after the game and he was just telling us maybe,” Tobias recalled. “But it ended up happening and it was unbelievable. As we were walking away I realized I didn’t get him to sign my card. So my dad had to pull him back and get him to sign our cards. Tyler and I were so excited on the train ride back. I kept thinking my dad was so cool because he knows Michael Jordan. I ended up losing the card on the way back, but it didn’t matter because I had gotten to meet him. It was an unforgettable experience.”
Marc Stein: German basketball’s Bundesliga will hold a three-week tournament June 6-28 to finish its season … with 10 of 17 teams agreeing to play But Bayern Munich announced today that Greg Monroe, the league’s most prominent former NBAer, will remain in the USA due to a family illness
A waitress at a Palm Beach County restaurant got the tip of a lifetime when a NBA star left a $1,000 tip during a recent visit. The restaurant in Delray Beach, Che Restaurant, posted a photo this weekend on social media saying one of their employees received the tip from Cleveland Cavaliers center Andre Drummond.
“When I was given the checkbook, I went to put in the tip & information to close the table and I couldn’t believe it,” the message read. “From a $160 check, the tip read $1,000.” The restaurant noted that the waitress was “shaking and had tears of happiness” while saying many employees had been suffering due to closures amid the coronavirus pandemic.
May 25, 2020 | 1:18 pm EDT Update
The Sun-Times has reported that Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley have already had detailed discussions with players and retained personnel, and were getting enough mixed feedback of what’s gone on the last year that they were leaning toward starting with a new coach of their choosing. Ownership and former VP of basketball operations John Paxson have given support for Boylen, but a source reiterated that COO Michael Reinsdorf was by no means influencing the front office’s decision on the coach and would allow Boylen’s dismissal if Karnisovas wants to go that way. No questions asked.
Marc Stein: Patrick Ewing Jr. announces that his father, Knicks legend Patrick Ewing, is “now home and getting better” after revealing he had tested positive for COVID-19
Doc Rivers may have the largest All-Time starting five squad ever. Austin Rivers joined his father on the GO OFF podcast, where the two talked about All-Time starting fives, Kobe stories, and their player/coach dynamic. When it comes to an All-Time starting five, Doc Rivers is in favor of size. “I’m going Kareem at the center,” Rivers said. “I’m going Tim Duncan at the four, because those both are two-way players. I’m going Michael, and Magic at the one and two. This may be the biggest team ever. And then LeBron at the three.”
Coach Rivers had a top-five shooting squad as well. “Dirk at the five,” Rivers said. “I would put Durant at the three. Steph at the point, because that’s what you’d need. I would put Kobe in there because of his ability to drive. Now the whole team changes. At the four I couldn’t even come up with one.” Austin contested that Ray Allen should be on his father’s top-five shooting squad, but Doc believed Kobe’s ability to drive superseded the argument. In addition to Kobe’s driving ability, the elder Rivers believed Kobe’s shooting would improve significantly on a squad of good shooters.
May 25, 2020 | 10:34 am EDT Update
Chris Grenham: Brian Windhorst just said on @GetUpESPN that there’s a “really good chance” the NBA elects to go with a 16-team playoff and no regular season. Added that it leaves open the possibility for seeding the teams 1-16, which would have to pass an owner vote.
Several alternatives are being considered, per Wojnarowski. “Well, they’re still considering a number of variations, Greeny, everywhere form bringing all 30 teams back to just bringing the playoffs teams back to something in between. Less than 30 but more than 16 of the playoff teams. How many teams they bring back will impact the kind of format they’re gonna have.
“Are they just gonna play regular season games with all 30 teams and then go to the playoffs, play as many as they can that are left on the schedule. Are they gonna go to a play-in tournament and maybe have teams compete for the 7th and 8th seed go down to the 9th and 10th. Maybe they go as far as the 12th seed. They also talked about a pool play to get those final seeds of the Eastern and Western Conference group.”
“Everything is pointing toward a return of the NBA this season at a single site in Orlando at Disney World,” Wojnarowski said on ESPN’s Get Up. “Teams expect the league to tell them to start recalling their players as soon as next week. There will be a two-week quarantine back in markets. Some teams might go directly to Disney to start training or somewhere in-between. But the league has started to not only put the plans in place for return in terms of testing and safety, health-wise. But really digging this week into what that format is going to look like.”
Rick Bonnell: The @Charlotte Hornets will reopen their training facility for voluntary (and individual) workouts starting Tuesday. Like with all NBA teams, there will be major infection-control and social-distancing procedures in place. Story coming.
They were close to hiring Steve Kerr before he decided to take a job with Golden State. The Knicks also reached an advanced state of negotiations with Milwaukee’s Mike Budenholzer before hiring David Fizdale. Discussions between the Knicks and Budenholzer in the 2018 offseason advanced to a point where some people who would have come with Budenholzer to New York were talking about places to live in the city because they felt Budenholzer was close to taking the job, per SNY sources. Prior to Budenholzer’s interview with the Knicks, the New York Post reported that New York was Budenholzer’s top choice entering the offseason.
Alex Kennedy: Detroit Pistons guard Jordan Bone has changed agencies. The 22-year-old will now be represented by Colin Bryant of Fundamental Sports Management.
He proposed a photo that would have her looking like a pin-up in the style of a mermaid, and Buss was on board. “It was kind of like I was like a mermaid underwater with a blue backdrop,” Buss said. “They used to show mermaids holding pearls … and so instead of the pearls I got basketballs. And I’m not naked but I might look like I’m naked. I get people [who say], ‘How dare you put a naked picture of you on Twitter. It was in Playboy.’ And it’s not. It was from Sports Illustrated! “Yes, do I have to talk about the Playboy and the decision [to pose]. Yes, I’m still explaining it 20 years later. They want to judge and put me in a category.”
Then she told a personal story about another star. When her dad, Jerry Buss, bought the Lakers in 1979, they drafted Magic Johnson and became the NBA’s premiere franchise. It ended suddenly when Johnson had to retire in 1991 because of an HIV diagnosis. “I prayed to the skies above and I said if we ever get a player on our team like Magic Johnson again, I will never ever, ever take that player for granted,” Buss said, her voice catching. “And then we got Kobe. As heartbroken as I am, one comfort that I have is that Kobe knew how much we loved him and we told him and we retired his numbers. He never doubted that we were behind him 100%. That gives me some comfort. We never held back the celebrating the greatness that was Kobe.”
May 25, 2020 | 6:47 am EDT Update
James Wiseman the frontrunner for the No. 1 pick
In an anonymous poll of 35 NBA executives conducted by Stadium, James Wiseman has emerged as the frontrunner for the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s NBA Draft. The 7-foot-1 center, who played just three games at Memphis this past season prior to withdrawing from school amidst an NCAA suspension, received 20 of the 35 votes (57 percent). “I wouldn’t even want the No. 1 pick,” one NBA general manager told me. “If I have it, I’m trying like hell to trade it.”
But the issue will be whether the pick commands enough value to trade out of the top spot. “It’s not an easy decision,” another NBA GM added. “And even though the NBA doesn’t value bigs like it used to, there just aren’t a lot of 7-footers who can run and jump like Wiseman can out there.”
He may be leading a quasi-retired lifestyle but make no mistake — he’s not retired. “I love the game as much as I ever have,” said Karl, who hasn’t coached in the league since being let go by Sacramento following the 2016 season. “If the right situation came up, I might coach again.”
