ACC, Big Ten, Big East Among Conferences To Cancel Tournaments
A slew of college basketball tournaments that were scheduled to take place this weekend have been postponed or canceled. The ACC, Big Ten, and SEC, and Big 12 were among the major conferences to shut down their respective tournaments before games began. The Big East announced at halftime of this afternoon’s Creighton/St. John’s contest that its tournament would also be canceled.
Here are the other conference tournaments which were nixed today, accompanied by links to the official announcements:
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is essentially the only Division I conference that has yet to formally announce the cancellation of its tournament, and it may just be a matter of time before that announcement comes.
It was less than 24 hours ago that the NCAA announced it would hold its 2020 March Madness tournament without fans in attendance. Now it seems increasingly unlikely that the event will take place at all.
Schools with major basketball programs, such as Duke and Kansas, have announced increased coronavirus measures restricting athletic events, while the ACC announced that it has suspended “all athletic-related activities,” including “participation in NCAA championships.” The Big Ten is likely headed in that direction too, according to Jeff Goodman of Stadium (Twitter link).
The potential cancellation of the remaining college basketball schedule will affect NBA teams’ preparations for the 2020 draft, as John Hollinger and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic write. However, this month’s tournament is just one of many pre-draft scouting opportunities that could be impacted.
As The Athletic’s duo explains, there’s still no word on whether events like the Nike Hoop Summit (early April), the Portsmouth Invitational (mid-April), and the combine (mid-to-late May) will go forward as planned. Of course, given the possibility that the NBA’s season will resume and run later than usual, we don’t even know for sure that the draft will happen in late June.
The Jordan Brand Classic, a high school All-Star game that features many of the nation’s most highly-recruited seniors, has been canceled, according to an announcement today.
Coronavirus Notes: Mitchell, Thunder, More
After reporting on Wednesday that the Knicks were the only NBA team that wanted to maintain the status quo until forced by a government mandate to play games without fans, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski updated that report today.
According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), two other teams expressed reservations about playing games behind closed doors before receiving a formal mandate to do so. Those teams were the Rockets and Pacers. Woj adds (via Twitter) that while the Rockets were resistant to the idea of playing games in the short-term without fans, they were in favor of a three-or-four-week hiatus that would have pushed the schedule into the summer.
That discussion is moot now, in the wake of Jazz stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell testing positive for coronavirus and the NBA shutting down its regular season indefinitely. Mitchell confirmed his positive test today in an Instagram post.
“We are all learning more about the seriousness of this situation and hopefully people can continue to educate themselves and realize that they need to behave responsibly both for their own health and for the well being of those around them,” he wrote in his statement. “… I am going to keep following the advice of our medical staff and hope that we can all come together and be there for each other and our neighbors who need our help.”
Here’s more on the coronavirus situation:
- The NBA has a call with its Board of Governors scheduled for 2:30pm central time this afternoon, according to Wojnarowski (via Twitter). The call was initially supposed to happen earlier in the day.
- There’s some concern among NBA players about coronavirus test results being leaked to the media, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link), given the damage it can do to a player and his family and the stigma it creates. As Amick notes, the fact that it’s a public health crisis complicates the situation. When the Jazz and the NBA announced Gobert’s and Mitchell’s positive tests, they didn’t identify them — the two affected stars were revealed by media reports.
- Although they weren’t initially tested for coronavirus at the Chesapeake Energy Arena following Wednesday night’s postponed game against Utah, Thunder players and staffers were advised to self-quarantine for 24 hours and will be tested, writes ESPN’s Royce Young. Since Gobert wasn’t at the arena at all on Wednesday, the risk wasn’t considered high for members of the Thunder, but now that Mitchell has tested positive as well, the Oklahoma State Health Department feels that testing is warranted.
Celtics, Pistons Among Teams Self-Isolating Due To Virus
The Celtics, who played the Jazz in Boston last Friday, announced in a press release today that they’re having players and staffers who were in close contact with Utah players or who traveled to Milwaukee this week self-quarantine at least through the weekend.
All of the Celtics’ players – as well as staff members who came into close contact with Jazz players or exhibit COVID-19 symptoms – will be tested over the weekend, the team said in its release. After consulting with health experts, the Celtics believe it’s unlikely that any of their players came into contact with Rudy Gobert or Donovan Mitchell while they were contagious, but they want to take precautions nonetheless.
Meanwhile, the Pistons – who played Utah on Saturday in Detroit – announced today that there’s no indication the coronavirus was passed along to any of their players or staffers. However, they’re asking their players, coaches, basketball staff, and traveling party to self-isolate “until further notice” out of an abundance of caution.
A league source tells Rod Beard of The Detroit News (Twitter link) that coronavirus tests are available for Pistons players, but if they’re not exhibiting any symptoms, those tests are optional.
The Cavaliers, whose game with Utah took place back on March 2, believe based on conversations with the Jazz and health experts that Gobert and Mitchell did not have coronavirus when the Jazz visited Cleveland last week, league sources tell Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. No players or staff members have shown symptoms, so there are no plans for testing at this time, Fedor adds. If symptoms surface, that would change.
In an official statement, the Cavs confirmed that none of their players have experienced symptoms and indicated that the club isn’t currently under a mandatory quarantine.
The Knicks, whose game against Utah happened on March 4, are under the impression they’ll be self-quarantined, per Ian Begley and Alex Smith of SNY.tv. Marc Berman of The New York Post tweets that the Knicks remain at their hotel in Atlanta as of 1:00pm CT, with no concrete departure time set yet.
Earlier today, we passed along word that the Raptors, who played the Jazz on Monday, are being tested for coronavirus and have been advised to self-isolate for two weeks, while the Wizards – Utah’s opponent on February 28 – are also self-isolating for the next few days, just to be safe.
Suns Reportedly Waive Jared Harper
As the NBA schedule comes to a halt due to the coronavirus pandemic, teams apparently aren’t fully halting their roster business. According to Gina Mizell of The Athletic (Twitter link), the Suns have made a minor move by releasing two-way player Jared Harper.
The motivation for the transaction – especially given the timing – is unclear, since the NBA and G League will be suspended for the foreseeable future. It’s not coronavirus-related, Mizell clarifies.
Harper, 22, signed a two-way contract with Phoenix last July after going undrafted out of Auburn. The 5’11” guard logged just eight total minutes in three NBA games for the Suns, but was in the midst of a strong season for the Northern Arizona Suns, Phoenix’s G League affiliate.
In 34 NBAGL games (28.9 MPG), Harper averaged 20.2 PPG, 5.5 APG, 2.6 RPG, and 1.1 SPG with a shooting line of .413/.362/.787.
If and when the season resumes, Phoenix won’t be permitted to sign a new two-way player to replace Harper, since the signing deadline for two-way contracts was January 15.
Mark Cuban Hopeful Season Will Eventually Resume
Appearing this morning on ESPN’s Get Up (video link), Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said that the NBA remains hopeful that the 2019/20 season can resume at some point, rather than being cancelled altogether.
“Hopefully, this virus runs its course over the next 60 days or so, and at that point we can start making decisions about does the NBA play games, what our schedule looks like, how we would progress from there,” Cuban said, noting that the situation is fluid.
Asked by ESPN’s Rachel Nichols whether his speculative 60-day timeline meant that the league would be prepared to have the playoffs end in August rather than June, Cuban replied, “Absolutely.” However, he cautioned that the NBA may not pick up right where it left off by playing its full schedule.
“I can easily see us playing the last seven-to-10 games of the regular season to get everybody back on course and then going right into the playoffs and going into July, if not August,” he said.
One team executive who spoke to Howard Beck of Bleacher Report put the odds of the season resuming at 90%, but didn’t have an estimate for when that might happen. Another team official speculated to Beck that the league could resume play in mid-April and go “straight to the playoffs.”
While the speculation from Cuban and other team officials may reflect discussions and brainstorming sessions the NBA has had with its owners and executives, it’s far too early to draw any concrete conclusions about the plan going forward. The league will have to be patient and see how the coronavirus situation plays out around the country in the coming days and weeks.
Donovan Mitchell Tests Positive For Coronavirus
A second Jazz All-Star has been diagnosed with COVID-19, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that guard Donovan Mitchell tested positive for the coronavirus.
Jazz players and team personnel were quarantined in their locker room on Wednesday night following Rudy Gobert‘s positive coronavirus test and the postponement of their game with the Thunder. Coronavirus tests were conducted on the club’s staff and players, including Mitchell, at that time before they were permitted to leave the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
According to Wojnarowski, Jazz players have privately said that Gobert had been “careless in the locker room” this week, “touching other players and their belongings.” We don’t know that Gobert contracted the virus before Mitchell, but it’s still not a good look for the Jazz center, who also made light of the coronavirus crisis on Monday by going out of his way to touch every microphone and recorder in front of home following a session with the media.
Fortunately though, the coronavirus wasn’t spread widely across the Jazz locker room. Mitchell was the only one of 58 Jazz players and personnel who were tested on Wednesday night to be diagnosed with the virus, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). The remaining tests came back negative. The Jazz confirmed as much this morning in a press release.
While the Jazz are the first team known to have affected players, they may not be the only club impacted by the outbreak, since they’ve played several other clubs within the last two weeks. Reports on Wednesday night indicated that players from teams that have played the Jazz in the last 10 days were advised to self-quarantine. That list of clubs includes the Cavaliers, Knicks, Celtics, Pistons, and Raptors.
The Raptors, who played the Jazz most recently (Monday), had members of their traveling party, including players, tested for COVID-19 on Wednesday night and announced today that they’re awaiting results. All of Toronto’s players, coaches, and traveling staff have been instructed to go into self-isolation for 14 days, according to the team.
The Wizards, who faced Utah on February 29 and the Knicks on March 10, have advised players and staff members to self-quarantine for the next three or four days out of “an abundance of caution,” the team announced today.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
How Coronavirus Is Impacting International Leagues
After an eventful Wednesday that saw the NBA suspend its 2019/20 season indefinitely, many international basketball leagues are following suit on Thursday.
The EuroLeague, widely considered to be the world’s most competitive league outside of the NBA, announced that it has suspended all its games until further notice. EuroCup contests have also been suspended indefinitely, according to the announcement.
Per Emiliano Carchia of Sportando (via Twitter), leagues around Europe are taking similar measures. The ABA Liga, which features teams from Serbia, Slovenia, and Croatia, among other countries suspended play today. So did the professional leagues in Poland, Greece, and the Ukraine.
Other leagues may join that list in the coming hours or days, while some had already suspended play before Thursday. Spain’s Liga ACB announced earlier in the week that games for the next two weeks would be postponed. That break may now be extended further, with Real Madrid announcing today that a player on its roster has tested positive for COVID-19.
Meanwhile, FIBA has announced that all its competitions will be suspended indefinitely, beginning on Friday. It remains to be seen how long that hiatus will last, but if it extends well into the spring, it could have a major impact on this year’s Olympic qualifying tournaments, which are scheduled to take place in late June.
As leagues in North America and Europe shut down, the Chinese Basketball Association is preparing to resume play in April. According to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, the CBA – which put its schedule on hold earlier this year – has told American players to return to China this week, though it’s not clear how many players will comply, since several have safety concerns.
According to Givony, some agents representing players who are under contract in China have said that CBA teams are telling them their clients are at risk of being banned from the league for life if they don’t return. Agents may also be at risk of losing their licenses there for two or three seasons.
Givony notes that there have been positive signs in China in recent weeks regarding containment of the virus, prompting the CBA to try to figure out how to finish its 2019/20 season. American players have been informed that they’ll need to spend 14 days in quarantine upon returning to China, sources tell ESPN.
League Office “Slammed” With Questions About Next Steps
After announcing that the 2019/20 season has been suspended indefinitely, the NBA’s league office has been “slammed” with procedural and “bigger-picture” questions from team owners and executives, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
As Wojnarowski reports, the NBA has told its teams to be patient and sit tight for now — more guidance will be provided soon, likely as early as Thursday. In the meantime, despite the fact that clubs are reportedly still permitted to hold practices, many teams around the league plan to close their facilities today and give players a couple days away, Woj notes.
The Jazz, whose starting center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, have been among the teams most significantly affected by the crisis. As ESPN’s Royce Young details, Utah’s players and staff had to remain at Oklahoma City’s Chesapeake Energy Arena for hours after the postponement of last night’s game vs. the Thunder, undergoing tests for coronavirus. The results of those tests should be known soon, which will help the NBA determine how to move forward, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com.
After finally leaving the arena late last night, the Jazz spent the night in the OKC area, exploring the possibility of chartering buses to get back to Salt Lake City, since there were “issues” with putting everyone on a Delta charter flight, per ESPN. According to Young (Twitter link), the organization is expected to finalize travel plans after getting the results of their tests. It’s possible they’ll fly back to Utah on two separate charter flights — one for those who tested positive and one for those who didn’t.
Here are more updates on the situation as the first day of the league’s hiatus begins:
- Sources tell Shams Charania and Tony Jones of The Athletic that Gobert has been around people who recently traveled to the U.S. from France, but there’s “no clear determination” on how he contracted COVID-19.
- ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps break down what we do and don’t know about the NBA’s suspension of play, including whether players will be paid during the stoppage and how it may affect the salary cap going forward. Meanwhile, Brian Lewis of The New York Post provides six questions the league must answer.
- By suspending its season, the NBA made the only decision it could, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com, who writes that the league shouldn’t consider a return until the virus has been “contained nationally.”
- The Pelicans/Kings game on Wednesday night was initially expected to be played even after the NBA’s suspension announcement, but it was eventually postponed due to concerns related to referee Courtney Kirkland, who worked Utah’s game on Monday. Sam Amick, Will Guillory, and Jason Jones of The Athletic share some behind-the-scenes details on a surreal night in Sacramento.
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who said on Wednesday night that the franchise would develop a plan to help arena employees with lost income during the hiatus, said that the situation “isn’t about basketball,” as Tim MacMahon of ESPN relays. “This isn’t about when do we start, do we start? Or how do we start? This is a pandemic, a global pandemic where people’s lives are at stake,” Cuban said. “I’m a lot more worried about my kids and my mom who is 82 years old — in talking to her and telling her to stay in the house — than when we play in our next game.”
NBA G League Suspends Season
The NBA G League has followed the NBA’s lead, announcing tonight in a press release that it has suspended its 2019/20 season in response to the coronavirus pandemic. The news comes on the heels of the announcement that the NBA has suspended its season.
As Fred Katz of The Athletic points out (via Twitter), there are plenty of reasons why it makes sense to suspend play in the G League in conjunction with the NBA. The two leagues share not just two-way players and players on NBAGL assignments, but also several facilities. Additionally, G League teams often travel via commercial flights.
The G League’s regular season had been scheduled to end on March 28, with the postseason to follow. Tonight’s announcement indicated that play will be postponed, rather than cancelled, so if the NBA resumes play in a few weeks, the G League may follow suit. There’s no concrete timeline for that to happen though.
Latest On NBA’s Coronavirus Response
In the wake of Rudy Gobert‘s positive coronavirus test, the NBA has announced that its season will be suspended indefinitely, as we detailed earlier tonight.
While it remains to be seen exactly how long that suspension will last, one person who spoke to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press said the NBA expects the league to be shut down for at least two weeks. That source cautioned that the situation is very fluid.
As Dan Feldman of NBC Sports passes along, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said in a TV appearance tonight that there’s a feeling around the NBA that the season will eventually be resumed. It’s “clearly going to be a truncated schedule” though, according to Woj.
No games will take place while the suspension is ongoing, but Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said tonight that the NBA has told teams they can continue to practice, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). Players have been told they shouldn’t have any visitors from out of town, MacMahon adds.
Here’s more on how the coronavirus situation has shaken up the NBA:
- After Gobert was tested for COVID-19 on Wednesday, Jazz and Thunder officials worked together to make sure no Oklahoma City players had any contact or exposure to Utah players, tweets Wojnarowski. According to ESPN’s Royce Young (Twitter links), Thunder players were tested tonight for fever, but not for the coronavirus. Jazz players are still expected to be tested tonight, however — the team is currently quarantined in OKC, per Woj (Twitter link).
- According to reports from Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald (Twitter link) and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, players from teams that have played the Jazz in the last 10 days have been advised to self-quarantine. That list of clubs includes the Cavaliers, Knicks, Celtics, Pistons, and Raptors.
- Knicks players aren’t being tested yet, according to Steve Popper of Newsday (Twitter link). Blake Murphy of The Athletic tweets that Raptors players are getting tested. Cavaliers coaches and players haven’t yet heard about potential testing, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.