Roberts Informs Players Of Latest Plans To Resume Season
National Basketball Players Association executive director Michele Roberts is conducting team-by-team conference calls with players as momentum continues toward a resumption of play, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
Roberts is providing details on formats to restart the season in Orlando, which has emerged as the likely place where games will be conducted. She is also going over the financial implications of those options and gathering feedback, Wojnarowski adds.
While there’s no word on how the players are reacting to the proposals, it does provide hope that players will soon convene to start training and practicing again. Several teams have opened their training facilities on a limited basis but thus far scrimmages and formal practices have not been permitted.
The NBA’s Board of Governors will conduct a conference call on Friday, which will include commissioner Adam Silver and team owners. It’s expected that by the end of the week, a course of action will be determined. Recent developments suggest that when play resumes, teams currently in the lottery will be excluded.
Eastern Notes: Celtics, Knicks, Bone, Heat
The Celtics are eager to find out how good they can be at full health, according to Chris Forsberg of NBC Sports Boston. They rarely had all of their top seven players available at the same time, yet still had fifth-best record in the league when play was halted. Rookie Grant Williams told reporters last week that the team has great chemistry. “We were having so much fun during the year,” he said. Players can’t wait to back in the gym together because of the positive vibes running through the team, Forsberg adds.
We have more from the Eastern Conference:
- It’s uncertain whether teams currently outside the playoff picture will be included in a potential resumption of play. However, some Knicks players have recently been told to be ready to report to training camp in early June, according to SNY’s Ian Begley. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Sunday that all professional sports teams are now allowed to begin training camps in the state. Since players would be returning from varying sites and presumably going into quarantine once they arrive, some of them are wondering if they should go straight to Orlando, where the games are expected to be played.
- Pistons rookie guard Jordan Bone has changed agents, Alex Kennedy of Hoops Hype tweets. Bone will now be represented by Colin Bryant of Fundamental Sports Management. The Pistons acquired the rights to Bone, a second-round pick, from the Sixers in a draft night trade. He played on a two-way contract this season, appearing in 10 NBA games.
- The Heat could re-sign players like Goran Dragic, Jae Crowder, Meyers Leonard and Derrick Jones Jr. this offseason and eventually turn them into trade chips, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel opines. If Miami retains those players on contracts beyond a single season, it would cut into its cap space for the 2021 offseason. However, the Heat could use them in sign-and-trades for bigger free agents down the road, similar to what they did with Josh Richardson in the Jimmy Butler sign-and-trade with Philadelphia.
George Karl Open To Coaching Again
Longtime NBA coach George Karl has a desire to coach again, Pat Graham of the Associated Press reports.
Following three bouts with cancer, the 69-year-old Karl feels healthy and energized.
“I love the game as much as I ever have,” Karl told Graham. “If the right situation came up, I might coach again.”
Karl is one of nine NBA coaches to notch 1,000 wins in his career. Karl racked up those wins with Cleveland, Golden State, Seattle, Milwaukee, Denver and Sacramento. He hasn’t coached in the league since the Kings fired him in April 2016.
Karl’s son, Coby, is the head coach of the Lakers‘ G League team, the South Bay Lakers. George Karl attended a number of his son’s games this season after recovering from his latest battle with cancer, this time melanoma of the eye.
He admits he still has concerns about a recurrence.
“Once you have cancer, you have a higher risk of getting another cancer. I know that,” he said. “But my health is probably as good as it’s been in about 15 or 20 years.”
Coronavirus Notes: Orlando, Resuming Season, Ewing
Appearing today on ESPN’s Get Up (video link), Adrian Wojnarowski confirmed that Orlando remains the frontrunner to host the NBA’s return this summer and that it may end up being the lone bubble location the league uses.
[RELATED: NBA Enters ‘Exploratory’ Talks To Resume Season In Orlando]
“Everything is pointing toward a return of the NBA this season at a single site in Orlando at Disney World,” Woj said, adding that teams believe they’ll be told to recall players as early as next week.
As Wojnarowski explained, there will be plenty of calls taking place today and throughout the week, culminating with an NBA’s Board of Governors conference call on Friday, which will include commissioner Adam Silver and team owners. According to Woj, by the end of this week or early next week, we should have a better idea of what the format of a potential NBA return will look like.
Here’s more on the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on the NBA:
- Patrick Ewing Jr. issued an update today (via Twitter) saying that his father – former Knicks center and current Georgetown coach Patrick Ewing – is out of the hospital and is improving after having contracted COVID-19. “My father is now home and getting better,” the younger Ewing wrote. “We’ll continue to watch his symptoms and follow the CDC guidelines.”
- There’s no point in having all 30 NBA teams resume their seasons this summer, according to Steve Popper of Newsday, who argues in a column that the league would be best off minimizing the risk by just inviting the 16 current playoff clubs.
- As we relayed earlier today, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said during a Monday morning TV appearance that he thinks there’s a good chance only 16 teams will be involved in the resumption of the NBA season (video link). Windhorst suggests there will be “a lot of back-room haggling” over the next few days as the league weighs what proposal(s) to present to team owners on Friday’s conference call.
2020/21 Salary Cap Preview: San Antonio Spurs
Hoops Rumors is looking ahead at the 2020/21 salary cap situations for all 30 NBA teams. Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the NBA, it’s impossible to know yet where the cap for 2020/21 will land. Given the league’s lost revenue, we’re assuming for now that it will stay the same as the ’19/20 cap, but it’s entirely possible it will end up higher or lower than that.
With or without the NBA’s hiatus, the Spurs‘ 22-year postseason streak was likely going to come to an end this year, as the team appears headed to the draft lottery for the first time since 1997.
The last time San Antonio bottomed out, the team lucked into Tim Duncan, but a top draft pick is a long shot for this year’s squad, and there doesn’t appear to be a surefire franchise player in the 2020 draft class anyway. The Spurs probably shouldn’t rely on free agency to turn things around either — the team won’t have much spending flexibility if DeMar DeRozan exercises his $27MM+ player option.
Here’s where things stand for the Spurs financially in 2020/21, as we continue our Salary Cap Preview series:
Guaranteed Salary
- LaMarcus Aldridge ($24,000,000)
- Rudy Gay ($14,500,000)
- Dejounte Murray ($14,286,000)
- Patty Mills ($13,285,714)
- DeMarre Carroll ($6,167,887) — Waived via stretch provision
- Derrick White ($3,516,284)
- Lonnie Walker ($2,892,000)
- Luka Samanic ($2,824,320)
- Keldon Johnson ($2,048,040)
- Trey Lyles ($1,000,000) — Partial guarantee. Non-guaranteed portion noted below. 1
- Total: $84,520,245
Player Options
- DeMar DeRozan ($27,739,975)
- Total: $27,739,975
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Trey Lyles ($4,500,000) 1
- Tyler Zeller ($2,436,046)
- Chimezie Metu ($1,663,861) 2
- Total: $8,599,907
Restricted Free Agents
- Jakob Poeltl ($4,642,800 qualifying offer / $11,264,658 cap hold): Bird rights
- Drew Eubanks ($1,620,564 qualifying offer / $1,620,564 cap hold): Early Bird rights
- Quinndary Weatherspoon (two-way qualifying offer / $1,445,697 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Total (cap holds): $14,330,919
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- Marco Belinelli ($7,600,000): Early Bird rights
- Bryn Forbes ($5,462,500): Bird rights
- No. 11 overall pick ($4,033,440) 3
- Dante Cunningham ($2,984,400): Non-Bird rights 4
- Nikola Milutinov ($2,035,800) 5
- Joffrey Lauvergne ($1,620,564): Non-Bird rights 4
- David Lee ($1,620,564): Non-Bird rights 4
- Donatas Motiejunas ($1,620,564): Non-Bird rights 4
- Quincy Pondexter ($1,620,564): Non-Bird rights 4
- Matt Costello ($1,445,697): Non-Bird rights 4
- Darrun Hilliard ($1,445,697): Non-Bird rights 4
- Ben Moore ($1,445,697): Non-Bird rights 4
- Total: $30,899,687
Offseason Cap Outlook
The Spurs’ cap outlook for 2020/21 is one of the trickiest to project. With approximately $88.6MM locked in for eight guaranteed contracts and a draft pick, San Antonio doesn’t initially appear to be in terrible shape financially. But if DeRozan opts in, it would increase the club’s guaranteed commitments to $116MM+. And that’s before accounting for the possibility of re-signing players like Poeltl and/or Forbes and filling out the rest of the roster.
There have been rumblings that DeRozan might not be thrilled with his current situation, so he’s not a stone-cold lock to opt in. But given the league’s financial outlook, I’d be surprised if he doesn’t do so. My guess is that he’ll ultimately pick up that option and that the Spurs will try to re-sign at least one of Poeltl or Forbes — perhaps both if the team can get them at reasonable prices or if money can be shed elsewhere.
With so many of their contracts set to expire in 2021, the Spurs won’t do anything rash to cut costs, but they aren’t going to go into the tax for the current roster either. It’ll be interesting to see how they handle this offseason, especially if the cap doesn’t increase at all.
Cap Exceptions Available
- Mid-level exception: $9,258,000 6
- Bi-annual exception: $3,623,000 6
Footnotes
- Lyles’ salary becomes fully guaranteed after October 18.
- Metu’s new salary guarantee date is unknown.
- The cap hold for this pick will depend on where it ultimately falls in the lottery. Currently, the Spurs rank 11th in the lottery standings.
- The cap holds for Cunningham, Lauvergne, Lee, Motiejunas, Pondexter, Costello, Hilliard, and Moore remain on the Spurs’ books because they haven’t been renounced after going unsigned in 2019/20. They can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
- The 26th overall pick in 2015, Milutinov has yet to sign his rookie scale contract. His cap hold will remain on the Spurs’ books unless the team receives permission to remove it, which would ensure Milutinov won’t be signed in 2020/21.
- These are projected values. If the Spurs’ team salary continues to increase, they may be limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5,718,000).
Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are based on the salary cap and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Early Bird Rights was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bulls Notes: Boylen, Loenser, Tanaka, Draft
Although the Bulls‘ ownership group and former executive VP of basketball operations John Paxson have voiced their support for head coach Jim Boylen, they’ve also made it clear to the newly-hired executives in the front office that they’ll allow Boylen’s dismissal if Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley want to go in that direction, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times.
Cowley, who wrote earlier this month that Karnisovas and Eversley are likely leaning toward making a coaching change, notes that the Bulls will have a clearer sense of a timeline for that decision once the NBA makes an announcement on the fate of the 2019/20 season. If the team doesn’t resume play, the front office could be in position to make a call on Boylen sooner rather than later.
Here’s more on the Bulls:
- While Boylen’s fate remains up in the air, the Bulls have exercised their 2020/21 option on assistant coach Nate Loenser, reports K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. As Johnson explains, Loenser – whose contract is the only one that required an immediate decision – is well-respected by players and has established a strong reputation for player development.
- The Bulls aren’t retaining longtime trainer Jeff Tanaka, writes Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. Tanaka has been the club’s head trainer since 2014 and was an assistant trainer before that, dating back to 2008. With his contract up, Arturas Karnisovas and the new-look front office decided to go in another direction and intend to bring in someone of their own choosing, per Cowley.
- The Bulls should be well-prepared for the 2020 draft, according to Cowley, who points out that newly-hired executives Karnisovas, Marc Eversley, Pat Connelly, and J.J. Polk will bring with them intel from three separate franchises. Throw in the research the Bulls’ existing scouts have done and there should be no shortage of information on this year’s prospects as the team sets its draft board.
Andrew Bogut Puts Playing Career On Hold
Former No. 1 overall pick Andrew Bogut isn’t ready to call it a career, but he’s also in no rush to sign a new contract, he said in a statement on Twitter. Citing the uncertainty created by the coronavirus pandemic, the 35-year-old center is taking a step back from basketball for now.
Bogut, who has spent the last two years playing for the Sydney Kings in Australia – with a brief return to the Warriors sandwiched in between NBL seasons – said he’s enjoying taking a break after 19 straight months of playing basketball. His plan, for the time being, is to spend time with his family and to slowly get back into playing shape before he considers pursuing another opportunity.
“I have decided not to sign with the Sydney Kings, or any professional sporting team for that matter for the time being,” Bogut wrote. “With everything going on in the world, the future does not look too clear, most notably in regards to sporting leagues worldwide.
“This is by no means a retirement note, but simply saying any concrete decisions are too hard to be made at this point in time. The reason I have decided to do this now is to give the Sydney Kings enough notice to act accordingly with free agency being around the corner.”
A 14-year NBA veteran, Bogut holds career averaged of 9.6 PPG, 8.7 RPG, and 1.5 BPG in 706 career regular season contests for the Bucks, Warriors, Mavericks, Cavaliers, and Lakers.
Although he didn’t play in the NBA this season and only appeared in 11 regular season games (plus 19 playoff contests) for Golden State in 2018/19, Bogut has continued to thrive in Australia over the last couple years. He was the NBL’s MVP and Defensive Player of the Year in 2019, and earned All-NBL Second Team honors this season.
Poll: Should NBA Use 1-16 Seeding For 2020 Playoffs?
While the idea has yet to gain a ton of momentum, there has been talk in recent years about the idea of the NBA re-seeding its playoff teams once the postseason begins, ranking those clubs first through 16th based on overall records, regardless of conference.
For instance, the Clippers have the second-best record in the West this year, but the fourth-best mark in the NBA, so they’d be the No. 4 seed. The Sixers, sixth in the East, would become a No. 12 seed, reflecting their place in the overall NBA standings.
Such a change would help even the playing field if one conference is significantly stronger than the other, as was the case for the Western Conference for much of the 2010s. However, it hasn’t really gained steam due to travel concerns and because it would require approval from the NBA’s Board of Governors — generally, team owners in the weaker conference have a vested interest in keeping the format as is.
However, as the NBA works toward potentially resuming its 2019/20 season, the league could have a unique opportunity to experiment this summer. Two important factors would work in favor of testing the idea of re-seeding playoff teams using a 1-16 system:
- If the NBA resumes play in a single bubble location (ie. Orlando), no travel would be required.
- Eight of the current top 16 teams in the NBA standings are in the Western Conference, while eight are in the East. In other words, if the playoff seeding is tweaked, no current lottery team would make the postseason and no current playoff team would fall out.
During an appearance today on ESPN’s Get Up (video link), Brian Windhorst said he thinks there’s a real chance the NBA could go straight to the postseason if and when it returns, which could open the door for re-seeding the 16 playoff teams. According to Windhorst, league commissioner Adam Silver has long been interested in that concept.
As Windhorst notes, it remains unlikely that two-thirds of the NBA’s owners would be on board with such a format change for the long term. And even this season, there would likely be a number of teams in the East opposed to tweaking the format, since it would make their playoff draw a whole lot more challenging.
Still, if ever there was a time for owners to get on board with a one-off experiment, this would be the year.
Here’s what the playoffs would look like if the teams were re-seeded, regardless of conference, based on their current records:
First side of bracket:
- Bucks (1) vs. Magic (16)
- Heat (8) vs. Thunder (9)
- Clippers (4) vs. Mavericks (13)
- Celtics (5) vs. Sixers (12)
Second side of bracket:
- Lakers (2) vs. Nets (15)
- Jazz (7) vs. Rockets (10)
- Raptors (3) vs. Grizzlies (14)
- Nuggets (6) vs. Pacers (11)
And as a reminder, here’s what the playoffs would look like under the usual format:
Eastern Conference:
- Bucks (1) vs. Magic (8)
- Heat (4) vs. Pacers (5)
- Raptors (2) vs. Nets (7)
- Celtics (3) vs. Sixers (6)
Western Conference:
- Lakers (1) vs. Grizzlies (8)
- Jazz (4) vs. Thunder (5)
- Clippers (2) vs. Mavericks (7)
- Nuggets (3) vs. Rockets (6)
While a handful of first-round matchups would be the same regardless of the format the NBA uses, the re-seeding approach would create a handful of interesting inter-conference series, including Heat vs. Thunder, Raptors vs. Grizzlies, Nuggets vs. Pacers, and Lakers vs. Nets.
Things could get very interesting in the second and third rounds of a 1-16 format, with the Clippers potentially having to go through the Celtics and the Bucks before perhaps facing the Lakers in the Finals. The Lakers, on the other hand, might play the winner of a Raptors/Nuggets showdown for the right to advance to the Finals.
What do you think? Is re-seeding the playoff teams a worthwhile experiment, given this year’s unusual circumstances? Or would it be in the NBA’s best interest to stick to its usual postseason format, separating the East and the West until the Finals?
Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!
Should the NBA use 1-16 seeding, regardless of conference, for the 2020 postseason?
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Yes 61% (890)
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No 39% (577)
Total votes: 1,467
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.
Hornets To Reopen Practice Facility On Tuesday
The NBA is moving closer to having all its teams reopen its practice facilities for voluntary individual workouts, with the Hornets issuing a press release indicating they’ll make the Novant Health Training Center inside Spectrum Center available starting Tuesday.
According to Charlotte’s announcement, the club’s practice court is the only area that will be available to players and coaches, with the locker rooms, weigh rooms, and medical/training areas remaining off limits. The team also wants players only doing on-court activities (ie. shooting) that can’t be done at home.
The Hornets will also adhere to the rest of the NBA’s league-wide regulations on workouts, including allowing no more than four players in the facility at a time and conducting symptom and temperature checks on anyone entering the building.
With the Nets also announcing plans to reopen their practice facility on Tuesday, more than two-thirds of the NBA’s clubs will have done so as of tomorrow. We’re still waiting on the Bulls, Celtics, Knicks, Mavericks, Pistons, Sixers, Spurs, Warriors, and Wizards.
Rest Of EuroLeague, EuroCup Seasons Canceled
As a potential NBA return gains momentum, the world’s second-most competitive professional basketball league won’t resume its 2019/20 season. The remainder of the ’19/20 EuroLeague and EuroCup seasons have officially been canceled, according to a press release.
While 29 of 30 NBA teams play in the United States, EuroLeague and EuroCup teams come from all over Europe, which complicated a return to play. Within its announcement, the ECA Shareholders Executive Board noted that there was no guarantee all teams would be able to hold training camps and prepare for games under the same conditions, or that all clubs would be able to travel to and from the necessary location(s).
The decision comes on the heels of the EuroLeague Players Association urging the league to cancel the season due to concerns about limited preparation time and an increased injury risk. The Executive Board cited those concerns in its press release as well, stressing that player safety was its top priority.
“Without a doubt, this is the most difficult decision we have had to take in our 20-year history,” Euroleague Basketball president and CEO Jordi Bertomeu said in a statement. “Due to reasons beyond our control, we have been forced to cut short the most successful and exciting season in European basketball history. This comes after two and a half months in which all the league’s stakeholders maintained their determination and exhausted every possible avenue in trying to deliver a complete and uniquely special season to our fans, whose passion is the driving force for all our efforts.”
At the time the EuroLeague season was suspended in March, Turkey’s Anadolu Efes – led by former NBA guards Shane Larkin and Rodrigue Beaubois, along with Sixers draft-and-stash prospect Vasilije Micic – was in first place with a 24-4 record, followed by Real Madrid and Barcelona at 22-6.
The 2020/21 EuroLeague season is now scheduled to begin on October 1, with the same 18 teams that played in the league this year returning for next season, per today’s announcement.
The ’20/21 EuroCup season, meanwhile, is tentatively set to tip off on September 30, with eight of 24 teams locked in for next year as a result of qualifying for this year’s quarterfinals. The other 16 spots will be determined based on this season’s domestic league standings.