More Details On NBA’s Tentative Summer Schedule
The National Basketball Players Association held a call on Monday in which the players’ union discussed several proposed dates for the NBA schedule this summer, according to Shams Charania of Stadium (video link).
We already know that July 31 is the target date to begin the eight “seeding games” and that the plan is for Game 7 of the NBA Finals (if necessary) to fall on October 12. Charania’s reporting sheds some light on the gaps between those dates. Here are a few more tentative dates for the 2020 postseason, per Charania:
- August 16-17: Play-in tournament(s)
- August 18: First round of playoffs begin
- September 1: Conference Semifinals begin
- September 15: Conference Finals begin
- September 30: NBA Finals begin
These dates aren’t set in stone, but the plan gives us a clearer idea of what the summer schedule figures to look like. If these dates stick, there would likely be a back-to-back set for each team in the first round of the postseason, which has been previously reported. Beginning in the second round, there should be no more back-to-backs.
Based on the dates Charania provides, it looks like a back-to-back set would also be necessary for a play-in tournament if two games are required (ie. if the No. 9 team beats the No. 8 team in the first game). Presumably, whichever team comes out of that tournament wouldn’t have to start its first round series until August 19, but it could still be a pretty grueling stretch for the eventual No. 8 seed ahead of a postseason matchup with the Bucks or Lakers.
Spurs Reopen Practice Facility
All 30 NBA teams have now reopened their practice facilities for voluntary individual workouts, with the Spurs becoming the last to do so.
General manager Brian Wright confirmed today on a Zoom call with reporters that the team’s gym is now open for player workouts, tweets Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News.
Like the rest of the NBA’s teams, the Spurs are limited to having four players in their practice facility at a time — those players can only conduct individual workouts and are subject to a series of strict safety protocols. Group activities remain prohibited, though there’s a hope around the league that the NBA will loosen those restrictions before the top 22 teams travel to Orlando next month.
It has now been a full month since the league first allowed teams to reopen their buildings for voluntary workouts with approval from local government and health officials. The Bulls, Celtics, Pistons, and Warriors were among the final few clubs to do so last week, leaving the Spurs as the only outstanding team until today.
Spurs’ Aldridge To Miss Rest Of Season With Shoulder Injury
Spurs big man LaMarcus Aldridge has undergone a surgical procedure on his right shoulder and will miss the remainder of the 2019/20 season, the club announced today in a press release.
According to the Spurs, Aldridge underwent an arthroscopic subacromial decompression and rotator cuff debridement. San Antonio’s announcement indicates that the 34-year-old had the procedure on April 24, so it sounds as if the team has known for the last month-and-a-half that he’ll be sidelined until next season.
Aldridge initially injured his shoulder on February 21. After suiting up for the Spurs’ next game on February 23, he missed six contests and returned to action on March 10 for the club’s last game before the season was suspended.
With Aldridge on the shelf until the start of training camp in 2020/21, the Spurs will be an even longer shot for the No. 8 seed in the West this summer. Currently, the team sits four games back of Memphis, but would have to pass Sacramento, New Orleans, and Portland in the standings in order to become the team that forces a play-in tournament with the Grizzlies. If the Spurs don’t make the postseason, their 22-year playoff streak will come to an end.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), the the NBA’s proposed roster rules for the restart would allow San Antonio to sign an injury replacement for Aldridge. That player would had to have played in the NBA or G League this season.
As for Aldridge’s future, he’s under contract with the Spurs for one more season, with a $24MM cap hit for 2020/21. He’d become an unrestricted free agent in 2021 if he’s not extended before then.
The seven-time All-Star remained productive for San Antonio in 2019/20, averaging 18.9 PPG, 7.4 RPG, and 1.6 BPG with a .493/.389/.827 shooting line in 53 games (33.1 MPG).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NBA, NBPA Agree To Resume PED Testing In Orlando
The NBA and NBPA have reached an agreement to resume testing for performance-enhancing drugs when the season resumes in Orlando this summer, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Shortly after the league suspended the 2019/20 season in March, the two sides reached an agreement to halt drug testing for players. That agreement covered all forms of testing and was meant to address concerns regarding the proximity of drug testers and the sensitivity of drawing blood during the coronavirus pandemic.
Although the league and the players’ union have agreed to resume PED testing in Orlando, testing for recreational drugs will remain on hold, according to Charania. In other words, players won’t face potential marijuana-related fines or suspensions this summer.
Positive PED tests result in significantly harsher penalties than positive marijuana tests. Deandre Ayton (Suns) and John Collins (Hawks) each received 25-game bans earlier this season for violating the NBA’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
Poll: Will Wizards Make Playoffs?
While five current lottery teams in the Western Conference will be given the opportunity to snatch the No. 8 seed from the Grizzlies when play resumes in Orlando this summer, only one current non-playoff team in the East has been invited to Disney. That team is the Wizards, the No. 9 seed in the conference when the season was suspended in March.
The Wizards weren’t exactly knocking on the door of a playoff spot before play was halted. At 24-40, Washington was 5.5 games behind the Magic for the eighth seed in the East and a full six games back of the seventh-seeded Nets. However, the NBA’s new 22-team format for the summer will give the Wizards at least an outside shot at a spot in the postseason.
Here’s what Washington will have to do to make the playoffs this summer:
- Pull to within four games of either Orlando or Brooklyn. This will mean outplaying one of those clubs by at least two games during the eight “seeding games.” In other words, if the Nets and Magic each go 3-5, the Wizards would need to go 5-3 to force a play-in tournament.
- If they force a play-in tournament, the Wizards would need to defeat the Nets or Magic twice without losing a game to earn the No. 8 seed in the East.
There are other scenarios in which the Wizards could make the postseason, but they’re next to impossible. For instance, if Washington goes 8-0 when play resumes and the Nets and Magic can’t muster more than a win or two, the Wizards could claim the No. 7 seed outright, or move up to No. 8 and get the double-elimination advantage in a play-in tournament. That’s a pipe dream though, especially given the schedule Washington will face this summer.
We don’t yet know exactly what the schedule for those eight seeding games will look like, but reports have indicated that the general plan is for teams to pick up where they left off in March, with games against bottom-eight clubs skipped.
For the Wizards, that could mean opening with games against the Celtics, Thunder, and Sixers before getting an opportunity to play the Nets. From there, Washington’s next three games may be again Boston (again), the Suns, and the Bucks. There are some winnable games in there, but given how the Wizards played in their first 64 games, expecting more than three or four victories is probably overly optimistic.
Still, anything could happen when play resumes. While the Wizards aren’t expecting John Wall back, it sounds like the Nets won’t have Kevin Durant or Kyrie Irving active, and there’s no guarantee the Magic will have Jonathan Isaac or Al-Farouq Aminu available. If they can force a play-in tournament, the Wizards wouldn’t necessarily be massive underdogs to either of those teams.
What do you think? Is there any chance the Wizards make the postseason? If you believe in Washington, do you think they’ll knock out the Magic? Or will the Nets be the team to slip out of the postseason?
Vote in our poll, then head to the comment section below to share your thoughts!
Will the Wizards make the playoffs?
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No 74% (480)
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Yes, they'll knock out the Magic 16% (106)
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Yes, they'll knock out the Nets 10% (67)
Total votes: 653
Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.
Summer Transaction Window Will Be Open For All 30 Teams
Over the weekend, we learned that the NBA intends to give teams a brief window, likely from June 22 to July 1, to convert two-way players to standard deals and otherwise tweak their 15-man rosters. Today, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that the transaction window at the end of June will be open for all 30 teams, not just the 22 resuming play in Orlando.
[RELATED: NBA, NBPA Extend Transaction Moratorium Indefinitely]
This is an important point because in a typical season, lottery-bound teams also make roster moves during the final week or two of play, an option that wasn’t available this April. Instead of setting their rosters for the postseason, those clubs at the bottom of the standings are looking ahead to the offseason and the following year, signing players to multiyear deals in the hopes that they’ll become low-cost contributors down the road.
The most obvious example of this form of transaction last season was provided by the Heat, who missed the playoffs but were active during the final week of the season, signing Kendrick Nunn and Duncan Robinson to three-year contracts. The first “year” of those deals only technically lasted a day or two last April, but now Miami has Nunn and Robinson locked up on minimum-salary deals through 2020/21.
Of course, not every lottery-bound team will strike gold with late-season, multiyear signings like Miami did with Nunn and Robinson. But it’s still common for those clubs to use any open roster spots to add players who can be auditioned during the summer and fall.
This summer, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets, teams like the Hornets, Cavaliers, Pistons, Timberwolves, and Warriors have available roster spots and could be looking to fill out their 15-man squads with newly-signed players (or converted two-way players). Based on Woj’s report, it sounds like they’ll have at least a week to do so at the end of June. The Knicks, Bulls, and Hawks have full rosters but would also be permitted to make changes if they so choose.
[RELATED: NBA Roster Counts For 2019/20]
When Wojnarowski and Marks reported over the weekend on the NBA’s potential pre-offseason transaction window, they noted that only players who were in the NBA, in the G League, or on training camp deals during the 2019/20 season were expected to be eligible. However, I wouldn’t expect that restriction to apply to the eight teams that won’t be resuming play in Orlando.
Malik Monk Reinstated Following Drug Suspension
Hornets guard Malik Monk has been reinstated by the NBA following his suspension for violating the league’s anti-drug policy, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer. Hornets president of basketball operations Mitch Kupchak confirmed the news during his end-of-season press conference on Monday morning, adds Malika Andrews of ESPN (via Twitter).
The NBA announced Monk’s indefinite suspension on February 26. At the time, the league indicated that the ban would continue until Monk was determined to be “in full compliance” with the anti-drug program — presumably, that has now happened.
The full details surrounding Monk’s suspension weren’t announced or reported, but the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement states that certain drug violations – including for drugs of abuse – require a player to enter a treatment or care program. If the player violates the terms of that program, he will be suspended “until such time as the Medical Director determines that he has fully complied” with the program, per the CBA.
Monk missed eight games due to the suspension before the NBA put its season on hold in March. A suspension of less than 20 games was projected to cost the third-year guard just under $28K per game (1/145th of his $4,028,400 salary). That would work out to about $222K in lost income for Monk, and the abrupt end of Charlotte’s season figures to further cut into his earnings for 2019/20.
The 11th overall pick in the 2017 draft, Monk hasn’t been the scorer and shooter the Hornets hoped for through his first three NBA seasons, averaging just 8.6 PPG with a .322 3PT%. However, he had played well leading up to his suspension, scoring 17.0 PPG on .457/.350/.851 shooting in his last 13 games (27.9 MPG) of the 2019/20 season.
Monk is one of two dozen players who will be eligible for a rookie scale extension once the 2020/21 league year begins. However, the odds of Charlotte extending him this offseason are extremely slim, given his inconsistent play on the court and the suspension that kept him off it.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Thunder Notes: Roberson, Dort, Restart
After speaking at length on Sunday about George Floyd’s death and racial and equality issues in the United States, Thunder general manager Sam Presti also answered basketball-related questions about his team.
As Erik Horne of The Athletic details, one of those questions was about whether Andre Roberson might be available to contribute when the season resumes. A recent report from Horne suggested that Roberson is nearly ready to return from the knee issues that have sidelined him for more than two full years.
“The time has really helped ‘Dre,” Presti said. “From a health standpoint, he’s doing really well. The issues that we’re facing is that we have not had the opportunity to see him on the court in real basketball activity because everything is relegated to the one-on-zero still. I think we’re in a better place than we were March 11, that’s for sure, but we don’t know exactly where he’ll be once we get down to actually participating in contact and going through team practices and things of that nature.”
Presti added that the club is “hopeful” that Roberson will be able to play this summer, but wasn’t willing to say anything more definitive about the forward’s status. As Horne notes, it doesn’t make much sense for OKC to increase expectations for Roberson, or to declare him ready before seeing how he’ll impact the chemistry of the current roster, which looks a whole lot different than it did when he last suited up for the Thunder in January 2018.
Here’s more on the Thunder:
- The NBA continues to consider how to handle two-way players when the season resumes, and it’s possible no team will be more impacted by that decision than the Thunder, whose two-way player Luguentz Dort was a fixture in the starting lineup leading up to the hiatus. On Sunday, as Horne writes, Presti referred to Dort as “a guy that we’d love to have with us,” adding that he’s optimistic that will be possible.
- Here’s from Presti (via Horne) on Dort, who could have his two-way contract converted into a standard deal: “We have to just see what the options are and then make our best decision there, but he’s clearly someone that we want to have with us going forward, and that would be my expectation. That would be my hope. That could be something that happens in the short-term, it could be something that happens later, I don’t know.”
- Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman examines the pros and cons of the NBA’s restart plan for the Thunder, noting that playing at a neutral site could benefit the team, which wasn’t expected to have home-court advantage in any playoff series.
Western Notes: Murray, Doncic, Lakers, Fertitta
Nuggets guard Jamal Murray is confident the team can win the NBA championship this season, explaining his thoughts to reporters on a Zoom call last week.
“We know we can go win the title,” Murray said, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. “Me and Joker (Nikola Jokic) have been in Denver this whole time, working out.
“Why not?” Murray later replied upon being asked whether Denver could win it all. “We have proven to be one the best teams year in and year out since we have been building. We have beaten good teams consistently. We shouldn’t have lost to Portland (last year in the Western Semifinals). That was more on us, our inexperience and they are a good team. But we don’t think that there is a team that can beat us in a seven-game series when we are playing at our best.”
The Nuggets are 43-22 on the season, good for the third-best record in the Western Conference behind the Lakers (49-14) and Clippers (44-20). Murray’s confidence lies in the team’s offensive capabilities, coupled with how Jokic has slimmed down significantly during quarantine.
“If we can just find that consistency and play at a high level,” Murray said of the Nuggets’ biggest issue. “When me and Joker are on, I don’t think there is anybody that is going to stop us. And if they do, then good game.”
Denver has consistently been one of the NBA’s best regular-season teams in recent seasons, though the franchise has failed to achieve playoff success. The Nuggets will be among the 22 teams slated to play in Orlando when the league resumes later this summer.
There’s more from the Western Conference tonight:
- Barring a new setback or injury, Mavericks star Luka Doncic will be healthy for the NBA’s restart, Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News writes. Doncic has dealt with a sprained ankle, an illness and various thumb and wrist injuries in 2020. Caplan also examines other Mavs-related notes, including the team’s starting lineup and who could be a potential X-factor in the playoffs.
- The Lakers will be ready to build on their previous hot streak once the NBA returns, Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times writes. Los Angeles was firing on all cylinders before the season was suspended, winning 11 of their its 13 games and holding a 49-14 record. “There will be a lot of focus for the Lakers and all the teams on basketball only, with the family not being there right away,” an official for one NBA team told Turner. “I think that they will be really in-tuned. I think the basketball will be sloppy in the beginning, but it’ll be good as it goes along.”
- Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta discussed a number of subjects in an interview with Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, including his team’s title hopes, the NBA return, and more. Houston is among the 22 teams set to return in Orlando this summer, playing an unprecedented version of small-ball before the season was officially halted.
Atlantic Notes: Siakam, Knicks, Smith, Celtics
The Raptors are hoping their championship experience will assist the team when the NBA resumes play in Orlando later this summer, Doug Smith of the Toronto Star writes.
Toronto, led by star forward Pascal Siakam, kept much of its 2018/19 championship core intact this season, including Siakam, Kyle Lowry, Fred VanVleet, Serge Ibaka and Marc Gasol. The Raptors’ strong chemistry and veteran presence are two major reasons why they’ve succeeded this season.
“I feel like there’s chemistry there, we’ve been playing for awhile, we’ve been winning championships together, things you don’t really forget,” Siakam said, as relayed by Smith.
The Raptors held the second-best record in the Eastern Conference at 46-18 when the NBA suspended its season, trailing the No. 1 seed Bucks by 6.5 games. The team has solidified itself as a legitimate playoff threat despite losing Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green in free agency last summer.
“To be simple and truthful, I just don’t care what people think of the Raptors,” Siakam said. “I think, for us, it’s been a lot of years caring about, ‘Oh, love me too,’ and I think that’s over, man. We are the champions and if you don’t see it, that’s your problem.
“And for us, it’s about us, we’re not worried what other people think, we’re gonna continue to win games and chase championships. That’s the only thing we care about and whoever feels the way they feel, that’s them and has nothing to do with us. We don’t care about perception.”
There’s more out of the Atlantic Division tonight:
- For the Knicks, hiring Tom Thibodeau as head coach would likely mean the team wouldn’t acquire Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns anytime soon, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. New York reportedly expressed interest in Towns prior to the trade deadline this season, with Berman noting that the relationship between Towns and Thibodeau was strained in their final weeks together during the 2018/19 season.
- Former NBA guard and current NBA on TNT analyst Kenny Smith laughed off a question about coaching for the Knicks in an interview with Steve Serby of the New York Post. “They know where I am,” Smith laughed, addressing a question about whether he would like to interview for New York’s head coaching job. “They know what I could bring to the table in any capacity. There is a head coach there now (interim coach Mike Miller). … I don’t like to talk about guys’ jobs who still have a job.” Smith also offered his thoughts on racial injustice, the NBA’s restart and more in the interview.
- Jared Weiss and John Hollinger of The Athletic examine the future of the Celtics, pondering whether there’s a viable path to the Finals for the franchise this season. Boston contains a strong nucleus of Jayson Tatum, Kemba Walker, Jaylen Brown and others, holding a 43-21 record on the season.