And-Ones: China, Cunningham, WNBA, Miller
After a number of setbacks and false starts, the Chinese Basketball Association now intends to resume it season on June 20, the league announced this week. As ESPN’s Kevin Wang details, the CBA’s 20 teams will be divided into two groups and will play in empty arenas in a pair of cities (Qingdao and Dongguan). According to Wang, the plan is for the teams to finish the regular season by July 4.
The Chinese Basketball Association was the first international basketball league to suspend its season due to the coronavirus pandemic, doing so in January. The league had originally hoped to resume play by the start of April, but had to push that target date back multiple times. While it appears that the CBA is now set to move forward with its new June 20 resumption date, it’s not clear whether teams will get back all of their international players that left China during the hiatus, Wang writes.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Following an investigation into bribes accepted by a former coach, the NCAA has levied a series of penalties against the Oklahoma State men’s basketball team, including banning the program from the postseason for the 2020/21 season. That’s a major development, since potential 2021 No. 1 pick Cade Cunningham had committed to the program. As Jonathan Givony of ESPN tweets, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Cunningham now reevaluates his options for next season.
- A series of ESPN panelists predicts which players will win this year’s major awards while also weighing in on which players should win those awards.
- As Mechelle Voepel of ESPN.com writes, the WNBA is proposing a 22-game regular season for 2020. Games would begin on July 24 and would be played at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, per Voepel. The plan is still tentative and would require players’ approval.
- Former NBA forward Mike Miller, who has spent the last two years as an assistant coach for the Memphis Tigers, has parted ways with the program, he announced this week (via Twitter).
What Lottery, Draft Rules Mean For Traded 2020 First Round Picks
It got a bit lost in the shuffle amidst all of Thursday’s updates, but the NBA provided some important details on how this year’s draft lottery seeding and odds will work. They are as follows:
- The eight teams not included in the Orlando restart will be the top eight teams in the lottery standings.
- The 9-14 spots in the lottery will be made up of the six teams that don’t make the playoffs following this summer’s “seeding games” and possible play-in tournaments. Their seedings and odds will be based on their records as of March 11.
- The rest of the first round will be sorted by record, as usual. The order will be based on teams’ regular season results and the results of the eight seeding games this summer.
With those rules in mind, we have a pretty good sense of how traded first round picks for 2020 will be affected, so let’s take a closer look…
Picks whose fates have essentially been decided:
Cavaliers‘ first-round pick (traded to Pelicans if not in top 10)
- As the league’s second-worst team in 2019/20, the Cavaliers can’t fall below sixth in the lottery, so they’ll keep their pick, which will land anywhere from No. 1 to 6.
Sixers‘ first-round pick (traded to Nets if not in top 14)
- The Sixers have a nine-game lead on Orlando, which means they’ve now clinched a playoff spot and will send their pick to Brooklyn. It’s currently projected to land at No. 19 or 20, but it could move up or down based on this summer’s seeding games.
Pacers‘ first-round pick (traded to Bucks if not in top 14)
- Like the Sixers, the Pacers have now clinched a playoff spot, which assures they’ll send their pick to Milwaukee. This pick is also currently projected to land at No. 19 or 20 (Philadelphia and Indiana are tied at 39-26), but it could move higher or lower once play resumes.
Rockets‘ first-round pick (traded to Nuggets)
- This pick is unprotected, so the Rockets will send it to Denver. At 40-24, the Rockets are tied with Oklahoma City, putting their pick in line to be No. 21 or 22. They’re bunched up with a few teams in the standings though, so that could change when play resumes.
Jazz‘s first-round pick (traded to Grizzlies if it falls between 8-14)
- The Jazz have now clinched a spot in the postseason, so they’ll keep their pick for at least one more year. It’s currently projected to be No. 24 overall, but that may change.
Nuggets‘ first-round pick (traded to Thunder)
- An unprotected pick, the Nuggets’ first-rounder is currently projected to be No. 25. They’ll send it to Oklahoma City.
Clippers‘ first-round pick (traded to Knicks)
- This is another unprotected selection, which the Clippers will send to New York. For now, it projects to be No. 27.
Bucks‘ first-round pick (traded to Celtics)
- The Bucks, who will send this pick to Boston, have a four-game lead for the NBA’s best record, so this selection will likely be No. 30, though it could theoretically move up a spot or two.
Picks whose fates remain up in the air:
Nets‘ first-round pick (traded to Timberwolves if not in top 14)
- At 30-34, the Nets have a half-game lead over Orlando and a six-game cushion over Washington. If they slump when play resumes, there’s a scenario in which they lose their playoff spot. The Magic would have to pass them and the Wizards would have to pull to within four games before beating Brooklyn twice in a row in a play-in tournament.
- If the Nets miss the playoffs, this pick would end up at either No. 13 or 14 in the lottery standings, and Brooklyn would keep it.
- If the Nets hang on a clinch a playoff spot, it figures to be the No. 15, 16, or 17 pick, and they’ll send it to the Timberwolves.
Grizzlies‘ first-round pick (traded to Celtics if it’s not in top six)
- The Grizzlies have a 3.5-game lead over three Western teams (Portland, New Orleans, and Sacramento), with a four-game cushion over San Antonio and a six-game cushion over Phoenix.
- They’re in position to secure a playoff spot, and if they do, they’ll send this pick to the Celtics. It would fall between Nos. 15-17.
- If the Grizzlies lose their playoff spot, they’ll move to No. 14 in the lottery standings. In all likelihood, the pick would end up there and they’d still have to send it to Boston. However, they’d have a minuscule chance (2.4%) of moving into the top four via the lottery, in which case they’d keep the pick.
Thunder‘s first-round pick (traded to Sixers if not in top 20)
- Based on the Thunder’s current 40-24 record, this pick currently projects to be No. 21 or 22, in which case OKC would have to send it to Philadelphia.
- However, if the Thunder lose ground during this summer’s seeding games, they could be surpassed in the standings by as many as three teams, meaning the pick could end up in the No. 18-20 range. In that case, Oklahoma City would keep it.
Magic, Grizzlies, Others Address Return-To-Play Format
While every NBA team probably has at least one reason not to be thrilled with the 22-team plan and format the league has settled on for this summer’s return to play, the Magic and Grizzlies are among those who should theoretically have the biggest grievances.
[RELATED: Details on NBA’s Return-To-Play Plan]
After all, both teams had comfortable leads for the No. 8 seed when the season was suspended in March. Now they’ll have to win a play-in tournament to secure their respective spots in the postseason if they don’t hold a four-game lead on the No. 9 team in the conference after this summer’s eight “seeding games.”
Speaking to Josh Robbins of The Athletic, however, Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman wasn’t critical of the NBA’s plan. Asked multiple times if potentially putting the No. 8 seed up for grabs is fair to the Magic, Weltman was evasive, stressing that his team will try to avoid putting itself in a position where a play-in tournament is necessary, either by catching the Nets or maintaining a big cushion over the Wizards.
“I don’t really think it’s about what’s right for one team,” Weltman said. “I think the league looked at what could be the best way to proceed forward as a league, and there are 30 teams, really all with differing agendas. … There’s no sense in looking at ways to format the rest of the season. Those discussions have come and gone. Now we’re onto actions. It’s time to get ready to play and compete.”
Grizzlies president Jason Wexler also toed the company line in discussing the summer format and its impact on Memphis, as Jason Munz of The Memphis Commercial Appeal relays.
“We know how difficult it was for them to try and balance all those competing interests. From our perspective, they certainly addressed the success the team had through the first, roughly, 80 percent of the season — 65 games. And, you know, gave that some weight and credit,” Wexler said, referring to the fact that any play-in tournament would be double-elimination for the No. 8 team, compared to single-elimination for the No. 9 team. “Accordingly, we felt comfortable with what they came up with to move forward.”
No NBA team has issued a statement that doesn’t express support and respect for the decision that commissioner Adam Silver and the league had to make. However, while comments from teams like the Magic and Grizzlies have been fairly innocuous, statements from some of the bottom eight teams that will be left out of the Orlando bubble this summer have expressed more disappointment with the decision.
The Cavaliers, for instance, issued statements that mentioned their disappointment multiple times and stressed that they “would have preferred to continue playing.” The Hawks put out a press release this morning noting that “this certainly wasn’t how we hoped our season would come to an end.”
“It’s fair to say that we are disappointed that our young team will not be allowed to gain more valuable time playing together by being included in the restart of the season,” GM Travis Schlenk and head coach Lloyd Pierce said in a joint statement. “With that said, we understand and respect the countless difficult factors that entered into this decision for the league, and we realize that there are much more important things taking place in our community right now that deserve our attention.”
Ultimately, while everyone may not be thrilled with the outcome, teams recognized that Silver believed his plan was in the best interest of the league as a whole, and the results of Thursday’s Board of Governors vote reflected that — 29 of 30 teams voted in favor of the proposal, with the Trail Blazers representing the only “no” vote.
What We Learned On Thursday About NBA’s Plans
Thursday represented perhaps the most eventful day of NBA news since the league suspended its season back on March 11. The NBA’s Board of Governors formally approved the return-to-play plan put forth by commissioner Adam Silver, as the league took a major first step toward getting back on the court this season.
While that 29-1 vote in favor of Silver’s 22-team plan was the big headline of the day, it was just one of many significant updates we got from the NBA and the reporters that cover the league. Since there was a lot of information to take in, we wanted to round up all the key headlines in one place — we’ve done so below.
Here are some of Thursday’s biggest stories:
The ball is now in the NBPA’s court:
The NBA and its teams have given the green light to the league’s return-to-play plan, but the National Basketball Players Association hasn’t technically done so yet.
The players’ union reportedly scheduled a call on Friday with team player representatives, and there’s an expectation that they’ll sign off on the plan. After all, Silver and NBPA president Chris Paul have stayed in close contact throughout the process and are believed to be on the same page.
However, giving a tentative go-ahead to the broad strokes of the NBA’s proposal doesn’t mean that the NBPA will be on board with every single detail. Many changes, especially those applying to the offseason and the 2020/21 season, will need to be collectively bargained before they can be officially finalized.
More light was shed on the NBA’s new summer schedule:
In addition to getting confirmation from the NBA that the league is aiming to begin regular season games on July 31, we were able to fill in some of the gaps between now and then, based on reports from Shams Charania of The Athletic and others.
Not all of these dates are set in stone, but here’s a rough timeline on what the next several weeks may look like:
- June 15: Players located internationally return to their team’s market.
- June 21: All players report to their team’s market.
- June 22: Coronavirus testing begins.
- June 30: Training camps begin.
- July 7: Players travel to Orlando.
- July 8-30: Quarantine period, camps, and possibly exhibition games?
Once the season resumes on July 31, it’s expected to take 16 days for each team to play eight games, so by mid-August, we could be looking at one or two potential play-in tournaments, with the postseason to follow.
The NBA has officially rescheduled its draft:
Originally scheduled for June 25, the 2020 NBA draft is now tentatively penciled in for October 15. That means it could take place just three days after the NBA Finals conclude.
We’re still waiting to see if the league will be able to conduct some form of revamped combine for many of this year’s top prospects. For now, we know that NCAA early entrants will have to withdraw from the draft by August 3 or 10 days after the combine (whichever comes first) in order to maintain their college eligibility.
Any draft combine the NBA puts together seems unlikely to be completed by July 24, so for now we’re assuming that August 3 will be the withdrawal deadline for early entrants.
We’ve got a new draft lottery date and details:
The 2020 draft lottery, which was initially supposed to happen in Chicago on May 19, is now tentatively scheduled for August 25.
While it’s not clear exactly what form the lottery will take, the NBA provided more details today on what the seeding and odds will look like. According to the league, the eight teams not invited to Orlando are locked into the top eight spots in the lottery. The 9-14 seeds will be filled out by the rest of the teams that don’t ultimately make the playoffs, sorted by their records as of March 11.
In other words, even if the Wizards go 0-8 and finish with a worse winning percentage than a couple teams left out of the return to play, they’ll have the ninth-best lottery odds. The same is true if they go on a hot streak and pass a couple top-22 teams in the standings in Orlando — unless they make the postseason, they’ll still be No. 9 in the lottery standings.
Here’s what the lottery odds will look like for the eight teams not invited to Orlando:
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GSW | 14 | 13.4 | 12.7 | 12 | 47.9 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| CLE | 14 | 13.4 | 12.7 | 12 | 27.8 | 20 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| MIN | 14 | 13.4 | 12.7 | 12 | 14.8 | 26 | 7.1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| ATL | 12.5 | 12.2 | 11.9 | 11.5 | 7.2 | 25.7 | 16.8 | 2.2 | – | – | – | – |
| DET | 10.5 | 10.5 | 10.6 | 10.5 | 2.2 | 19.6 | 26.7 | 8.8 | 0.6 | – | – | – |
| NYK | 9 | 9.2 | 9.4 | 9.6 | – | 8.6 | 29.6 | 20.6 | 3.8 | 0.2 | – | – |
| CHI | 7.5 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 8.5 | – | – | 19.7 | 34.1 | 12.9 | 1.3 | >0 | – |
| CHA | 6 | 6.3 | 6.7 | 7.2 | – | – | – | 34.5 | 32.1 | 6.7 | 0.4 | >0 |
The tentative odds for the rest of the teams can be found here, though they’re dependent on the Grizzlies, Magic, and Nets not surrendering their playoff spots.
As for the rest of the first round draft order, that won’t be based on March 11 records — teams’ performances in the eight “seeding games” in July and August will also be taken into consideration. For instance, the Heat (41-24) are currently projected to have the No. 23 pick, but if they go 1-7 when play resumes, they’ll almost certainly move up in the draft order.
The NBA is planning on a very short offseason:
In one of the more surprising announcements of the day, the league indicated it’s targeting November 10 for the opening of next season’s training camps and December 1 for opening night of the 2020/21 campaign.
While teams not involved in the NBA’s return will welcome the opportunity to get back on the floor at that point, those dates may not be popular among playoff teams, who would have an extremely compressed offseason. The 2019/20 season could run as late as October 12 (with free agency to follow just six days later on October 18), which would result in an offseason of less than a month for a couple teams.
Comments made by NBPA executive director Michele Roberts suggest she was surprised by the December 1 target date, and it’s worth noting that it will require approval from the players’ union. Of all the dates and details the NBA has announced so far, this is one I could see changing — a December 25 opening day just seems to make a lot of sense.
On the other hand, a December 1 start could give the NBA a chance to finish the 2020/21 season before the Olympics get underway on July 23, 2021 — avoiding any overlap with the Tokyo games could be important for some players.
There still aren’t a ton of details on the NBA’s health and safety protocols for the summer:
Even as we received a ton of new information today on dates and formats, there were few updates about the most important issue facing the NBA this summer — how does the league plan to keep its players safe and healthy amid the coronavirus pandemic?
A report confirmed that individuals are expected to be tested for COVID-19 daily within the Orlando bubble, and commissioner Adam Silver confirmed that the league doesn’t want a single positive test to prevent that player’s team from continuing to participate. But we already strongly suspected both of things.
Silver’s most noteworthy comment during his Thursday TNT appearance was his suggestion that certain older coaches may not be permitted on the sidelines due to their increased risk if they were to contract COVID-19. However, he has already walked back that stance to some extent. Either way, we’ll need more details on the NBA’s health and safety protocols soon.
For more details on the NBA’s return-to-play plan, check out our full breakdown here.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Restart Notes: Scheduling, NBPA, Testing, TV Deals
Although the National Basketball Players Association is expected to approve the NBA’s return-to-play plan, a long list of financial, competitive, and scheduling details need to be negotiated for the 2020/21 season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). As Wojnarowski details, most of the new dates shared and/or confirmed today – such as August 25 for the draft lottery and October 15 for the draft – are still considered tentative for the time being.
Meanwhile, Wojnarowski passed along several more “preliminary expectations” on how the schedule will work this summer in Orlando. According to Woj (via Twitter), there will be a 16-day regular season, with five or six games played each day. Each team is expected to play one back-to-back set within its eight regular season games, while the NBA Finals will feature games every other day.
Here’s more on the NBA’s restart:
- NBPA executive director Michele Roberts admitted she was caught off guard by the NBA’s aggressive turnaround plan between this season and next, writes Wojnarowski. The league is tentative targeting November 10 for opening training camps for next season, with December 1 tentatively penciled in to be opening night. The NBA Finals may not end until October 12, meaning a couple teams could get less than a month off. “I was surprised to see it,” Roberts told ESPN. As Woj notes, the NBPA will have to sign off on changes to the league’s calendar, so those dates aren’t set in stone yet.
- Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst of ESPN have published a helpful primer on the NBA’s return, sharing details on where games will actually be played at Disney (The Arena, HP Field House, and Visa Athletic Center) and how often the league plans to test individuals inside the bubble for COVID-19 (daily, per ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne).
- In a wide-ranging look at the NBA’s restart, Sam Amick of The Athletic cites sources who say that the eight games teams will play before the postseason this summer will all count toward those clubs’ regional sports network TV deals. That’s significant from a financial perspective — Amick notes that the Lakers make approximately $1.5MM per game from their deal with Spectrum SportsNet, while even the lower-end deals net about $200K per game.
Adam Silver Addresses NBA Return
NBA commissioner Adam Silver appeared on TNT’s Inside The NBA this evening to discuss the league’s officially confirmed 22-team return this summer. Silver touched on a potpourri of topics.
Though more radical season structuring options were discussed, Silver hailed Hornets owner and former five-time NBA MVP Michael Jordan as being an important voice in helping pass the current resumption plan. Silver mentioned that Jordan did not want the league’s return to feel “gimmicky” with excessive playoff format tweaks, per Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer (Twitter link).
Hall of Fame player-turned-broadcaster Charles Barkley asked Silver about the NBA’s protocol for dealing with a player testing positive for COVID-19, as cited by Tania Ganguli of the LA Times (Twitter link). Silver mentioned that this had been discussed with health officials. The league would not need to pause play, but instead would isolate the player and use contact tracing and daily testing to contain the spread.
Silver delicately handled questions about how the league would deal with older coaches on team benches, mentioning that “certain coaches” might not be able to be present on the sidelines, per an exchange captured by Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).
Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni, Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry, and Spurs coach Gregg Popovich are the three head coaches who, at 65 and older, would be at elevated risk of serious COVID-19 complications were they to contract the virus. Assistants like Jeff Bzdelik (Pelicans) and Lionel Hollins (Clippers) also fall within that age bracket.
Gentry voiced his displeasure with the notion of being separated from his team, per Ramon Shelburne of ESPN (Twitter link). “That doesn’t make sense,” Gentry said. “How can I coach that way?”
D’Antoni also questioned the idea of singling out older coaches with more protective measures, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). “I am sure they want to keep everyone safe,” D’Antoni said. “But to start singling people out with more risk, well, I would hope they wouldn’t want to get into that.”
Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle tells Woj (Twitter links) that he talked to Silver and the commissioner “admitted that he jumped the gun” with his comments on older coaches.
“It’s entirely possible that an NBA coach in his 60s or 70s could be healthier than someone in their 30s or 40s,” Carlisle said. “The conversation should never be solely about a person’s age. Adam assured me that we would work through this together to help determine what is both safe and fair for all of our coaches.”
Central Notes: Bulls, Cavs, Prince, Pistons
Now that the Bulls have been officially excluded from the NBA’s 22-team resumption, the team will naturally turn their attention to an exciting offseason, per KC Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. This will mark Chicago’s first offseason with Arturas Karnisovas and Marc Eversley at the helm of the team’s front office. Karnisovas and Bulls president and COO Michael Reinsdorf both released official statements expressing disappointment at not getting to partake in the conclusion of the season from a player development perspective.
The status of head coach Jim Boylen, despite support from ownership and former president of operations John Paxson, remains the biggest question mark. Boylen owns a 39-84 record as head coach. Otto Porter Jr., the team’s injury-prone highest-paid player, is expected to opt in to the final season of his four-year, $106.5MM contract.
There’s more out of the Central Division:
- The Cavaliers voiced their frustration about not being invited to the league’s 22-team Orlando restart this summer, per Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. The team finishes with the East’s worst record, 19-46. “This is a killer for us and our development,” a Cleveland organization member relayed to Fedor.
- The Pistons are still potentially considering 2004 championship small forward Tayshaun Prince for a front office position with the club, according to Omari Sanofka II of the Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). Sanofka notes that Detroit is currently on the hunt for an experienced general manager and an up-and-coming assistant, a position for which Prince, currently in the Grizzlies front office as VP of basketball affairs, is considered a prime candidate.
- Progress is being made in the Pistons’ search for a new GM, according to Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Malik Rose and Pat Garrity had been the team’s top two assistant general managers, reporting directly to de facto head of basketball operations Ed Stefanski. Rose is leaving the organization and Garrity will not be in the running for the GM job. Others being considered are Thunder assistant GM Troy Weaver, Nets assistant GM Jeff Peterson, Clippers assistant GM Mark Hughes, former Hawks general manager Wes Wilcox, and former Suns general manager Ryan McDonough.
Heat Notes: Free Agent Targets, Butler, Olynyk, Restart
Though adding reigning MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo to their exciting roster remains the top goal for the Heat in 2021 summer free agency, they have many other viable options if Antetokounmpo is unavailable or uninterested, according to The Miami Herald’s Barry Jackson.
Even with the prospect of a slight decline in the 2021 NBA salary cap due to the coronavirus pandemic causing a league revenue loss, the Heat should still have the cap space to add a maximum-salary free agent next summer to go along their intriguing core of All-Stars Jimmy Butler and Bam Adebayo, plus developing rookies Kendrick Nunn and Tyler Herro.
Pacers All-Star Victor Oladipo, who trains in South Florida during the offseason, would be a great fit on the wing along with Butler, Jackson notes. Pelicans guard Jrue Holiday, Celtics forward Gordon Hayward, and Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie number among Jackson’s other preferences for free agent additions to the Heat in 2021. Wizards guard Bradley Beal and Thunder guard Chris Paul may be available via trade.
There’s more news out of South Beach:
- The Heat’s top free agent acquisition of 2019, All-NBA swing man Jimmy Butler, has returned to Miami this week in anticipation of a league restart as Anthony Chiang of the Miami Herald reports.
- With just eight non-playoff games left for the top 22 teams, the Heat have officially clinched a playoff berth, per Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel (Twitter link). This means that Heat big man Kelly Olynyk will earn a $400K playoff bonus written into his contract.
- The Heat’s status for the season restart was explored in another piece from The Sun Sentinel’s Ira Winderman. Production of Heat game broadcasts will be handled away from the games to accommodate COVID-19 personnel restrictions. Center Meyers Leonard, who injured his ankle during the Heat’s last game to this point, on March 11, has recovered and will be ready once play resumes.
Knicks Set To Begin Head Coaching Search
Now that the Knicks‘ season is officially over, the team is set to launch its search for a permanent head coach, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links).
Wojnarowski reiterates a point we’ve heard multiple times within the last week or two: Tom Thibodeau will be the frontrunner out of the gate to land the job. However, former Nets coach Kenny Atkinson and current Knicks interim head coach Mike Miller are also expected to be interviewed.
As we detailed earlier today, Mike Woodson, who previously coached the Knicks from 2012-14 and interviewed for the job again in 2018, is among the candidates the team plans to interview too. Thibodeau, Atkinson, and Woodson have all been represented by Creative Artists Agency, giving them a connection to new Knicks president of basketball operations – and former CAA co-head – Leon Rose.
The Knicks are unlikely to be the only bottom-eight team to begin addressing offseason business – such as a head coaching search – now that their season is over. The Bulls, for instance, are one of the eight clubs that won’t be involved in the NBA’s restart, and there have been rumblings for weeks that Jim Boylen is very much on the hot seat.
No other head coaches on the league’s bottom eight teams are obvious candidates to be replaced this summer, but if any of those clubs want to make other changes to their coaching staffs or front offices, there’s no longer a reason to postpone that process.
NBA G League Cancels Rest Of Season
4:42pm: The G League has made it official, issuing a press release to announce the cancellation of the season.
“While canceling the remainder of our season weighs heavily on us, we recognize that it is the most appropriate action to take for our league,” NBAGL president Shareef Abdur-Rahim said in a statement. “I extend my sincere gratitude to NBA G League players and coaches for giving their all to their teams and fans this season. And to our fans, I thank you and look forward to resuming play for the 2020-21 season.”
According to Charania (Twitter link), the G League paid out its players for the final 17 days of the season and extended their health benefits. Adam Johnson first reported in March that that would be the case.
4:11pm: Although the NBA intends to restart its 2019/20 season this summer, the NBA G League won’t resume along with it. Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that the G League is canceling the rest of its ’19/20 campaign.
Like the NBA, the G League suspended its season on March 11, shortly after Rudy Gobert‘s positive test for COVID-19. The NBAGL’s regular season had been scheduled to end on March 28, with the postseason to follow. With the remainder of the season canceled, the Wisconsin Herd (33-10), Salt Lake City Stars (30-12), and the rest of the league’s top teams won’t get an opportunity to compete for the 2020 title.
The decision doesn’t come as a surprise — because it’s a developmental league that doesn’t have any huge television deals to worry about, there was little financial motivation for the G League to jump through the necessary hoops to finish its 2019/20 season.
Presumably, two-way players on the 22 teams that will be part of the NBA’s return this summer will travel to Orlando with their respective clubs now that there’s no chance of them being assigned to the G League.
While it’s unclear when the 2020/21 G League season will get underway, it’s a safe bet that training camps and opening night will be pushed back to coincide with the NBA’s late start.