Coronavirus Notes: Playoff Format, Paychecks, Paul
A play-in tournament could result in nine Western Conference teams participating in a 16-team playoff, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post. A 22-team format appears to be the most popular plan for the resumption of play. According to Berman, the six extra teams may compete with the two current No. 8 seeds from each conference in an eight-team, single-elimination tournament. Washington would be the only Eastern Conference team among that group of six extra teams.
We have more COVID-19 related news:
- NBA players received on Monday — the first day of the month — reduced paychecks for the second time since the suspension of play, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. NBA players accepted a 25% reduction on their paychecks beginning on May 15. Starting on June 15, the 25% reduction will likely either decrease or increase based on how many regular-season games the league attempts to play, Marks adds.
- Players Association president Chris Paul speaks regularly with Adam Silver, which has built trust between the league’s stars and the commissioner, as Royce Young of ESPN details. Paul has talked more than once a week with Silver during the pandemic, serving as the liaison between the players and the commissioner. “I just look at it as guys are actually concerned and they want to know what’s going on,” Paul said. “They should have a say in their future.”
- Some executives have raised concerns about not allowing all teams to participate in a restart of the season. Get the details here.
And-Ones: Yabusele, British League, Jones, NBCA
Former NBA forward Guerschon Yabusele has signed a one-year contract with LDLC Asvel, according to a press release from the French club (hat tip to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Yabusele appeared in four games for Asvel before the pandemic suspended play after beginning the season in China. Yabusele was drafted in the first round by the Celtics in 2016 and played 74 games over two seasons with Boston.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- The British Basketball League has canceled the remainder of its season, according to a statement from the league. “We looked at every option, including playing behind closed doors or restarting the season in the summer, in order that we could get to a league and playoff winners, but with the continued uncertainty, we just ran out of time and options,” BBL Chairman Sir Rodney Walker said. “The clubs were united that now was the right time to bring the current season to a close.”
- Veteran NBA forward Terrence Jones has signed with Team Washington for TBT 2020, JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors tweets. The Basketball Tournament is a 5-on-5, winner-take-all event with a grand prize of $2MM. Jones has played with Houston, New Orleans and Milwaukee since being drafted 18th overall back in 2012.
- A number of prominent coaches have been selected by the National Basketball Coaches Association for a committee on racial injustice and reform to pursue solutions within NBA cities, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Gregg Popovich, Steve Kerr, Lloyd Pierce, David Fizdale and Stan Van Gundy were among the coaches selected to a committee in response to the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis and a continuing pattern of violence and intolerance toward African Americans in the U.S.
Corey Brewer Wants To Continue NBA Career
Journeyman forward Corey Brewer wants to continue his career and believes he has “a few good years left,” he told Alex Kennedy of Hoops Hype during a Q&A session.
Brewer did not play in the NBA this season and is currently a free agent. He played a combined 31 games for Philadelphia and Sacramento last season. He has averaged 8.7 PPG in 23.0 MPG over 814 career games.
Brewer’s representatives tried in vain to find him a place to play this season.
“We had some talks with a few teams, but nothing really happened. My agent is still working on it, so we’ll see,” he said. “I feel like I can still help a team and I feel like I have a few good years left. But you never know, man. It’s a lot of young guys now. But we’ll see what happens.”
Brewer turned 34 in March and has worn the uniform of eight different teams. He feels he can be a leader as well as contributing on the court.
“I can point out some things that can help the young guys,” he said. “There are a lot of little things in basketball that guys really need help with. They only see the big picture, they don’t see the little things.”
Brewer is interested in coaching and broadcasting when he officially retires.
Three Early Entrants Withdrawing From NBA Draft
The list of early entrants for the 2020 NBA draft continues to slowly thin out. According to a series of reports from Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports, three more players are removing their names from this year’s draft pool and returning to school for one more season.
Clemson forward Aamir Simms has informed Rothstein (Twitter link) that he’s withdrawing from the draft after testing the waters. Simms enjoyed a breakout junior year for the Tigers in 2019/20, averaging 13.0 PPG, 7.2 RPG, and 2.6 APG with a .474/.400/.705 shooting line in 30 games (31.6 MPG). He’ll return to Clemson for his senior season.
A source tells Rothstein (Twitter link) that Vermont guard Stef Smith is also heading back to school for his senior year rather than remaining in the draft. Smith was the Catamounts’ second-leading scorer as a junior, with 14.2 PPG and an impressive .423 3PT% in 33 games (28.4 MPG).
Finally, Nicholls State guard Andre Jones is withdrawing from the draft after testing the waters, he tells Rothstein (Twitter link). Jones, who transferred after two years at Little Rock, averaged 12.3 PPG and 2.8 APG on .513/.313/.732 shooting in 30 games (24.3 MPG) as a junior at Nicholls State.
None of Simms, Smith, or Jones showed up in ESPN’s list of the top 100 prospects in the 2020 draft class, so their decisions to pull out and return to school don’t come as a major surprise.
Warriors Reopen Practice Facility
As the City of San Francisco entered the next phase of its coronavirus reopening plan on Monday, the Warriors moved forward with the opening of their practice facility for voluntary individual workouts, reports Anthony Slater of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The Warriors will adhere to the NBA’s health and safety protocols as they get players back into the practice facility, conducting temperature checks on anyone who enters the building and ensuring that no more than four players are on the premises at a time. According to Slater, about five players showed up for workouts on Monday as the facility reopened.
As Slater explains (via Twitter), the Warriors still aren’t expecting to be part of the NBA’s plan for resuming the 2019/20 season this summer. Still, the team and its players want to stay active and begin summer training programs. Holding practices and scrimmages could also benefit the young squad if and when the league eventually allows group activities.
The Bulls, Pistons, and Spurs are now the only three NBA teams that have yet to reopen their practice facilities. Chicago intends to do so this Wednesday and Detroit continues to tentatively target June 12. San Antonio’s plans remain unclear.
Pistons Notes: Stefanski, Rose, Front Office, Facility
As the Pistons seek a new general manager, James L. Edwards III of The Athletic notes that it remains unclear what the search means for Ed Stefanski‘s long-term role with the franchise. Although he technically holds the title of senior advisor, Stefanski has been Detroit’s de facto head of basketball operations for the last two years.
As Edwards writes, Stefanski said when he took the job that he’d run the basketball operations department “for the foreseeable future.” However, his contract is only for three years, and now he’s looking to add new voices to the front office. It’s possible, Edwards observes, that Stefanski eventually plans to fade into the background alongside Pistons vice chairman Arn Tellem, letting someone else take control of the basketball decisions.
Reports last week indicated that the Pistons were seeking a general manager to work alongside Stefanski and to report to him, but it will be worth watching the situation in Detroit’s front office to see if it continues to evolve.
Here’s more on the Pistons:
- The departure of assistant GM Malik Rose was in the works for the last month and is unrelated to the Pistons’ pending GM hire, says Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press (Twitter link). According to James Edwards III of The Athletic (Twitter link), Rose will be working under NBA president of league operations Byron Spruell in the league office.
- In the wake of Rose’s departure, the top five positions in the Pistons’ basketball operations department are held by white men, Marc Spears of The Undefeated points out (via Twitter). Having diversity within the organization is important to the Pistons, according to Edwards, who tweets that he expects the club to make hires that reflect that viewpoint.
- Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has lifted the state’s stay-at-home order and is allowing certain athletic practices to be conducted. However, the Pistons still don’t intend to reopen their practice facility before their initial target date of June 12, tweets Rod Beard of The Detroit News. Detroit is one of three clubs that hasn’t announced plans to reopen its facility for individual workouts.
More Details On Friday’s Board Of Governors Call
There’s concern among some NBA owners about the fact that a 22-team return-to-play format would result in a number of small-market teams not playing any games for nine months or more, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe.
The ESPN duo reports that Thunder owner Clay Bennett expressed those concerns on last Friday’s Board of Governors call, openly wondering if the NBA could bring back all 30 clubs when it resumes play. Other team owners, including Josh Harris (Sixers) and Robert Sarver (Suns) “enthusiastically” backed the idea of having as many teams as possible in the bubble environment, per Woj and Lowe, who add that Hawks owner Tony Ressler wants his team to be able to play in Orlando even without a path to the postseason.
While some team owners are in favor of having all 30 teams resume play, commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA don’t appear as bullish on that idea, given the health and safety concerns tied to bringing so many people to Orlando. Additionally, as ESPN’s report notes, Silver reminded those on Friday’s call that many players – and some teams – are “far less invested” in the idea of conducting several weeks of camps and enduring a quarantine period in order to play a handful of regular season games.
Wojnarowski and Lowe provided several more details on Friday’s conference call. We’ll round up the highlights right here:
- One Eastern Conference official on Friday’s call described the push to include as many teams as possible as follows, according to ESPN: “The message was something bigger, reminding people that some teams can’t just reopen the doors in nine of 10 months and so easily sell tickets or a sponsorship without having played basketball for that long.”
- With the NBA focusing on a 22-team return to play, there have been conversations about the teams left out of this season’s resumption holding mandatory summer training camps or even participating in regional fall leagues to help bridge the gap between seasons, per ESPN. Such a concept would need to be collectively bargained with players, and Woj and Lowe say there’s an expectation that the league will reach out to the NBPA to discuss the issue.
- The NBA is still determining how a potential play-in tournament would work in the 22-team format, Woj and Lowe say. It remains unclear how much of an advantage the current No. 8 seeds would receive in such a tournament, especially if they widen their leads on non-playoff teams when the season resumes. The unbalanced nature of bringing back 13 Western teams and just nine Eastern squads also complicates the play-in issue.
- According to ESPN’s report, the NBA estimates that a 22-team format with some regular season games and a play-in tournament will be worth “several hundred million dollars more in revenue” than a 16-team format that advances straight to the postseason.
Nuggets’ Grant Likely To Decline ’20/21 Option
Appearing on Yahoo Sports’ Posted Up With Chris Haynes podcast, Nuggets forward Jerami Grant admitted that he has thought about his upcoming free agency amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. While he acknowledged that the salary cap for 2020/21 might drop a little – or “a lot” – Grant told Haynes that he thinks he’ll still likely pass on his $9.35MM player option for next season.
“I’m definitely not leaning towards picking up the player option,” Grant said, according to Quenton S. Albertie of NuggLove). “Like you said, I feel like I definitely outplayed the $9MM that I’m making each year right now. But at the same time… I’d love to come to a conclusion or something like that with Denver, it just depends what we discuss and negotiate when the time comes.”
Traded from Oklahoma City to Denver last summer for a first-round pick, Grant got off to a slow start as a Nugget, but had rebounded nicely by the time the NBA suspended its season. In 64 total games (26.2 MPG), he averaged 11.6 PPG and 3.5 RPG on .471/.400/.744 shooting. While Grant’s overall net rating wasn’t great, Denver performed better with him on the floor than off it during the final two months of the season leading up to March 11.
Once the offseason begins, Grant will have the option of picking up his $9.35MM player option and putting off unrestricted free agency until 2021 or opting out and becoming a free agent immediately. Given his age, performance, and contract situation, he’s one of a small handful of veterans likely to turn down a player option this year, as we detailed in May.
If Grant does opt out, it won’t necessarily signal the end of his time in Denver. He and the Nuggets could still work out a new contract, as he alluded to in his comments to Haynes. With Paul Millsap and Mason Plumlee also headed for the open market, the Nuggets would have to decide which frontcourt pieces they’ll prioritize in free agency.
Knicks’ Coaching Job Considered Thibodeau’s To Lose?
After a report last week suggested that Tom Thibodeau topped the Knicks‘ wish list in their head coaching search, multiple updates since then have reiterated that Thibodeau looks like the frontrunner for the job.
Sources tell Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News that Thibodeau is the “heavy favorite” to become the Knicks’ next head coach. Bondy cautions that other candidates – including Mike Miller, Kenny Atkinson, and perhaps even John Calipari – are in play, but says there’s a belief that the position is Thibodeau’s to lose. A source tells The Daily News that Thibodeau is confident enough about his chances that he has already made calls about assembling a staff.
Citing Thibodeau’s longstanding relationship with new Knicks president of basketball operations Leon Rose, Marc Berman of The New York Post also says there’s an “excellent chance” that the team will zero in on Thibodeau when its head coaching search officially gets underway.
Additionally, Berman hears from sources that members of Thibodeau’s past Bulls and Timberwolves staffs will likely be interested in joining him in New York if he’s hired by the Knicks. Berman specifically cites Andy Greer, Larry Greer, and Dice Yoshimoto as coaches Thibodeau might look to bring with him if given the opportunity.
The Knicks’ search hasn’t begun in earnest yet, but as Berman points out, there’s a good chance that the club won’t part of a resumed NBA season — reports last week indicated that the league favors a 20-team or 22-team restart. If the NBA officially moves forward with a plan that excludes the Knicks, there would be little reason for the franchise to delay its head coaching search until after the resumption of the season.
Malik Rose Leaving Pistons For Job With NBA
Pistons assistant general manager Malik Rose is leaving the organization to take a job with the NBA’s league office, according to Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News (Twitter link).
Rose, a former NBA player who won a pair of championships with the Spurs, transitioned to broadcasting following his retirement in 2009. In 2015, he joined the Hawks’ front office and was named the G League’s Executive of the Year in 2018 for his work with the Erie BayHawks, Atlanta’s then-affiliate.
Rose joined the Pistons as an assistant GM during the summer of 2018 following Detroit’s hiring of Ed Stefanski. He was instrumental in bringing in big man Christian Wood this season, according to James Edwards III of The Athletic, who tweets that Rose was a “big fan” of Wood.
The Pistons are currently in the market for a general manager to work alongside Stefanski in their front office. It’s unclear whether or not Rose’s departure is related to that general manager search.
A report last week indicated that Detroit is looking at external candidates for its GM job, so perhaps not receiving consideration for a promotion led to Rose’s departure. It’s also possible the Pistons knew Rose was on his way out and launched a search to fill the newly-created hole in the front office. The timing could just be coincidental, however.