NBA Meeting With GMs, Board Of Governors To Discuss COVID-19 Protocols
Following the postponements of three games in the last two days, the NBA is holding meetings to discuss possible changes to its health and safety protocols.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN, who reported earlier today that the NBA will hold a call with its general managers on Monday to discuss those protocols, says (via Twitter) that the league also scheduled a Board of Governors meetings for Tuesday.
The NBA insisted over the weekend that it wasn’t seriously weighing the idea of pausing the season, with spokesman Mike Bass telling Wojnarowski that the league had anticipated some postponements and had planned the schedule accordingly. However, Jason Dumas of KRON4 News (Twitter link) hears that the league has considered the possibility of a seven- or 14-day stoppage in the wake of its recent influx of positive COVID-19 tests.
For now, the league is exploring ways its health and safety protocols might be adjusted and tightened to reduce the risk of spreading the virus. According to Wojnarowski (Twitter link), the NBA is expected to discuss the following topics with GMs in today’s meeting:
- Re-examining the lengths of team shootarounds and practices
- Limiting pre- and post-game socializing on the court (ie. hugs)
- Imposing further restrictions on restaurant dining
- Imposing stricter rules on mask-wearing
As has been previously reported, the NBA considered the possibility during the offseason of expanding rosters by two and allowing teams to carry four two-way players instead of just a pair. That’s an option that could be revisited if teams continue to struggle to meet the required minimum of eight active players.
Monday’s Mavericks/Pelicans Game Postponed
1:13pm: The Mavericks may have had enough players to meet the required minimum tonight, but the league chose to postpone the game in order to continue contact tracing and “to ensure the health and safety of players, coaches and other personnel,” VP of basketball communications Scott Tomlin told Caplan. The contact tracing process is ongoing, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.
11:45am: The NBA is postponing Monday’s game between the Mavericks and Pelicans due to issues related to COVID-19, according to Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that the Mavs don’t have the required minimum of eight players available.
It’s the fourth game this season that has been postponed, including the third in two days. The Sunday contest between the Heat and Celtics was also postponed, as was Tuesday’s game between the Celtics and Bulls. Before Sunday, all games since December 23 had been played.
Mavericks veterans Josh Richardson, Dorian Finney-Smith and Jalen Brunson were self-isolating as of Friday, and Maxi Kleber joined that list over the weekend. Tim MacMahon of ESPN said on Sunday night (via Twitter) that Dallas wasn’t expected to lose any more players to contact tracing, but it seems that’s no longer the case.
According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), ongoing contact tracing will leave Dallas with fewer than eight players available tonight, despite the imminent return of Kristaps Porzingis. As MacMahon tweets, that suggests that at least five more Mavericks entered the protocols today.
2020/21 NBA G League Draft Results
The NBA G League held its draft for the 2020/21 season on Monday afternoon.
In a typical year, the G League draft lasts four rounds and teams are only required to make two selections. However, this year’s draft was just three rounds and teams weren’t required to make any picks.
Because only 17 of 28 NBA G League affiliates (plus the G League Ignite) are participating in the revamped season at Walt Disney World in Florida, and because teams aren’t permitted to bring extra players to training camp for health and safety reasons, roster spots will be at a premium in the NBAGL this season, and the draft reflected that. Only 25 players were selected.
With the first overall pick, the Greensboro Swarm – the Hornets‘ affiliate – nabbed former Wizard Admiral Schofield. The 42nd overall pick in the 2019 NBA draft, Schofield averaged 3.0 PPG and 1.4 RPG in 33 games (11.2 MPG) as a rookie before being traded to the Thunder during the offseason. Oklahoma City waived him last month.
With the second overall pick, which they acquired in a trade earlier in the day, the Memphis Hustle selected former Baylor standout Freddie Gillespie, who had been in camp with the Mavericks. Gillespie recently spoke to JD Shaw of Hoops Rumors about his desire to make it to the NBA and his plans to begin his professional career in the G League. He’s now in position to suit up for the Grizzlies‘ affiliate.
Here are the full 2020/21 G League draft results:
Round One:
- Greensboro Swarm (Hornets): Admiral Schofield (Tennessee)
- Memphis Hustle (Grizzlies): Freddie Gillespie (Baylor)
- Canton Charge (Cavaliers): Antonio Blakeney (LSU)
- Iowa Wolves (Timberwolves): Allonzo Trier (Arizona)
- Lakeland Magic (Magic): Tahjere McCall (Tennessee State)
- Canton Charge: Anthony Lamb (Vermont)
- Oklahoma City Blue (Thunder): Zavier Simpson (Michigan)
- Lakeland Magic: DJ Hogg (Texas A&M)
- Westchester Knicks (Knicks): Justin Patton (Creighton)
- Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Rockets): Armoni Brooks (Houston)
- Raptors 905 (Raptors): Kevon Harris (Stephen F. Austin)
- Rio Grande Valley Vipers: Jarron Cumberland (Cincinnati)
- Oklahoma City Blue: Vince Edwards (Purdue)
- Austin Spurs (Spurs): Jonathan Kasibabu (Fairfield)
- Raptors 905: Gary Payton II (Oregon State)
- Memphis Hustle: Anthony Cowan Jr. (Maryland)
- Iowa Wolves: Dakarai Tucker (Utah)
- Salt Lake City Stars (Jazz): No pick
- N/A
Round Two:
- Delaware Blue Coats (Sixers): Jemerrio Jones (New Mexico State)
- Fort Wayne Mad Ants (Pacers): Oshae Brissett (Syracuse)
- Westchester Knicks: No pick
- Iowa Wolves: No pick
- Long Island Nets (Nets): No pick
- Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers): No pick
- Fort Wayne Mad Ants: Quincy McKnight (Seton Hall)
- Agua Caliente Clippers of Ontario (Clippers): No pick
- Santa Cruz Warriors (Warriors): Selom Mawugbe (Azusa Pacific)
- Raptors 905: No pick
- Memphis Hustle: No pick
- Austin Spurs: Anthony Mathis (Oregon)
- Erie BayHawks (Pelicans): No pick
- Greensboro Swarm: No pick
- Austin Spurs: Kaleb Johnson (Georgetown)
- Santa Cruz Warriors: No pick
- Memphis Hustle: No pick
- Oklahoma City Blue: Rob Edwards (Arizona State)
- Salt Lake City Stars: No pick
Round Three:
- Greensboro Swarm: No pick
- Erie BayHawks: No pick
- Westchester Knicks: No pick
- Delaware Blue Coats: Braxton Key (Virginia)
- No picks from 43-57
The teams that didn’t make any picks will fill their rosters with affiliate players and returning rights players, meaning they didn’t need to draft anyone and/or didn’t have the open spots to do so.
As Jonathan Givony of ESPN and Blake Murphy of The Athletic noted (via Twitter), NBAGL teams overwhelmingly opted for youth, passing on most of the notable veteran NBA players in the draft pool. That group included Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers, Lance Stephenson, Emeka Okafor, and Shabazz Muhammad, among others.
Former Nets first-rounder Dzanan Musa removed his name from the draft pool before the event began, per Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).
Westbrook Expected To Miss At Least One Week With Quad Injury
Wizards point guard Russell Westbrook is expected to miss the next week due to a left quadriceps injury, the team announced today (Twitter link).
According to the Wizards, the injury is a result of repeated contact to the area since the start of the season. The former MVP will be re-evaluated at the end of the week, per the club.
While Westbrook has been posting his usual lofty averages in his first seven games as a Wizard (19.3 PPG, 11.3 APG, 9.7 RPG), he has lacked his usual explosiveness on drives to the basket and his shooting percentage so far is a career-worst 37.8%.
The Wizards have looked to manage Westbrook’s workload and health this season by resting him in back-to-back sets. However, in the games he has played, he’s seeing plenty of action — his 37.1 minutes per game would be a career high.
NBA Postpones Tuesday’s Celtics/Bulls Game
The NBA has postponed Tuesday’s game between the Celtics and Bulls due to the health and safety protocols, the league announced today. A source tells ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link) that Boston is short on the minimum number of players.
Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Grant Williams, Tristan Thompson, Robert Williams, Javonte Green, and Semi Ojeleye are all out due to the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols, while Kemba Walker and Romeo Langford are sidelined with injuries.
It’s the second postponement announced today – along with Monday’s Mavericks/Pelicans contest – and the NBA’s third in the last two days. The Celtics’ game against the Heat on Sunday was also postponed.
Despite a growing number of teams and games being impacted by the COVID-19 protocols, NBA spokesman Mike Bass told Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN on Sunday that there are no plans to pause the season. Bass said the league had anticipated postponements and “planned the schedule accordingly.”
According to Shams Charania of The Athletic, NBA commissioner Adam Silver recently conveyed a similar sentiment to a group of team owners, executives, coaches, and NBPA leaders. Silver suggested that January would likely be the worst month for the league and the virus, but expressed optimism about things improving in February and beyond, especially once vaccinations are more widespread.
“They tell us it’ll be better later in the season, but I just hope this doesn’t break the league in the next few weeks,” one general manager told Wojnarowski.
In today’s press release, the NBA said that it will be meeting today with the NBPA to discuss the possibility of modifying the league’s health and safety protocols. The NBA also has a conference call lined up today with the league’s general managers to discuss these issues, sources tell Woj (Twitter link).
Kristaps Porzingis Set To Make Season Debut
[UPDATE: Monday’s Mavericks/Pelicans game has been postponed.]
Barring a last-minute setback, Mavericks big man Kristaps Porzingis is poised to make his season debut on Monday night against the Pelicans, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Porzingis, who underwent surgery in October to repair the meniscus in his right knee, spent the offseason recovering from and rehabbing that injury, but wasn’t quite ready to go when the regular season got underway last month.
The 25-year-old had been a full participant in practice for the last two weeks as he worked on getting back up to game speed, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. Over the weekend, he was upgraded to questionable for Monday’s game.
Porzingis’ return should provide a shot in the arm to a Mavericks team that is missing multiple players due to the NBA’s COVID-19 protocols. After a slow start, Dallas has won its last three games to push its record above .500 (5-4).
Although he has battled health issues throughout his NBA career, Porzingis has been a standout contributor when he’s on the court. In his first full season in Dallas in 2019/20, he averaged 20.4 PPG, 9.5 RPG, and 2.0 BPG in 57 games (31.8 MPG).
Wizards’ Scott Brooks ‘Firmly’ On Hot Seat?
Wizards head coach Scott Brooks is “sitting firmly” on the hot seat, league sources tell Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer.
Brooks, who was hired by the Wizards in 2016, is now in the final season of his five-year contract with the club, O’Connor notes. His tenure in D.C. got off to a strong start with a 49-33 regular season record and a first-round playoff series win in ’16/17, but Washington’s winning percentage has declined every year since then. So far this season, the team is 2-8.
O’Connor suggests that Brooks “looks lost trying to find effective lineups” this season, though he cautions that the Wizards’ struggles can’t all be blamed on the head coach.
The team’s mid-level free agent addition – Robin Lopez – hasn’t been great, newly-added guard Russell Westbrook has shot a career-worst 37.8% from the floor, and Deni Avdija is a rookie going through growing pains. Thomas Bryant is now out for the season with a torn ACL, while Davis Bertans has been ineffective in the early going after signing a lucrative new long-term contract in November.
As O’Connor writes, it’s still very early in the season, so if the Wizards can turn things around, the pressure on Brooks should lift a little. But the fact that he doesn’t have a contract beyond this season doesn’t bode particularly well, especially if the club continues to underperform.
Cavaliers Sign Yogi Ferrell To 10-Day Contract
9:54am: The Cavaliers have officially signed Ferrell to his 10-day deal, the team announced in a press release. The contract will run through next Wednesday, January 20.
8:27am: The Cavaliers are signing veteran point guard Yogi Ferrell to a 10-day contract, reports Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Ferrell is expected to be available to play on Monday night vs. Memphis after finalizing his deal and conducting the necessary COVID-19 testing, Fedor adds.
Typically, teams can’t sign players to 10-day contracts this early in the season — the 10-day signing window for 2021 doesn’t open until February 23. However, the NBA tweaked its rules a little for this season, allowing teams to complete 10-day deals early if they’re adding a player via the hardship provision.
A hardship exception allows a team to add an extra player to its 15-man roster on a short-term basis. It can be granted by the league if the club has at least four players who have missed three or more games due to injury or illness and are expected to be out for at least two more weeks.
We heard last week that the Cavaliers, who are currently without Kevin Love (calf), Dylan Windler (wrist), Dante Exum (calf), and Matthew Dellavedova (concussion), among others, planned to apply for an extra roster spot via the hardship provision as soon as they became eligible. It appears that request was approved, so Cleveland won’t have to waive anyone to sign Ferrell.
Ferrell, 27, was a member of the Kings for the last two years, averaging 5.3 PPG and 1.7 APG on .430/.342/.881 shooting in 121 total games (13.2 MPG) across those two seasons. He didn’t find a new NBA home in free agency in November after his contract with Sacramento expired, but will – at least for the time being – provide some point guard depth for the Cavs.
In addition to missing Exum and Dellavedova, Cleveland will also be without Darius Garland (shoulder) on Monday, while Collin Sexton (ankle) is listed as questionable. In other words, Ferrell could be immediately thrust into a prominent role, given the lack of options available at the point for the Cavs.
Magic Apply For Disabled Player Exception For Fultz
Having already been granted a disabled player exception following Jonathan Isaac‘s season-ending ACL tear, the Magic have now applied for a second DPE in the wake of Markelle Fultz suffering the same injury, reports Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
As we explained when the Magic were approved for their initial disabled player exception, the DPE is a salary cap exception designed to allow teams to add a replacement for a player who suffers a season-ending injury. It’s worth either half the injured player’s salary or the value of the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, whichever is lesser.
In the case of Fultz, who is earning a $12,288,697 salary this season, a disabled player exception would be worth about $6.14MM.
The disabled player exception doesn’t give a team an extra roster spot, but it allows the club to add a player without using cap space to do so. It can be used to sign a free agent, to claim a player off waivers, or to acquire a player in a trade. However, it can only be used on one player and can only accommodate a player on a one-year deal. A free agent signee can’t get a multiyear contract, and any trade or waiver target must be in the final year of his contract.
The Magic currently have a full 15-man roster and are less than $3MM away from the luxury tax line, per Robbins, so the odds probably aren’t great that the team would make use of two disabled player exceptions before the April 19 deadline. Still, they’re useful tools to have available and could be used to creatively structure a trade at the deadline.
As Robbins notes, the Magic could also consider applying for a hardship exception if they want to add immediate help to a roster hit hard by injuries. Unlike the DPE, approval for a hardship exception allows the team to sign an extra player to its standard 15-man roster. Teams qualify when they have at least four players who have missed three or more games, assuming those players are expected to be sidelined for at least two more weeks.
In addition to the season-ending injuries to Isaac and Fultz, the Magic will be without Chuma Okeke (bone bruise) for several weeks, and there has been little indication when Al-Farouq Aminu (knee surgery) might be able to return.
Northwest Notes: Harris, Towns, Lillard, Green, Hill
Despite the Nuggets opening the season with a 4-5 record, the team is widely recognized as having one of the best offenses in the league — one that significantly improves when Gary Harris finds his rhythm, head coach Mike Malone acknowledged.
“Gary allows us to be a different team when the offense is flowing like it was tonight,” Malone said after Denver’s 115-103 win over Philadelphia on Saturday, according to Mike Singer of The Denver Post. “…Gary deserves it. He’s been working so hard, and for him to see the ball go through the net, I’m just happy for him because I know it’s been on his mind.”
Harris finished with 21 points against the Sixers, shooting 7-of-11 from the field and 5-of-8 from three-point range in 28 minutes. He’s been a key cog in Denver’s offense for several years, averaging double-digit points per game in each of his last six seasons. The team could use his offensive production as it looks to contend in an already-crowded Western Conference this season.
There’s more from the Northwest Division tonight:
- Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic examines the return of Timberwolves star Karl-Anthony Towns, who finished with 25 points, 13 rebounds and four assists in an overtime loss against the Spurs on Saturday. “People don’t know the toughness that he has, not just physically but mentally, too,” head coach Ryan Saunders said postgame. “I’ll always ride with KAT. Tonight was evident of that. He was clearly limited. I thought he was unbelievably effective.”
- Damian Lillard and his camp have advocated for the Blazers to acquire Warriors forward Draymond Green over the past couple of years, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic (hat tip Dan Feldman of NBC Sports). However, there has been no indication that Golden State has any interest in trading Green, who has spent all nine seasons of his career with the Warriors.
- Marc Spears of The Undefeated examined the Jacob Blake decision and more with Thunder guard George Hill, who offered insight about topics on and off the court. “I can’t speak for everybody. I can only speak for myself. I just think with the way the world is going, I just think we all need to come together,” Hill said as part of a larger quote addressing where players should go with the social justice movement this season. “We’re 450 [players] and when 450 stand strong, we’re more powerful than everyone thinks. We’re way more powerful than they think we are. I learned a lot from LeBron [James] and how he migrated and moved on and off the floor. He is a huge inspiration with how he uses his leverage to open doors and how powerful he is. That is just one guy. Four hundred and fifty can be really strong if we just come together.