Knicks May Target Elton Brand As GM
7:33pm: The Sixers are happy with Brand’s performance as GM and have no plans to let him go, a team source tells Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer (Twitter link). The source points to Brand’s strong relationships with players, agents and other executives.
6:19pm: Sixers general manager Elton Brand may be a candidate for the same position with the Knicks, a league source tells Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News.
New president of basketball operations Leon Rose is reportedly very interested in Brand, who remains under contract with Philadelphia. Rose wants to see if Brand would be fired if the Sixers have a disappointing performance in the playoffs, per Bondy.
Rose, who is from the Philadelphia area, formerly served as the agent for Joel Embiid and had a close working relationship with Brand in that capacity.
Scott Perry is the Knicks’ current GM, but his future with the organization is shaky. Perry and the team both have opt-outs for his contract after the season.
Sources tell Bondy that Rose also has interest in hiring Cavaliers capologist Brock Aller for a spot in the front office. Rose reportedly received permission from the Cavs to interview Aller before league went on hiatus.
Atlantic Notes: Walker, Smart, Embiid, Raptors
Kemba Walker‘s left knee is feeling better, but the Celtics guard won’t know how it’s going to respond to competition until he gets to test it against someone, writes A. Sherrod Blakely of NBC Sports Boston. Walker has gotten plenty of time to rest since the league shut down three weeks ago.
“The knee is doing well,” he said. “It’s difficult because I don’t have anyone around to give me treatments or anything like that. I have to do my own stuff, which I’m trying to do as much as possible; try to stay on top of things.”
Walker developed swelling in the knee during the All-Star break. He had it drained, then received a shot of Synvisc to ease the soreness and minimize swelling. He’s waiting out the hiatus like everyone else and hoping for a chance to try out the knee under game conditions.
There’s more from the Atlantic Division:
- Now that Celtics guard Marcus Smart has recovered from the coronavirus, he will donate blood in hopes that it will help to find a treatment for COVID-19, according to ESPN. Three other players who tested positive for the virus also plan to make blood donations, but they haven’t been identified. The league office reached out to team doctors over the weekend to encourage players who tested positive to give blood samples to the National COVID-19 Convalescent Plasma Project.
- Joel Embiid‘s response to a plan by Sixers majority owner Josh Harris to reduce some employees’ salaries while the league is shut down raises questions about his long-term future with the team, suggests Bob Ford of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Harris changed his mind about the pay cuts, but not before Embiid made a public offer to help everyone who would have been affected. Ford claims Embiid’s relationship with the organization has always been “fractious” and states that embarrassing the owner may lead to an eventual parting.
- In a conference call with reporters, Raptors president of basketball operations Masai Ujiri said potential extensions for himself and coach Nick Nurse won’t be discussed while the league is on hiatus (Twitter link from Eric Koreen of The Athletic). The team is currently paused with no talk of extensions or contracts for anyone, adds Josh Lewenberg of TSN Sports (Twitter link). “It’s not where our minds are at right now,” Ujiri said. “This is a crucial time for the world. Those things will come.”
New Dates Set For Tokyo Olympics
MARCH 30: The International Olympic Committee and the rest of the organizing bodies for the Tokyo Olympics have officially announced that the Games are now scheduled to take place from July 23 to August 8, 2021.
MARCH 29: The International Olympic Committee will set July 23, 2021 as the new target date for the opening of the Summer Olympics in Tokyo, reports Tariq Panja of The New York Times. An emergency IOC meeting will be held today to consider the decision.
A final ruling could come in weeks, according to the IOC, but a source tells Panja that an announcement is expected much sooner. NHK, the Japanese state broadcaster, also reported July 23 as the new target date Saturday.
The games had been set to begin on July 24 of this year, but were postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic. IOC spokesman Mark Adams refused to confirm the new date, calling it “speculation.”
It makes sense to keep a similar schedule, Panja writes, because it’s easier to fit into the sports calendar and it’s the preferred date for NBCUniversal, which is paying more than $1 billion to broadcast the Games. IOC president Thomas Bach told reporters this week that federations representing swimming, table tennis, triathlon and equestrian wanted to move the games to the spring, but that would have interfered with professional soccer seasons and some U.S. sports, including the NBA.
Organizers still face the challenge of securing sites for the rescheduled Games and taking care of facilities that may sit idle for an entire year.
“A Games has never been postponed before,” Bach said. “We have no blueprint, but we are nevertheless confident we can put a beautiful jigsaw puzzle together and will then in the end have a wonderful Olympic Games.”
Keeping the Games in mid-summer will make it easier to attract stars from soccer, tennis and golf, which are among the top television attractions. The availability of basketball players will depend on how this season and next season are restructured in the NBA and other leagues around the world once the pandemic is under control.
Draft Notes: Figueroa, H. Jones, Bishop, Langley
LJ Figueroa of St. John’s has announced on Instagram that he will enter the NBA draft. The sophomore guard averaged 14.5 points and 4.5 rebounds in 32 games this season.
“These past two years at St. John’s have presented me with tremendous opportunities for growth both on and off the court,” Figueroa wrote. “… After speaking with my family and coaching staff, I have decided to declare for the 2020 NBA Draft. I intend to keep all of my options open and look forward to the learning experience this process will offer.”
There are a few more early entries to catch up on:
- Alabama’s Herbert Jones also declared his draft intentions with an Instagram post. The junior forward averaged 7.9 PPG and 6.4 RPG this year with the Crimson Tide. “For as long as I can remember, my dream has been to play in the NBA,” Jones wrote. “With that said and after much thought and discussions with those close to me, I have decided to enter my name in the 2020 NBA Draft process while maintaining my eligibility. I am excited to take this next step in reaching a dream that I’ve had since I first learned to dribble a basketball.”
- Jermaine Bishop of Norfolk State is also entering the draft, announcing his decision on Twitter. Bishop, who averaged 15.6 PPG in his first season after transferring from St. Louis, called it a “lifelong dream for me and my family,” but is keeping his options open about returning for his senior season.
- Kameron Langley of North Carolina A&T also tweeted that he will enter the draft. He averaged 9.4 points and 8.0 assists per game as a junior and will also consider coming back to college.
- Ceasar DeJesus, a junior guard who averaged 9.5PPG at Central Florida, will also enter the draft pool.
And-Ones: BIG3, Germany, Mayo, Turkey
The next significant sporting event in the United States may be the BIG3 tournament, which is being planned for early May, writes Mark Medina of USA Today. The BIG3 is a summertime league made up mostly of former NBA players, but organizers are hoping to launch a tournament linked with a reality show to fill the gap in the sports calendar. Its fourth season won’t start until June 20.
“We can’t control what happens with the virus. Nobody can control it,” league co-founder Jeff Kwatinetz said. “If that has to be pushed back a week or two, that’s possible. But we feel pretty good about being able to be up and running in May.”
The league plans to create a quarantine zone where players and officials can safely participate without risk of contracting COVID-19. All participants will be tested prior to their involvement and will stay at a house that is currently under construction.
“No one is allowed to leave the quarantine area. That’s part of what keeps the safety and health of the players,” Kwatinetz said. “It also dovetails with what makes ‘Big Brother’ so great. You have a group of 16 people locked in a house together and the social dynamics that come out of that. One minute, you’re hanging out with someone in the house. That night you have to play them.”
There’s more from around the basketball world:
- The season remains suspended in the BBL, the top professional league in Germany, but a prominent figure is calling for it to be canceled, according to Nicola Lupo of Sportando. “We do not believe that the situation has improved to the point that the season can resume,” said Arne Dirks, general manager of Brose Bamberg.
- Former NBA guard O.J. Mayo plans to sign with the Liaoning Flying Leopards and begin playing when action resumes in the Chinese Basketball Association, reports Ennio Terrasi Borghesan of Sportando. His contract still awaits medical and procedural clearances, but the 32-year-old has already begun a 14-day quarantine in Shenyang. Mayo hasn’t played in the NBA since 2015/16.
- Alec Peters of Anadolu Efes tells Borghesan that the government wanted the Turkish Basketball League to continue playing despite coronavirus risks. “We went a week longer than everyone else in terms of playing, in front of no fans. That was very weird,” Peters said. “We joked that ESPN should come and put us on because we are the only basketball team in the world still playing. The Turkish government has kind of the final say on everything, we knew that the government wanted to keep us playing but the basketball Federation was ready to shut down when everybody else was.”
Knicks Notes: Harkless, Dolan, Gibson, Gallinari
The Knicks acquired Maurice Harkless because his contract was needed to complete the deal that sent Marcus Morris to the Clippers, but his performance since the trade has made him a strong candidate to return next season, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post.
Harkless started eight of the 12 games he has played since coming to New York and has impressed the team with his strong defensive play and his desire to be a Knick. New team president Leon Rose had been hoping to closely evaluate Harkless over the final 16 games of the season, but the league’s hiatus may eliminate that opportunity.
“It was a chance for him to showcase to the Knicks and to see if he wanted to be here,’’ a source told Berman. “He always wanted to be a Knick.’’
Harkless is in the final season of a four-year, $40MM contract. Berman expects him to get more than the minimum in free agency.
There’s more this morning from New York:
- Owner James Dolan was exhibiting some mild symptoms before being tested for coronavirus, Berman tweets. Dolan was courtside for a March 8 game against the Pistons, who had one of the first players to test positive for the virus in Christian Wood. No Knicks players were tested before returning to their homes because they were all asymptomatic.
- The best chance for Taj Gibson to return to the Knicks is for Tom Thibodeau to become the next head coach, Berman notes in a separate story. Gibson is a favorite of Thibodeau, who has coached him with the Bulls and Timberwolves, but his $9.5MM salary may be more than the organization wants to spend on a backup big man. Gibson has a $1MM guarantee if he is released. “Taj was solid on the court, but he was even better in the locker room,’’ a source said. “He helped (Mitchell Robinson) understand the pro game and how to carry yourself if you want to play in the NBA and have an impact.’’
- Jonathan Macri of Sports Illustrated lays out an ideal scenario for the Knicks’ offseason, which involves trading Julius Randle, moving on from Elfrid Payton and Dennis Smith Jr., drafting a point guard, trading veterans for draft picks and hiring Kenny Atkinson as head coach. As a bonus, Macri suggests signing former Knick Danilo Gallinari in free agency, speculating that a two-year guaranteed offer might be enough.
James Dolan Tests Positive For Coronavirus
Knicks owner James Dolan has tested positive for COVID-19, according to a tweet from the team. Dolan is “experiencing little to no symptoms” of the virus, the statement adds. He is in self-isolation and continues to oversee business operations of the Madison Square Garden Company.
A source tells Marc Berman of the New York Post that Dolan is with his family in the Hamptons and learned of his test results earlier this week.
Ten NBA players have tested positive for the coronavirus over the past 17 days, but Dolan is the first high-level executive known to have contracted it. The Knicks have avoided public comment on the virus since it began affecting the league, but their players have likely not been tested and have been permitted to return to their homes, according to Steve Popper of Newsday (Twitter link).
Dolan, 64, has been a controversial figure in New York as the Knicks have fallen on hard times under his ownership. His image has also been damaged by public disputes with beloved figures in the Garden such as Charles Oakley and Spike Lee.
The news about Dolan comes a day after Madison Square Garden set up a relief fund that will offer financial assistance to employees and will provide them with a salary through at least May 3. The MSG Relief Fund was announced in a letter sent to employees Friday night, writes Larry Brooks of The New York Post.
The fund was created with a $1MM donation from the Madison Square Garden Company and a matching donation from the Dolan Family Foundation. The MSG management team put in another $300K and contributions are expected from the Knicks and the NHL’s Rangers.
“I knew they’d do the right thing and they did,” said union president James Claffey. “It’s a very generous offer. It wasn’t negotiated. They just gave it, here’s what they wanted to do for our stage crews and other entertainment workers. We didn’t request it. And they’re taking care equally well of the other unions.”
Clippers Notes: Free Agency, Dunn, Lue, Hiatus
The Clippers have a realistic opportunity to bring back their 11-man rotation next season, according to Jovan Buha of The Athletic. Many of the decisions will come down to whether the organization wants to make a financial commitment to its current players or explore other options.
L.A. has Bird rights on Montrezl Harrell and can offer him a longer and more valuable contract than anyone else. The Clippers have Non-Bird rights on Marcus Morris, who was acquired from the Knicks last month, and can offer a new deal starting at $18MM per season. JaMychal Green has a $5MM player option, and the team might decide to use part of its mid-level exception to re-sign Reggie Jackson.
Buha adds that the loss of revenue from the shortened season could work in the Clippers’ favor by depressing a free agent market that’s already limited by the small number of teams with cap space. Harrell and Morris may not get the offers they would have under normal circumstances, while Green could decide to stick with his guaranteed money.
There’s more Clippers news to pass along:
- There may be something to the rumors that Doc Rivers would like to add Bulls guard Kris Dunn as a defensive specialist next season, Buha states in the same piece. Dunn will be a restricted free agent if Chicago makes a $4.6MM qualifying offer, and he could be a nice backcourt partner for Lou Williams coming off the bench. The downsides are Dunn’s poor 3-point shooting — 25.9% this year — and his season-ending knee injury.
- Speculation regarding Tyronn Lue as the next head coach of the Nets has died down while the league has been on hiatus, but Buha understands why Brooklyn would be interested. During his time in Cleveland, Lue proved he could win a title and he developed a strong relationship with Kyrie Irving. Buha identifies two other members of Rivers’ staff, Rex Kalamian and Sam Cassell, who might get head coaching offers soon.
- The Clippers may benefit as much as anyone from having several weeks off, Buha suggests in a separate column. They are among the league’s oldest teams and injuries have been a concern, particularly for Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Patrick Beverley. New additions Morris and Jackson will also get more time to learn Rivers’ system.
Five Key Stories: 3/22/20 – 3/28/20
If you missed any of this past week’s biggest headlines from around the NBA, we’ve got you covered with our Week in Review. Here are some of the most noteworthy stories from the last seven days:
The coronavirus continues to dominate headlines as the NBA’s hiatus stretched past its second full week. The biggest development was the International Olympic Committee’s decision to postpone the Tokyo Olympics until 2021. The move may affect the availability of NBA players, depending how the current season is resolved.
A tragic story surrounded Timberwolves center Karl-Anthony Towns, who announced that his mother is in a medically induced coma with COVID-19, while his father has also contracted the virus. Towns shared his mother’s story in a YouTube video as a way to promote the need for proper precautions.
Jazz stars Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, the first two players in the NBA to test positive for the coronavirus, have both been cleared after a two-week self-isolation. The Utah Department of Health confirmed that they are no longer carrying the virus.
Christian Wood is also fully recovered after registering a negative test result on Wednesday. He is the only Pistons player known to have been affected by the virus.
ESPN analyst Doris Burke revealed that she also contracted COVID-19. She began feeling the effects of the virus after working at a game March 11, the final night of play before the hiatus began.
Here are 10 more noteworthy headlines from around the basketball world this week:
- The top basketball league in Italy abandoned plans to resume play this season. No champion will be selected and the focus will shift to starting next season on time.
- The Korean Basketball League, which has been suspended since the end of February, also called off the remainder of its season. The Chinese Basketball Association pushed back its planned resumption to May after originally setting a target date of April 15.
- The NBA’s top-earning executives will have their salaries cut by 20% for the duration of the coronavirus crisis. The move will affect approximately 100 league employees.
- The Sixers called off a plan to reduce salaries by 20% for full-time employees who earn more than $50K per year.
- Las Vegas, the primary host for NBA Summer League games, is being considered as a possible site to complete the season. Under the scenario, no fans would be admitted to the games.
- Dayton’s Obi Toppin declared for the draft this week. He is considered a definite lottery pick with a chance to go in the top five.
- Iowa State’s Tyrese Haliburton, another potential high lottery pick, also announced that he will test the draft waters.
- There’s little chance that Wizards guard John Wall will play this season, no matter how late it resumes. The team plans to remain cautious with Wall, who is recovering from a torn Achilles.
- The Knicks seem likely to guarantee Reggie Bullock‘s $4.2MM salary for next season. He has $1MM in guaranteed money if the team lets him go.
- Clippers owner Steve Ballmer reached an agreement to buy the Forum, eliminating a major obstacle to his plan to build a new arena in Inglewood, California.
Paul Reed Declaring For NBA Draft
DePaul junior forward Paul Reed will enter the NBA draft, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Charania refers to Reed as a “projected first-round pick,” but he appears at No. 51 on ESPN’s Big Board.
“After three great years of learning, improving and developing my game at DePaul, I am blessed to say that I will be declaring for the 2020 NBA draft,” Reed said. “I want to thank the coaching staff for giving me this opportunity and being great mentors and role models for me. … I’m excited for this next part of my basketball journey and am ready to get to work.”
Reed averaged 15.1 points per game this season and was a second team All-Big East selection. He ranked second in the conference in rebounding (10.7), blocks (2.6) and steals (1.9). Reed was named Most Improved Player in the Big East last season.