Coronavirus Update: NBPA, Pistons, Bulls, Lakers
Players association executive director Michele Roberts is the latest NBA figure to defend the level of coronavirus tests being given to basketball players, writes Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. Eight full teams have been tested in the past week, while many members of the general public are having difficulty getting access to the tests. Roberts said the players shouldn’t be blamed for the perceived inequity.
“There’s nothing irresponsible — if you’ve got that information (that you’ve been exposed) — about trying to get the tests,” Roberts said.“The problem that more of us can’t get the tests.”
Testing on NBA players has come under fire from a number of quarters, most notably New York City Mayor Bill DeBlasio, who tweeted yesterday that teams shouldn’t be receiving the tests ahead of critically ill patients. His comments came in response to the news of testing on the Nets that revealed four players are positive.
“We were doing games where tens of thousands of people were coming into our arenas. We were exposing potentially a lot of people to being infected,” Roberts said. “I get it. If you’re 65 years old — I’m 64 — and you’re symptomatic and want to get tested, it must be difficult to hear about some young’uns getting tested. I get that. And the players get that. But to the extent that there was some effort to find out just how pervasive our infection was so that people would know.”
There’s more NBA news related to COVID-19:
- The Pistons tested 17 members of the traveling party that accompanied the team to New York and Philadelphia last week, reports Rod Beard of The Detroit News. It was revealed over the weekend that Christian Wood has tested positive for the virus, but the remaining tests haven’t been completed. Everyone who made the trip is being asked to remain in self-isolation through March 25, which is 14 days from the last game.
- After news broke about the Nets’ positive tests, the Bulls were placed under quarantine through March 22, according to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago. That’s two weeks after the Bulls traveled to Brooklyn for a March 8 game. No one from the team’s traveling party has shown any symptoms of the virus, Johnson adds.
- Bill Oram of The Athletic is calling the Lakers “socially irresponsible” after a majority of the team was tested for the virus today at the team’s practice facility. Oram proposes teams that can afford to pay for testing should cover the costs for some at-risk patients.
- Teams are able to arrange testing so quickly because the league office asked all of them to contact infectious disease specialists and implement a process to have their players tested if necessary, explains Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times. Many teams already had established connections with medical facilities that can provide testing.
And-Ones: Summer Olympics, Liggins, Pokusevski
It appears inevitable that the Summer Olympics will be delayed, possibly until 2021, writes Paul Newberry of The Associated Press. Even though organizers in Tokyo have been insisting they will be ready on time, Newberry can’t envision how the world will be able to compete when so many regions are currently devoting their resources to the coronavirus pandemic.
The IOC, which admitted this week that the virus situation is “changing day by day,” has considered holding the events at empty venues or canceling the games altogether. Newberry doesn’t see either solution as fair to the athletes who have worked years to prepare or to the Japanese people who bought tickets well in advance.
The U.S. men’s basketball team continues to prepare as if the games are being held this summer, but there’s a strong level of uncertainty, assistant coach Steve Kerr said Tuesday during a conference call with reporters, including Nick Friedell of ESPN.
“(Head coach Gregg Popovich) and I have spoken a couple of times over the last week or so,” Kerr said. “And everything’s just up in the air. There’s no sense of whether things are going to be delayed or anything. We’re all kind of sitting here wondering what’s going to happen, and so is the rest of the world. We’re just going to plan as if this is going to happen, and we’re going to try and put together a roster, and that’s all we can do.”
There’s more from around the basketball world:
- FIBA is examining alternatives if the qualifying tournaments to fill the four open Olympic spots can’t be played, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. The World Cup final standings or the FIBA rankings may be used to select the four teams.
- Former NBA swingman DeAndre Liggins is involved in a controversy with his Panionios team in Greece, relays Dario Skerletic of Sportando. Flex Basketball Management, which represents Liggins, tweeted a statement today claiming that he has not been registered with the Greek Basketball Federation and isn’t eligible to play, even though he has been with the team since February 12 and is under contract for the rest of the season. “The club was very misleading and did not pay him or agents, and did not cover flight expenses as agreed upon,” the agency claims. “They didn’t help him in his return flight due to the virus pandemic and league suspension, and didn’t help other players as well while ignoring all communication.” (Twitter links)
- Olympiacos coach Giorgos Bartzokas tells Aris Barkas of EuroHoops that 7-footer Aleksej Pokusevski will likely enter the NBA draft. He’s projected as the 25th pick in the latest ESPN mock draft.
Silver Remains “Optimistic” That Season Can Be Saved
During an interview tonight with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, NBA Commissioner Adam Silver expressed hope that the current season can be completed in some form, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN. While he admitted it’s way too early to guess when that may happen or what it might look like, Silver isn’t ready to talk about a cancellation.
“I’m optimistic by nature,” he said. “I want to believe we can salvage some form of the season.”
The commissioner said he discusses the situation every day with medical experts and Michele Roberts, executive director of the players union. He has also conducted conference calls with the owners to brainstorm possible solutions. Scenarios that have been discussed include resuming the season under normal conditions, playing the games with no fans in the arenas, or a one-time charity event involving players who have tested negative for the coronavirus.
“A third option that we are looking at now … the impact on the national psyche of having no sports programming on television,” he said. “And one of the things we’ve been talking about are, are there conditions in which a group of players could compete — maybe it’s for a giant fundraiser or just the collective good of the people — where you take a subset of players and, is there a protocol where they can be tested and quarantined and isolated in some way, and they could compete against one another? Because people are stuck at home and I think they need a diversion. They need to be entertained.”
ESPN recently reported that mid- to late June is the earliest realistic date that games can begin, and Silver said the league will be ready “when public health officials give us the OK.” He also indicated it’s possible that the current hiatus could lead the NBA to make changes to its future schedule.
Silver admitted that the country’s view of the coronavirus has evolved quickly since the decision was made to suspend operations seven days ago after Rudy Gobert tested positive. The league has ordered testing for eight teams since then, and six other players have registered positive tests.
“It was a larger decision than just the NBA,” Silver said of the shutdown. “… I think it got a lot of people’s attention.”
He identified Gobert’s test as a turning point for the league, saying it was a “split second” decision to call off last Wednesday’s game between the Jazz and Thunder. A game later that night involving the Pelicans and Kings was also postponed because one of the officials had worked a Utah game earlier in the week.
New York Notes: Coronavirus, Knicks’ Future, Chandler, Nets
The Knicks aren’t among the eight teams that have been ordered by the NBA to undergo coronavirus testing, tweets Steve Popper of Newsday. Madison Square Garden released a statement today explaining the status of the team and the NHL’s Rangers.
“We have been following the recommendations of local and national health officials and continue to monitor our players closely,” the statement reads. “As of now, with our players remaining asymptomatic, none of them have been tested for COVID-19. We will remain in close contact with health officials and the NBA and NHL.” (Twitter link).
It was revealed yesterday that four members of the cross-town Nets tested positive for the coronavirus, with Kevin Durant the only one who has been identified. As of this morning, 1,339 people in New York City have tested positive for COVID-19, according to Malika Andrews of ESPN.
There’s more from New York City:
- Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic expects a lot of turnover on the Knicks‘ roster during the next three seasons, with RJ Barrett and Mitchell Robinson the only players likely to remain in New York the entire time. Vorkunov expects Dennis Smith Jr. to be traded during the offseason, possibly for a second-round pick, just to get rid of his contract. The draft lottery will be filled with point guards, so a prospect may be the long-term answer, rather than Frank Ntilikina. An extensive roster turnover could come by the summer of 2021 as the Knicks have four first-round picks over the next two drafts.
- In the wake of the Nets’ positive tests, Wilson Chandler tweeted that the manager of the building where he lives has asked him to keep away from common areas. “Building manager called me saying ‘Oh, I seen Nets players had the virus. We would like to know your status. And if you could possibly stay out of the lobby etc. We can’t afford to lose our staff,’” Chandler wrote. He adds that she didn’t ask specifically if he had been tested.
- In case you missed it earlier, the Nets are defending their decision to have the entire team tested for coronavirus, saying some players were showing symptoms and all the testing was done through a private facility.
Coronavirus Update: Thunder, Sixers, Nets, Testing
The Thunder announced that their players and staff have tested negative for the coronavirus, writes Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman. Oklahoma City was set to host Utah last Wednesday, but the game was postponed after Rudy Gobert‘s positive test.
OKC officials said they followed recommendations of infectious disease experts that all players and staff members should get tested. Jazz players were tested on the night of the game, with Donovan Mitchell also revealed to have contracted the virus, but the Thunder’s tests didn’t come until later.
“Recognizing the stress on the state of Oklahoma’s medical system, the Thunder did not use state resources and chose an alternative path for testing of its personnel,” the team explained today in a press release.
There’s more COVID-19 news from around the league:
- Sixers players underwent coronavirus tests Monday, multiple sources tell Keith Pompey of The Philadelphia Inquirer. A week ago, Philadelphia hosted the Pistons with Christian Wood, who became the third player to test positive for the virus over the weekend. Sixers players and staff have been in self-quarantine since Thursday while waiting for the tests, according to Pompey, who adds that some staff members still haven’t been tested.
- The Nets, who had four players test positive, issued a statement today stating that they had players and staff showing symptoms of the virus and obtained the tests from a private company, tweets Malika Andrews of ESPN. “As we learned NBA players on other teams had tested positive for COVID-19, we noticed that several of our players and staff had symptoms,” the statement reads. “Based on this information, and the judgment that all of our players are subject to high exposure due to the close physical nature of basketball, the communal nature of teams and the possibility of an accelerated spread from team to team, our medical experts advised that our players get tested. We sourced the tests through a private company and paid for them ourselves because we did not want to impact access to CDC’s public resources.”
- The NBA has come under criticism with so many of its players receiving tests that aren’t easily available to the public, so league spokesman Mike Bass offered an explanation to Ramona Shelburne of ESPN (Twitter link). “Public health authorities and team doctors have been concerned that, given NBA players’ direct contact with each other and close interactions with the general public, in addition to their frequent travel, they could accelerate the spread of the virus,” Bass said. “… Hopefully, by these players choosing to make their test results public, they have drawn attention to critical need for young people to follow CDC recommendations in order to protect others, particularly those with underlying health conditions and the elderly.”
- The Mavericks (Twitter link) and Hawks (Twitter link) both closed their practice facilities to players this week. Players are being told to stay home and engage in social distancing.
Tyronn Lue The Best Choice For Brooklyn?
Tyronn Lue is expected to receive serious consideration to become the next head coach of the Nets, with oddsmakers in Las Vegas listing him as the early favorite, writes Greg Logan of Newsday. Brooklyn will be in the market for a coach once the season officially ends after parting ways with Kenny Atkinson last weekend.
Lue’s previous experience coaching Kyrie Irving in Cleveland makes him an obvious candidate, and current Laker Jared Dudley believes a reunion could be successful.
“T. Lue respected Kyrie,” Dudley said. “He loved Kyrie. He wanted the best for him. Every time he talked to him, it might be to calm down a situation and show him what he wanted. I could easily see it. T. Lue can walk into a room and every player is going to ‘dap’ him up because they respect him. Every ex-player who becomes a coach doesn’t always get the respect, but he put the work in.”
Lue was briefly the front-runner for the Lakers’ head coaching job last year, but he turned down an offer because he wanted a longer commitment and more say in hiring his staff. He eventually accepted a job with the Clippers as Doc Rivers’ lead assistant.
Another possible candidate is Lakers assistant Phil Handy, who was a developmental coach in Cleveland when Irving was there. Irving tried to convince him to join Brooklyn’s staff last summer, according to Brian Lewis of The New York Post.
Lewis talked to Nets guard Joe Harris, another former Cavalier, who gave strong endorsements to Lue and Handy.
“They’re both excellent coaches, Ty Lue especially,” Harris said. “Playing in this league, being an assistant for a long time, just the way he was able to relate with the players, especially just day-to day was pretty unique in terms of a coaching perspective. I always liked that about him, just his ability to jell and mesh with everybody. He seemed like, to me, to be one of those guys when he did play he was probably close with everybody in the locker room, just the way he was able to interact with every single guy on the team.”
Knicks Notes: Coronavirus Threat, Dolan, Van Gundy
The positive test by Detroit’s Christian Wood adds to fears that the Knicks may have been exposed to coronavirus, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. New York hosted the Pistons last Sunday, with Wood playing 33 minutes. That came the night after Detroit faced the Jazz, who have both Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell with confirmed cases of the virus.
The Knicks also had a game against Utah on March 4, but a source tells Berman there’s only a 1% chance that Gobert and Mitchell were infected at that point.
The NBA advised the Knicks’ traveling party to self-quarantine Thursday night when they returned from their game in Atlanta. No one was exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19, but nobody had been tested as of Friday morning, Berman adds. However, that could change in light of the news about Wood.
There’s more Knicks news to pass along:
- The BIG3 has taken a swipe at owner James Dolan in an ad promoting its upcoming stop in New York, Berman relays in a separate story. It features a picture of Spike Lee, who was involved in recent dispute with Dolan, and states, “Players are not property. The fans are our guests.” BIG3 organizers and Madison Square Garden officials both declined to comment on the ad.
- Former Knick Charles Oakley tells Berman in another piece that he doesn’t believe an old-school coach like Jeff Van Gundy can succeed in today’s game. Van Gundy has frequently been mentioned as a candidate in the organization’s upcoming coaching search. “Basketball has changed. You’re not getting the 1990s back,” Oakley said. “The game has a totally different atmosphere. You got to build a team with leadership and players willing to sacrifice. These kids don’t care about basketball. All they care about is getting the check, playing video games and the social media.”
- Steve Popper of Newsday looks back at a chaotic partial season that included a coaching change and a new president of basketball operations, but provided little information about the Knicks’ direction for the future. Of the seven free agents who came to New York last summer, Marcus Morris made the biggest difference and he has already been traded. Among the young players, Kevin Knox and Frank Ntilikina both saw reduced minutes, while Damyean Dotson and Allonzo Trier were often out of the rotation.
Heat Notes: Haslem, Mulder, Dragic, Free Agency
If the NBA season doesn’t resume, that will likely mark the end of Udonis Haslem‘s long career, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel. The veteran forward, who will turn 40 in June, returned for another year because he didn’t want to leave the league after a non-playoff season.
Haslem didn’t commit to retiring when asked about the possibility last month, but he has gotten into just three games this year and has played a combined 21 minutes. It’s his fourth straight season with minimal court time as he has evolved into more of an assistant coach than a player. Winderman is confident that Haslem’s number will be retired after 17 years with the Heat.
There’s more this morning from Miami:
- After the Heat signed Kendrick Nunn off the Warriors‘ G League affiliate late last season, Golden State has done the same thing to Miami by taking Mychal Mulder from the Sioux Falls team, Winderman notes in a separate story. When Mulder signed a 10-day contract with the Warriors in late February, Heat officials expected him to eventually return to the organization. Instead, he had a strong performance in his tryout and earned a multi-year deal. Winderman adds that Miami elected to give a two-way contract to Gabe Vincent rather than Mulder.
- An associate of Goran Dragic tells Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald that the point guard expects a sizable one-year offer from the Heat this summer, likely around the $19MM he is currently making. Dragic will be a free agent after five and a half years in Miami, and Jackson notes that his friendship with Jimmy Butler provides extra incentive to keep him around. “We’ll see,” Dragic responded when asked about signing for one season. “A lot of different factors, my family, myself. I would say it’s too soon to talk about it. I’m not thinking about my next contract. I’ve always been a guy in the present.”
- The Heat can create more cap room this summer than any other playoff team, but they might opt to keep the current core together, Jackson adds in the same piece. Opening cap space would mean renouncing most of their free agents — a group that includes Derrick Jones Jr., Jae Crowder and Meyers Leonard as well as Dragic. Jackson doesn’t see any free agent targets worth that gamble, unless Anthony Davis decides to leave the Lakers, while the potential loss of revenue from the league shutdown makes the salary cap unpredictable.
Jazz Notes: Mitchell, Gobert, Coronavirus Tests
Stories have been circulating about a possible rift between Jazz teammates Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert after both players tested positive for coronavirus earlier this week. A source confirms to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune that Mitchell is “frustrated” with Gobert’s irresponsible actions regarding the virus, but the organization believes the situation can be repaired.
Gobert has admitted to being “careless” in the days before a test confirmed that he had contracted COVID-19. However, even though Gobert was diagnosed first, Larsen points out that because symptoms of the virus aren’t always apparent right away, it’s possible that Gobert caught it from Mitchell or that both contracted it from someone else.
Larsen cites a report from ESPN’s Zach Lowe on his Lowe Post podcast expressing similar confidence that any hard feelings between the two players can be resolved. “My feeling from the Jazz and talking to people there is that I think once everyone takes a deep breath, that this will be okay,” said Lowe, adding that he saw several other players over the past two weeks who weren’t taking the virus seriously.
There’s more tonight from Utah:
- Mitchell tweeted a video update on his condition today, thanking fans for their support and telling them that he’s doing well. “Just taking the proper precautions,” he said. “I’ve been told by the health authorities that I’ve got to stay in isolation. So I’m solo in here, playing video games all day. Can’t wait to get out there on the floor and play in front of the best fans in the world. I really miss playing in front of you guys.”
- No special treatment was given to the Jazz when they received 58 coronavirus testing kits Wednesday night, an official from the Oklahoma State Department of Health tells Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. The kits were available and the choice to test everyone with a connection to the team was “a public health decision” based on their contact with Gobert.
- Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune writes about the experience of being quarantined in the wake of Gobert’s positive test. Walden was present at Monday’s media session and sent out a light-hearted tweet after Gobert touched every microphone and digital recorder in front of him.
Hiatus Notes: Resuming The Season, NBPA, Kirkland
The odds are against the NBA being able to resume its season and crown a champion, writes Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News. Commissioner Adam Silver has said the league will be shut down for at least 30 days in an attempt to stem the spread of the virus. However, with three positive tests already reported and many more possibly looming, the stoppage could go on for much longer.
League sources tell Townsend that if any players, coaches or other personnel test positive for the virus, a 14-day quarantine will be imposed for the affected team. However, to keep conditions equal, all 29 other teams will have to stop training as well. With more than 500 players, including those on two-way deals, along with 150 coaches and countless staff members, a quick resolution appears very unlikely.
A league official informed Townsend that pessimism is increasing about the fate of the season, saying, “There are no shortcuts here. Everything has to fall into place. And there are so many variables that can’t be predicted.”
There’s more as the NBA sits idle:
- The National Basketball Players Association sent a message to agents saying they “fully expect that players will continue to receive salary on their designated paydays” during the hiatus, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Sources tell Charania that the union hasn’t discussed potential adjustments to salaries and doesn’t expect that to happen until decisions are made about the schedule (Twitter link).
- Referee Courtney Kirkland has been cleared to leave Sacramento after his coronavirus test was negative, tweets Eric Woodyard of ESPN. Kirkland had remained in the city since Wednesday’s game between the Kings and Pelicans was postponed. He is free to resume all activities and will have no medical restrictions, Woodyard adds.
- The NBA should have moved more quickly to suspend its season, contends Ethan Strauss of The Athletic. Noting that each person with coronavirus infects an estimated 2.8 other people, Strauss argues that the league had a responsibility to be more proactive once cases of the virus started hitting major North American cities. He criticizes the league for holding two games at Chase Center in San Francisco with a sign in the arena that stated, “Attending tonight’s game could increase your risk of contracting coronavirus.”