Force Majeure Provision Opens Window To New CBA
The COVID-19 pandemic has drastically impacted the 2019/20 NBA season and it could have a lasting effect on the financial structure of the league.
The “force majeure” provision in the latest CBA covers a variety of catastrophic circumstances, including epidemics and pandemics, and it calls for players to lose approximately one percent of their salary per canceled game. It’s automatically triggered once games are canceled, though the league has simply “suspended” the season at this point.
Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com reports that if the force majeure provision is triggered, the league has the ability to re-open and renegotiate the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, which runs through 2025. There have been no conversations yet between the NBA and the Players Association about utilizing this feature.
The league and the union are discussing withholding 25% of players’ remaining salaries in an escrow in the event that the remainder of the regular season is canceled, per Wojnarowski. If no agreement is reached on withholding players salaries beginning on April 15, players would continue to be paid in full and would be required to pay back a portion of their salaries down the road if games are canceled.
Under the current CBA, the league holds 10% of players’ salaries in escrow and returns it to them at the end of the season. However, the amount of projected revenue lost for the 2019/20 season exceeds the $380MM that the league has in escrow, so players and teams will likely attempt to work out an arrangement to mitigate those losses.
Another variable is how players get paid. Around 10% of players including LeBron James, are paid their full salary in 12 installments between November 15 and May 1. The overwhelming majority of players receive their income spread out over a full year – November 15 to November 1 – though some players receive larger installments as part of the payout structure. The NBA doesn’t want a scenario where it has to chase down players to recoup payment.
The league, as Woj adds, is hopeful that it can resume part of the regular season before entering the postseason. It has no plan to announce the cancellation of the season, preferring to continue to look for ways to salvage the campaign.
First World Problems: Knicks’ Point Guard Situation
The Knicks‘ point guard situation appears to be an evergreen problem. New team president Leon Rose inherits a stable of underwhelming options just as Steve Mills and Phil Jackson did entering their respective regimes. Like his predecessors, Rose is expected to look for upgrades at the position this offseason.
What are some potential options? Prior to the Rose hire, the team had interest in trading for Terry Rozier, as Ian Begley of SNY.tv details. According to Begley, there was some support internally to send a package of Julius Randle, Dennis Smith Jr., and a future first-rounder to the Hornets in exchange for a return that included Rozier and Malik Monk.
While Rozier isn’t the All-Star point guard that New York’s fan base hopes for, he’s an upgrade on the current options. Elfrid Payton and Smith have had up-and-down results in the Big Apple. Frank Ntilikina, who has one more year left on his rookie deal, finally showed some progress but his long-term future with the club is uncertain.
Fred VanVleet will likely be the top point guard available on the free-agent market, though it’s hard to envision Toronto not doing all it can to retain the 2019 Finals hero. Chris Paul could be an option, but his contract gave teams pause last summer and that was before factoring in any sort of coronavirus-related basketball income woes that could suppress the league’s salary cap.
The franchise selecting a point guard atop the 2020 NBA draft might the best option for a brighter future at the position. The Knicks entered the NBA’s hiatus with the sixth-worst record in the league, which would give the team a 9% chance at the No. 1 overall selection, as we detailed earlier this month.
Bulls Notes: LaVine, White, Jordan
The Bulls didn’t have the year they’d envisioned heading into the 2019/20 campaign. Prior to the coronavirus pandemic and league stoppage, Chicago was on its way to a third straight lottery appearance, and Zach LaVine is not happy with how the on-court situation was unfolding.
“To be blunt, I’m upset,” LaVine said (via Sam Smith of NBA.com). “We had high expectations coming into the season and it didn’t go our way anyway we could have thought of. We played through some adversity, but we didn’t go out there and do what we were supposed to do as a team.
“… I’ve been in the NBA six years now and it just gets frustrating. I want to be in the playoffs. We really [believed]. I haven’t played in a playoff game and it wears on you. That’s what you work so hard for and continue to play for.”
Here’s more from Chicago:
- In the same piece, LaVine added that he has high hopes for rookie Coby White. The Bulls selected the point guard with the No. 7 overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft.
- Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports examines how the Bulls’ 2019 offseason signings panned out and what roles they may have with the club going forward. Thaddeus Young and Tomas Satoransky were the highest-priced acquisitions.
- ESPN has moved up its Michael Jordan documentary release date. “The Last Dance,” which is a 10-part series that takes an in-depth look at the Bulls’ dynasty, will debut on April 19.
John Wall Played Pick-Up With Amar’e Stoudemire, Others During NBAGL Assignment
It has been 14 months since Wizards point guard John Wall ruptured his Achilles and the point guard was progressing nicely before the NBA suspended its season. Wall had been practicing with the Capital City Go-Go – Washington’s G League team – leading up to the hiatus, Fred Katz of The Athletic passes along in detailed piece.
“It just gets harder as you go along to collect guys off the street,” GM Tommy Sheppard said. “You want a highly competitive deal, so we sort of decided with John, it was time to play with the Go-Go (and) practice. And when we can, we’d have a scrimmage for him. It’s just been wonderful. It validates our process we have in place, to be able to utilize the Go-Go for so many functions to help the Wizards. And for them, I think those kids were freakin’ thrilled to play with John.”
The Wizards have been careful with the former All-Star’s recovery. There was never an expectation that he would play this season and even if the league resumes this summer, he won’t see the court.
Wall was scrimmaging every three days or so prior to the NBA suspending its season. He started going through controlled scrimmages with the team’s player development staff, Katz writes. He also participated in casual pick-up games with some former NBA players like Amar’e Stoudemire, Michael Beasley, and Jeremy Tyler.
The G League team would hold scrimmages roughly twice a week and Wall would get in 20-to-25 minutes of action in those contests.
Wall has publicly stated that he wanted to be a player development coach or a GM after he hangs up his jersey. He’s already begun that kind of work, helping the Wizards’ young guys improve on the court.
“He’s been an extra coach for me,” teammate Admiral Schofield said. “And it’s great hearing it from John Wall, a player you’ve grown up watching and playing against. Just feedback and little things and hearing him get excited when you make shots and him being confident in you knocking down shots is great.”
Lakers Clear Two-Week Quarantine
Two weeks ago, a pair of Lakers tested positive for COVID-19 and today, the team announced that all of its players are symptom-free, as Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com relays.
The entire team got tested earlier this month after the Nets announced that four players had tested positive for the virus. Kevin Durant was one of the players, as he revealed via social media.
While all Lakers players were quarantined for two weeks, only 14 of the team’s 17 players (including two-way players) were tested, McMenamin hears.
“The thing I think people aren’t realizing is how serious of an ordeal this is and that it’s not to be taken lightly,” guard Alex Caruso said recently. “Everybody said the test is uncomfortable, and it pretty much was. They just stuck a Q-tip through your nose to the back of your mouth.”
Christian Wood Reportedly “Fully Recovered” From Coronavirus
MARCH 26: Wood has been cleared, having registered negative test results on Wednesday evening, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
MARCH 25: Christian Wood, who was the only Pistons player known to have contracted the coronavirus, has “fully recovered,” according to his agent, as our own Dana Gauruder writes for The Detroit Free Press.
Wood is one of at least 10 NBA players known to have test positive for COVID-19. Gauruder hears from a source that Wood still has to pass a few medical tests and is expected to be cleared by Thursday.
The Pistons played the Jazz on March 7, just days before the news of Rudy Gobert‘s diagnosis and the NBA’s suspension of the season. Detroit, like other squads in the league, was asked to self-isolate. That period of isolation ended today.
Gauruder adds that 17 members of the Pistons were tested for the virus, including five players.
According to the World Health Organization, the median recovery time for mild cases of coronavirus is about two weeks. For critical or severe cases, it’s about three-to-six weeks.
Karl-Anthony Towns’ Father Also Tests Positive For COVID-19
Karl-Anthony Towns recently shared the news about his mother contracting the coronavirus, revealing that she has been hospitalized for the past week and in a coma. Towns’ father also tested positive for the virus, Malika Andrews of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Karl Sr. is reportedly “recovering well” after a multi-day stay in the hospital, Andrews adds.
“I was told early last week my parents weren’t feeling well,” Towns said (via his Instagram). “My first reaction to her was to go seek medical attention immediately. There’s no reason to wait, just go to the nearest hospital. And after a couple days of not showing any signs of improvement, I was very adamant on the first day to go to a hospital and seek further evaluation.
“Specifically, my sister told her she needs to get checked for corona. I don’t think anyone really understood what it was, with deteriorating condition. She kept getting worse, she kept getting worse, and the hospital was doing everything they can.”
Towns said he was in constant contact with his mother before she was put into the medically induced coma.
“This disease needs to not be taken lightly,” Towns said. “Please protect your families, your loved ones, your friends, yourself. Practice social distancing. Please don’t be in places with a lot of people; it just heightens your chances of getting this disease, and this disease … it’s deadly. It’s deadly. And we’re going to keep fighting on my side, me and my family, we’re going to keep fighting this. We’re going to beat it. We’re going to win.”
Hoops Rumors sends its thoughts and prayers to the Towns family and all those who have been impacted by COVID-19.
Dwight Powell Talks Recovery, Mavs’ Organization
Mavericks big man Dwight Powell, who continues to recover from the torn right Achilles he suffered back in January, tells Callie Caplin of the Dallas Morning News that “everything is on schedule” with regard to his recovery, adding that the coronavirus precautions are not impacting his rehab.
“Luckily it’s nothing I can’t do from home for now,” Powell explained. “I have a couple more months of really not too much, so I have everything I need here. The Mavs set me up with all the equipment, which there isn’t much of, to keep on track, and they’re checking in with me daily, so things are going good.”
Powell added that he remains in contact with the team’s medical staff via FaceTime, checking in every day. He said communication between him and his teammates has been solid.
“I think we’re doing a good job of reaching out on a daily and every-other-day basis with everybody, and we’ve got a group chat that’s pretty active and is light, humorous,” the big man said.
While the Mavericks remain away from their facility, the franchise is doing its best to help the community that is impacted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Powell credited Dallas’ leadership for how responsive the organization has been.
“That’s something I was taught and shown from Day 1 getting here from Mark [Cuban] and from Coach [Rick] Carlisle and from Dirk [Nowitzki], especially, at that time when he was here,” Powell said of the organization setting a high standard for giving back to the community. “They set the stage for that, so it doesn’t surprise any of us at all to see the leadership role that Mark has taken in this situation, the example that he’s set and the guidance he’s given all of us in how we can help as well.
“…We can’t be out there on the front lines, so those heroes that are doing the real work and the ones that are trying to get us back to normalcy, those are the ones who really need support, and I think that was one area that was being a little bit overlooked.”
Fizdale Believes Knicks Need To Add Power Forward With Range
Although they did win two of three before the NBA suspended the season, the Knicks weren’t having the best 2019/20 campaign. Former coach David Fizdale, who New York fired back in December, believes the team can improve via free agency this offseason by targeting a point guard and a power forward with range.
“I think that if the Knicks can find those pieces in free agency,” Fizdale said on ESPN Radio recently (h/t Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News). “So the next year or two years from now, that big free agent comes through says, ‘Wait a minute, they got these pieces in place, these guys are now starting to get into the playoffs, eighth seed, seventh seed.
That’s the team I want to join in New York City, in the Garden, that could take us to another level.’”
Three-point shooting has been an issue for the club this entire season. Only three teams, the Hawks, Warriors, and Timberwolves, shot a worse percentage from three-point land than the Knicks this year.
“Just looking at the roster where they’re at — I love Elfrid (Payton), Frank (Ntilikina), and Dennis Smith Jr. — but all of them have something in common in that they’re not consistent 3-point shooters coming off the pick-and-roll,”
The coach added that he believes Mitchell Robinson can reach great heights if he continues to develop.
“And if you have a super talent like Mitchell — and I think Mitchell can end up being one of the best centers over the next ten years — you have to have a guy coming off that pick and if you have to fight over that pick and roll,” Fizdale said. “And if you do that, all of a sudden Mitchell Robinson looks totally different. And his production goes up big time.
“The other piece to that puzzle is a 4-man who can really rope that 3… Like I’ve always said, the key to player development is spacing. You want to see players look better on the court, spread the floor.”
And-Ones: Blazers, Chandler, Magic, Grizzlies
The Trail Blazers have started a COVID-19 emergency relief fund to support local non-profits which serve the community, as the team announced on its website. To date, more than $35MM has been raised by NBA and WNBA teams and players to combat organizations impacted by the coronavirus.
As we wait to see when the pandemic will subside and the NBA will return to action, let’s take a look at some basketball notes from around the league:
- Wilson Chandler was experiencing a late-season surge with the Nets before the coronavirus forced the league to suspend the season, Brian Lewis of the New York Post writes. Chandler will be a free agent come the offseason.
- Josh Robbins of The Athletic breaks down the Magic‘s improved offense prior to the suspended season, exploring what it might mean going forward. Aaron Gordon spending the majority of his minutes at the four, which is his natural position, played a major role in the team excelling.
- Regardless of how and when the season resumes (or doesn’t), the Grizzlies showed enough progress to be optimistic about their future, Michael Wallace of NBA.com contends. Memphis is in the playoff picture and No. 2 overall Ja Morant looks like a future star.