Three-Week Minimum Anticipated For Training Camp
Commissioner Adam Silver believes a three-to-six week ramp-up period would be needed in order to resume the season, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.
Silver was asked about the length of training camp during a conference call with players on Friday. A minimum of three weeks has been discussed around the league, Silver replied, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
With Silver indicating that no decision regarding the resumption of the season needed to made this month, that would suggest that play would resume no earlier than July.
The league is taking baby steps toward getting players back into training facilities. The NBA has given the go-ahead for teams to allow players back into their usual facilities under heavy restrictions. Only the Cavaliers and the Trail Blazers were able or willing to unlock their facilities on Friday, displaying the cautious approach many franchises and players have adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic, Marc Stein of the New York Times reports.
Larry Nance Jr., Kevin Love, Cedi Osman and Ante Zizic showed up at the Cavaliers’ practice facility. Nance spent approximately 90 minutes taking shots and doing weight work, while the others spend their time at separate baskets. All the players were subject to temperature checks before being allowed in the facility.
“They did a really good job of making sure we all felt great about being there,” Nance told Stein. “They could make it at 4 in the morning and I would be there.”
Other players around the league don’t share Nance’s enthusiasm. During the conference call with Silver, Thunder guard and Players Association president Chris Paul expressed the concerns of some players that they felt pressure to work out at their teams’ facilities, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. Silver reiterated that the workouts are optional and advised Paul to follow up with the league if any players had issues with their respective teams during the reopening of the facilities.
Western Notes: Warriors, Hill, Doncic, Pelicans
Warriors head of basketball operations Bob Myers offered assurances that his team will be in a competitive mode if play resumes this season, Ramona Shelburne of ESPN reports. Coach Steve Kerr raised some eyebrows last week when he said the franchise was already in “offseason mode.” But Myers indicated his team will give its best. “The truth is we have the worst record in the league. … It’s hard to motivate in our unique position,” he said. “But that doesn’t mean players don’t have pride and won’t come back and play and care about the league as a whole. We want to be good partners and we will be good partners.”
We have more from the Western Conference:
- The Clippers won’t allow assistant Armond Hill to coach when the team reopens its practice facility, according to The Athletic’s David Aldridge. Hill is the team’s oldest coach at 67 and head coach Doc Rivers doesn’t want to put him at immediate risk. “He wants to go work,” Rivers said. “And I said, ‘Well, I understand that. But we’re not going to let you do it. We just can’t. I can’t live with that.’”
- Mavericks star guard Luka Doncic flew home to Slovenia on a private jet shortly after the NBA suspended the season, Shelburne reveals in a separate story. Doncic will have to go into quarantine once he returns to the U.S., though domestic players who flew out of state during the shutdown will also have to quarantine.
- Meyers Leonard, JaMychal Green and Alex Len are some of the free agent targets the Pelicans could explore to fortify their frontcourt, William Guillory of The Athletic opines. New Orleans could also pursue a deal for the Nets’ Jarrett Allen if Brooklyn decides to make DeAndre Jordan its starting center, Guillory adds.
Silver To Players: Restart Likely To Be Held In One Or Two Cities
Commissioner Adam Silver told players in a conference call on Friday that it would be safer to restart the season in one or two “bubble” cities, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
Las Vegas and Orlando are the main options to resume to play in both conferences, though Silver has received inquiries from numerous city officials about hosting the remainder of the season, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets.
A decision to resume the season doesn’t have to be made this month or at the beginning of June, Wojnarowski adds. If the NBA tries to finish the season, there’s no expectation that fans will be in the stands, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Silver cautioned the players that there will always be a measure of risk until a vaccine is developed for the novel coronavirus.
There’s also the possibility that fans will not be allowed in the arenas next season until a vaccine is readily available, Wojnarowski relays in another tweet. That will obviously impact finances, since the league generates approximately 40% of its revenue through fans attending games, Silver told the players. The league is working on creative ways with its TV partners to deliver the games to audiences, Wojnarowski adds.
There is real concern on both sides about the financial hardship caused by the pandemic. Michele Roberts, the executive director of the Players’ Association, broached that subject on the call with Silver. Silver said that the CBA “wasn’t built for an extended pandemic,” calling it “the greatest challenge” of our lifetime, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link).
Silver is hopeful of conducting seven-game series for each playoff round, particularly if there is no travel involved, according to Wojnarowski. The commissioner also told the players that he believes the owners unanimously want to resume the season, despite the fact that there might be some financial advantages to canceling if there will be no fans in the seats (Twitter link).
Knicks, Rockets, Nets Interested In Thibodeau?
The Knicks would get first crack at Tom Thibodeau for their head coaching job if new president Leon Rose decides to replace Mike Miller, according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.
The Rockets and Nets are also expected to pursue Thibodeau but the Knicks could get the jump on those franchises because they won’t make the playoffs, Berman continues.
Thibodeau would have an apparent interest in all three jobs, Berman continues, but there’s a connection between him and Rose. As a Creative Artists Agency client, Thibodeau has worked with the former agent.
There has been widespread speculation about potential coaching candidates for the Knicks, and a report surfaced last week that Thibodeau would be Rose’s top choice if a change is made. That report also stated Spurs assistant Becky Hammon and former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy would get consideration.
The Rockets and Nets have been previously noted as other possible destinations for the former Bulls and Timberwolves coach. Nets superstars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving like and respect Thibodeau, who coached them as a Team USA assistant, Berman adds. Still, it’s worth noting that one April report suggested that Thibodeau was thought to be “solely a Knicks candidate.”
And-Ones: Parker, Ware, Nouhi, Brazil
Longtime Spurs guard Tony Parker has long-term plans to own an NBA team, he told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated. Parker, the president and majority owner of French team ASVEL Lyon-Villeurbanne, is part of the French group Olympique Lyonnais and hopes to eventually purchase an NBA franchise. “Right now, we have different objectives and goals,” he told Spears. “But in five to 10 years … I am the type of person who always dreams big.”
We have more from around the basketball world:
- Former NBA point guard Casper Ware has opted out of his NBL contract with the Sydney Kings, ESPN’s Olgun Uluc reports. Ware was the highest paid foreign player in the NBL this past season and would have had his 2020/21 salary cut by 50% under a new agreement between the league and its players. The Kings will continue to hold Ware’s NBL rights if he chooses to return to Australia for the upcoming season. Ware, who averaged 17.9 PPG this past season, played for the Sixers during the 2013/14 season.
- Belgian guard Ayoub Nouhi has decided to forgo his final two years of college ball with UT-Arlington and begin his pro career, according to Sportando’s Ennio Terrasi Borghesan. Nouhi did not enter his name in the 2020 draft, but would become auto-eligible in 2021 if he plays professionally this year. He appeared in 26 games as a sophomore, averaging 1.9 PPG in 12.5 MPG.
- Brazil’s NBB league has cancelled the remainder of its season, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. Former NBA guard Leandro Barbosa tested positive for COVID-19 after the league halted play in March.
Draft Notes: Lee, Daly, Butler, White, Lottery
Vanderbilt junior Saben Lee has signed with Wasserman Media Group and will remain in the draft, according to Robbie Weinstein of 247Sports. He is currently ranked No. 78 overall and No. 25 among point guard prospects by ESPN. Lee was named Second Team All-SEC last season and averaged 18.6 PPG. 3.5 RPG and 4.2 APG.
We have more draft-related news:
- Baylor’s Jared Butler, St. Joe’s Ryan Daly and Stanford’s Tyrell Terry have signed with Mike Naiditch of Beyond Athlete Management, Jeff Goodman of Goodman Hoops tweets. Naiditch is an NCAA-certified agent, which means those players are eligible to return to college. Butler is the highest-rated player among the trio as ESPN’s No. 43 overall and No. 17 among point guards.
- Arizona State forward Romello White has entered the transfer portal while still remaining an early entrant into the draft, Doug Haller of The Athletic tweets. White averaged 10.2 PPG and 8.8 RPG in his junior year.
- Lottery-bound teams aren’t eager to restart the season and are now in limbo, Ben Golliver of the Washington Post opines. Those teams are focused on future seasons and now have to wait on those plans since the lottery and the draft combine were postponed last week.
Families Must Be Allowed In Bubble City
The NBA will not agree to a “bubble concept” to restart the season unless players and coaches can bring their families with them, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported on SportsCenter (video link).
The bubble concept, in which games would be played in one city such as Las Vegas or Orlando, has been floated around since the early weeks of the hiatus. Isolating players from their families is currently not on the table, according to Windhorst.
“The NBA is not interested right now in a bubble where they could not bring their families in,” Windhorst said.
Earlier this week, Windhorst’s ESPN colleague Adrian Wojnarowski suggested that 15,000 tests for the novel coronavirus would be needed for the season to be safely resumed and completed. Windhorst’s sources believe that figure could go much higher. And that would be problematic, since there are not enough tests to go around for the general public.
“It could be 100,000 because you have to keep an eye on the testing,” he said. “Right now, the NBA is not interested at all in taking any test that would go away from somebody who wants a test or needs a test.”
Windhorst estimates that to put together games in a bubble city, 1,500 people would be required, from “hotel maids to scoreboard operators to the players and coaches themselves.”
Testing would also have to be available for their families, which is why 100,000 of them might be needed.
“Without the testing, which you need to get everybody in the bubble, and without the expansive test you need to get the families in, the NBA is not willing to go there right now,” he said.
Eastern Notes: LeBron, Celtics, Eversley, Pistons
Don’t rule out LeBron James finishing his career with the Knicks, The New York Post’s Marc Berman writes in his latest mailbag. James loves playing in Madison Square Garden and would like to play with his son Bronny, now 15, before he retires. If James plays long enough to suit up with his son, finishing out his career in New York could add to his legacy, Berman adds.
We have more from the Eastern Conference:
- Celtics assistant GM Mike Zarren told season ticket holders that the front office is well-prepared for any draft scenario, Celtics analyst Marc D’Amico tweets. Boston could have as many as three first-round selections. “Regardless of what happens, we’ll be very ready for the draft,” Zarren said.
- New Bulls GM Marc Eversley is intrigued by the youth dotting the team’s roster but wants to figure why some of those players didn’t develop as expected this season, K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago reports. In particular, he wants to see if the team can get more out of power forward Lauri Markkanen. “Lauri is a modern-day stretch four,” he said. “I think he’s got a great stroke. He’s got a wonderful shooting touch. He regressed a little bit last year. I’d love to learn more about that.”
- The Pistons need to prioritize not only acquiring talent but also high-character players, Keith Langlois of the team’s website writes. Getting the best players they can find with their lottery pick and cap space, regardless of what position they’ll play or how they’ll complement others on the roster, should be their approach going forward.
And-Ones: Batiste, Hall Of Fame, Cotton, Gatwech
Magic assistant coach Mike Batiste shot down a rumor that he’s returning to Europe to coach Greece’s Panathinaikos, Ennio Terrasi Borghesan of Sportando relays. Batiste, who was a star player for the EuroLeague team, said on Greek radio’s ERA Sport he’s staying in Orlando. “No one has contacted me, these are rumors. I have a two-year contract and I will honor it, when I’m done with that I don’t know what will happen,” Batiste said.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- The Basketball Hall of Fame remains hopeful in can hold the induction ceremony for this year’s class as scheduled in late August, Marc Stein of the New York Times tweets. This year’s class has nine inductees, including the late Kobe Bryant, Tim Duncan and Kevin Garnett.
- Australia NBL MVP and former NBA player Bryce Cotton has opted out of his deal with the Perth Wildcats, Olgun Uluc of ESPN reports. The NBL and its players agreed to a tiered system of pay cuts and the highest-salaried players are having their pay cut in half. The agreement allowed players to opt out of their contracts before May 4, with the Wildcats holding Cotton’s domestic rights. Cotton, who appeared in 23 NBA games before heading to Australia, is being pursued by European teams Panathinaikos and Asvel, according to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando.
- Jimma Gatwech had his name pulled from the NBA draft, but will pursue other pro opportunities in 2020/21, Evan Daniels of 247Sports tweets. Gatwech, 19, spend the past year at CORE4 Academy in Atlanta.
Draft Notes: Bey, Hall, Mamukelashvili, Jones
Colorado’s Tyler Bey has signed with an agent and will remain in the draft, Jeff Goodman of Stadium tweets. Bey declared for the draft in late March. The 6’7” Bey is a potential first-round pick. He’s currently ranked No. 35 overall by ESPN and No. 8 among power forward prospects. He posted 13.8 PPG and 9.0 RPG with 1.5 SPG and 1.2 BPG in 31 games (29.0 MPG) in 2019/20.
We have more draft-related news:
- Josh Hall will bypass college and remain in the draft, according to Evan Daniels of 247Sports. The 6’9” Hall had signed to play with North Carolina State next season but has hired an agent and will pursue pro opportunities. He’s eligible for this year’s draft because he graduated for high school last year, did a post-graduate season year and is 19 years old.
- Seton Hall junior forward Sandro Mamukelashvili has a dozen video interviews lined up with NBA teams but could still return for his senior season, Adam Zagoria of ZagsBlog.com reports. He declared for the draft in March without hiring an agent. Mamukelashvili averaged 11.9 PPG and 6.0 RPG this season but missed seven weeks due to a fractured wrist.
- Mason Jones declared on a Twitter post he’s not returning to Arkansas, Goodman relays in another tweet. The junior guard averaged 22.0 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 3.4 APG, and 1.6 SPG in his final year with the Razorbacks. The 6’5” Jones is ranked No. 77 overall and No. 14 among shooting guards by ESPN.