NBA Postpones Wednesday’s Celtics/Magic Game
A third consecutive Celtics game will be postponed, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that Wednesday’s contest between the C’s and the Magic won’t be played as scheduled.
The NBA issued a press release confirming the postponement, noting within its announcement that Boston doesn’t have the league-required minimum of eight players available.
As Tim Bontemps of ESPN observes (via Twitter), the Celtics’ most recent injury report, released on Sunday, included seven players (Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Grant Williams, Tristan Thompson, Robert Williams, Javonte Green, and Semi Ojeleye) out due to health and safety protocols and two more (Kemba Walker and Romeo Langford) sidelined due to injuries. That would leave eight players available, so it seems likely that at least one more player has been ruled out since then.
The Celtics and Magic had been scheduled to play a pair of games in Boston this week. The second of those two contests, set to be played on Friday, remains up in the air for the time being. According to Wojnarowski (via Twitter), the Magic won’t be traveling to Boston today. However, they could do so later in the week.
Markieff Morris, DeMarcus Cousins Fined For On-Court Altercation
Lakers forward Markieff Morris and Rockets center DeMarcus Cousins have been fined by the NBA for their roles in an on-court altercation in Sunday’s game, the league announced today in a press release. Morris will lose $35K, while Cousins was penalized $10K.
Morris committed a flagrant foul on Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate during the first quarter of Sunday’s Lakers win, with Cousins responding by pushing Morris to the floor.
The league said that Morris “further escalated the situation” by going after Cousins, shoving him and “continuing to aggressively pursue him,” which presumably explains why his fine is more substantial. Both players received technical fouls and Morris was ejected. Cousins was ejected later in the game after committing a flagrant foul.
Rockets coach Stephen Silas praised Cousins after the game for sticking up for Tate, who is in his first year in the NBA.
“He wasn’t going to allow anything to happen to his rookie, and I think that’s admirable,” Silas said. “Him sticking up for his teammate shows a lot of who DeMarcus Cousins is.”
Knicks Notes: Gibson, Toppin, Ntilikina, Hayward
The Knicks signed Taj Gibson to a rest-of-season contract last Thursday, according to NBA.com’s official transactions log. However, the veteran big man hasn’t been able to play for the team yet due to COVID-19 protocols, according to Marc Berman of The New York Post. It’s possible that Gibson will be able to join the club for Wednesday’s game against Brooklyn, Berman says.
Here’s more on the Knicks:
- Obi Toppin (calf) and Frank Ntilikina (knee) aren’t yet close to returning, according to Berman. Toppin hasn’t been cleared for contact, while Ntilikina may not be back at practice until next week.
- Knicks head coach Tom Thibodeau pushed to sign Gordon Hayward in free agency in November, but the team ultimately felt the price was too high, writes Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. With the Knicks in Charlotte on Monday, Thibodeau acknowledged that Hayward was “rated pretty high on our (free agent) board,” while the Hornets forward said there was “a lot of interest on both sides.”
- The Knicks aren’t as good as their 5-3 start suggested, but they seem refreshingly free of dysfunction this season, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com, who says the franchise finally seems to be building the right way with the right people.
NBA Players With Trade Kickers In 2020/21
A trade kicker is a contractual clause that pays an NBA player a bonus when he’s traded. They’re one of the tools teams have at their disposal to differentiate their free agent offers from the ones put on the table by competing clubs.
Sometimes the kicker is worth a fixed amount, but usually it’s based on a percentage of the remaining value of the contract. So, a player who has a 10% trade kicker is eligible for a bonus worth 10% of the amount of money he has yet to collect on his deal.
Regardless of whether a trade kicker is set at a fixed amount or a percentage, the bonus can’t exceed 15% of the remaining value of the contract. Most trade kickers are worth 15%, the highest percentage allowed.
A trade bonus must be paid by the team that trades the player, rather than the team acquiring him. The current Collective Bargaining Agreement also allows a player to waive his trade kicker as part of a deal, if he so chooses.
If you want a more detailed explanation of how trade kickers work, check out the Hoops Rumors Glossary entry on the subject.
With the help of contract information from Basketball Insiders, here’s a list of the NBA players who have active trade kickers for 2020/21, listed alphabetically, along with the details of those trade bonuses:
- Steven Adams, Pelicans (7.5%)
- Kyle Anderson, Grizzlies (15%)
- Bradley Beal, Wizards (15%)
- Bogdan Bogdanovic, Hawks (15%)
- Trey Burke, Mavericks (7.5%)
- Draymond Green, Warriors (15%)
- Gordon Hayward, Hornets (15%)
- Serge Ibaka, Clippers (15%)
- Andre Iguodala, Heat (7.5%)
- Kelly Olynyk, Heat (lesser of 5% or $2MM)
- Mason Plumlee, Pistons (10%)
The following players have trade bonuses on their contracts, but those bonuses would be voided if they were to be traded during the 2020/21 league year, since they’re already earning this season’s maximum salary:
- Jimmy Butler, Heat (15%)
- Stephen Curry, Warriors (15%)
- Anthony Davis, Lakers (15%)
- Kevin Durant, Nets (15%)
- Tobias Harris, Sixers (lesser of 5% or $5MM)
- Brandon Ingram, Pelicans (15%)
- Kyrie Irving, Nets (15%)
- LeBron James, Lakers (15%)
- Kawhi Leonard, Clippers (15%)
- Kristaps Porzingis, Mavericks (5%)
- Ben Simmons, Sixers (15%)
- Klay Thompson, Warriors (15%)
- Karl-Anthony Towns, Timberwolves (5%)
- Kemba Walker, Celtics (15%)
The following players have signed contract extensions that will include trade kickers, but those extensions won’t go into effect until the 2021/22 season:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks (15%)
- Donovan Mitchell, Jazz (15%)
- Jayson Tatum, Celtics (15%)
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
O’Connor’s Latest: Harden, Beal, Nets, Sixers, Pelicans
While James Harden‘s offseason trade request has dominated NBA headlines for the last month or two, league sources question how willing Rockets general manager Rafael Stone is to deal the superstar guard this season, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer.
With the likes of John Wall, Christian Wood, and even rookie Jae’Sean Tate playing well, front office executives around the NBA believe the Rockets are becoming more confident that Harden will be comfortable staying in Houston for the rest of the season, writes O’Connor. The former MVP still prefers to be traded, but if the Rockets can build upon their early promise and improve their 3-5 record, he may not push quite as hard for a deal.
Here’s more from O’Connor:
- Teams around the NBA are keeping close eye on the 2-8 Wizards in case Bradley Beal grows frustrated and decides he wants out. Both O’Connor and John Hollinger of The Athletic suggest there’s a case to be made that Beal could be even more appealing as a trade target than Harden. Beal is nearly four years younger than Harden and has “a more malleable game” that makes him a great fit in any system, O’Connor argues.
- The presumed top suitors for Harden, including the Nets and Sixers, would also have interest in Beal, league sources tell The Ringer. The 76ers are a threat to acquire any available star player if they’re willing to put Ben Simmons on the table, but people around the league are more skeptical about Brooklyn’s ability to land a star, says O’Connor.
- O’Connor asked 14 executives which under-the-radar teams could be candidates to acquire a star player via trade, and six named the Pelicans — rival execs don’t necessarily expect David Griffin to hoard New Orleans’ excess draft picks for years, given how good Brandon Ingram and Zion Williamson already are. The Heat, Knicks, Mavericks, Nuggets, and Spurs also received votes.
- In case you missed it, O’Connor also said that Wizards head coach Scott Brooks is “firmly” on the hot seat, as we detailed earlier today.
Eight Heat Players Unavailable Due To COVID-19 Protocols
3:58pm: In addition to Bradley, the Heat will be without the following players for Tuesday’s game in Philadelphia due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols, per Reynolds (Twitter link): Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic, Bam Adebayo, Kendrick Nunn, Maurice Harkless, Udonis Haslem, and KZ Okpala.
That would leave the team with nine available players, assuming everyone else is healthy. Meyers Leonard (shoulder) is currently listed as questionable, while Kelly Olynyk (groin) and Gabe Vincent (knee) are probable, Reynolds notes (via Twitter).
2:14pm: The Heat are preparing to be without “at least five” players for the next several days due to possible exposure to the coronavirus, reports Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press.
Miami didn’t have the required minimum of eight players available on Sunday due to an inconclusive COVID-19 test and subsequent contact tracing, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. As a result, the team’s scheduled game in Boston was postponed. Subsequently, the Heat spent Sunday and Monday awaiting the results of the NBA’s contact tracing investigation to find out which players may be required to self-isolate for the next week, says Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
According to Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel, the Heat are arranging for the players who need to self-isolate due to contact tracing to fly back to Miami on a private plane. The player who tested positive for COVID-19 will be sequestered in a hotel, while the rest of the team flies to Philadelphia in anticipation of playing vs. the Sixers.
Based on Winderman’s report, it sounds like the Heat expect to have enough players to resume their schedule on Tuesday vs. Philadelphia, though we don’t know yet who will and won’t be available. Avery Bradley‘s absence due to the league’s health and safety protocols was the only one reported on Sunday — all signs point to Bradley being the player who tested positive for the coronavirus, Winderman notes, but that hasn’t been confirmed.
COVID-19 Notes: Protocols, Rosters, Beal, House
For COVID-19 tracing purposes, the NBA follows CDC guidelines, defining “close exposure” as having spent 15 or more minutes within six feet of someone who tests positive for the virus. As Tim Cato and Jared Weiss of The Athletic explain, league research has shown this doesn’t happen during games, where players don’t spend more than five or six total minutes within six feet of any one player. That’s why teams aren’t required to fully isolate following one positive test.
However, applying CDC guidelines – which are meant to cover average circumstances – to NBA games without accounting for all the extenuating factors in play may be risky, infectious disease physician Dr. Amesh Adalja tells The Athletic.
“We know that when people are engaged in athletic activity they’re often breathing faster,” Adalja said. “(It’s) more likely for more viral droplets to emanate during high intensity exercise, especially in indoor environments where people are less than six feet apart.”
As Cato and Weiss note, there haven’t been any confirmed examples of on-court transmission of COVID-19 between opposing NBA teams. If that does happen, the league may have to make some tough decisions, since applying week-long contact tracing protocols to entire squads following a positive test would make it difficult to continue playing games at all.
Here are more updates on how COVID-19 is affecting the NBA:
- Some team executives are hoping to revisit the possibility of expanding rosters as a way to avoid COVID-related postponements, says Dan Woike of The Los Angeles Times. According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link), the argument against adding more roster spots is that, as one exec put it: “More players means more risk.”
- After missing Saturday’s game due to the health and safety protocols, Bradley Beal will be available for the Wizards on Monday, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic.
- The Rockets said today that Danuel House has been ruled out for the time being due to the league’s health and safety protocols, tweets Kelly Iko of The Athletic.
- As the NBA considers ways to potentially tighten its coronavirus protocols, its primary areas of concern are what happens on team benches, in locker rooms, and on planes, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).
NBA Fines Sixers For Injury-Reporting Violation
The NBA has hit the Sixers with a $25K fine for violating the league’s rules on injury reporting, according to a press release.
Philadelphia didn’t list Ben Simmons on its injury report for Saturday’s game vs. Denver, but held him out of the contest due to a knee issue. The NBA insists that teams be transparent in their reporting of injuries and players’ availability.
Chris Haynes and Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports (Twitter links) first reported that the league was investigating the 76ers’ handling of Simmons’ status and that the club would be fined for the violation.
Simmons has been ruled out for Monday’s game vs. Atlanta, as we relayed on Sunday. He’s one of eight Sixers players who will be unavailable — Terrance Ferguson is out for personal reasons, Furkan Korkmaz has a left adductor strain, and five players are sidelined due to the NBA’s health and safety protocols. Joel Embiid (back) and Mike Scott (knee) will be available.
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.