Bucks Co-Owner: Vote On NBA Return May Happen “Early Next Week”
A frequent guest on CNBC, Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry appeared on the network’s ‘Halftime’ show on Thursday and was asked about the next steps for the NBA’s potential return, as Jabari Young of CNBC details. According to Lasry, the expectation is that commissioner Adam Silver will present the NBA’s Board of Governors with potential formats for a return to play on Friday’s conference call, with a decision potentially coming next week.
[RELATED: Board of Governors meeting unlikely to yield final plan]
“I think that will happen tomorrow is that Adam’s going to recommend to the board the different options that we’re going to have about reopening,” Lasry said. “And I think the board will think about it over the weekend and then hopefully have another meeting early next week to vote on what we all feel will be the reopening of the NBA.”
As Lasry acknowledged during the interview, the NBA seems to be zeroing in on Walt Disney World in Florida as the lone host for the resumption of the season. However, there’s still plenty of uncertainty about what form the league’s return will take.
“I think at the end of the day, we’ll be in Orlando at Disney,” Lasry said. “The question is going to be: Will we have all 30 teams there? Will we have 24? Whatever the number will end up being. But hopefully, by the middle of July, we start playing again.”
Of course, even if the NBA’s Board of Governors votes in favor of a certain format, that plan would also need to be approved by the National Basketball Players Association before the league can move forward. All sides have been working closely together throughout the coronavirus pandemic, so while some negotiations may be required, they’re unlikely to get as contentious as the talks between Major League Baseball teams and players.
Atlantic Notes: Nets, Knicks, Raptors, Sixers
Appearing on Wednesday on ESPN’s First Take (video link), Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie said he can’t really address the possibility of Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving potentially returning from injuries this summer, since that decision will ultimately be made by others, including team doctors. However, he acknowledged that Brooklyn’s outlook for the 2020 postseason would change significantly with those two stars in the lineup.
“If they are able to return and that’s the decision they make, our aspirations turn from playoffs to championship,” Dinwiddie said, per Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News. “If they’re not able to return, which they’ve pretty much said that’s kind of the stance that they’re taking, we still want to be a team that grinds to get to the playoffs and makes a run in the playoffs.”
Unlike Irving, whose season was cut short by a shoulder issue, Durant has yet to make his debut with the Nets. While a torn Achilles tendon is a potentially devastating injury for NBA players, Dinwiddie is confident that KD will still look like a star when he returns to the court.
“I look at it like this: At 80 percent, he’s Dirk Nowitzki,” Dinwiddie said of Durant, according to Bondy. “At 100 percent, he’s the best scorer of all time, and anywhere in between, he’s still, what, a top-three small forward in the league.”
Here’s more from around the Atlantic:
- The Knicks don’t plan to formally launch their head coaching search until they find out whether or not their season is over, sources tell Marc Berman of The New York Post. We heard on Wednesday that Tom Thibodeau and Kenny Atkinson are expected to be among the club’s candidates in that search.
- Chris Boucher and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson, who have played key minutes in the Raptors‘ frontcourt this season, will both be free agents at season’s end. Bearing that in mind, Eric Koreen of The Athletic examines each player’s appeal, arguing that it wouldn’t be an easy decision if the team can only retain one. Hollis-Jefferson is the more versatile player, but Boucher is a better rim protector and will be a restricted free agent.
- Looking at the Sixers‘ future with Rich Hofmann of The Athletic, John Hollinger suggests the team has painted itself into a bit of a corner with its big-money commitments to some secondary players and will need to get creative to upgrade its roster going forward.
L.A. Notes: Lakers, Green, Clippers, Morris
As the top-seeded team in the Western Conference when the NBA went on hiatus in March, the Lakers have a vested interest in what form the league will take upon its return this summer. With that in mind, Brett Dawson, Bill Oram, and Brian and Andy Kamenetzky of The Athletic explore how each of the proposed playoff formats would impact the Lakers and discuss which ones the team might favor.
The Athletic’s panel agrees that the Lakers, who are already losing home-court advantage – assuming the NBA resumes play in Orlando with no fans in attendance – would be opposed to a World Cup-style, play-in pool, which would increase the likelihood of a top team being knocked out early in the postseason.
However, The Athletic’s writers think L.A. would be all over the idea of reseeding the playoff teams one through 16, regardless of conference. In that scenario, the Lakers wouldn’t have to get past the Clippers to get to the NBA Finals — they’d instead be pitted against the Jazz or Rockets in round two and likely the Nuggets or Raptors in the semi-finals.
Here’s more on the NBA’s Los Angeles teams:
- Lakers guard Danny Green has stayed busy during the NBA’s layoff in part due to his role as the team’s union representative, writes Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times. It’s a responsibility Green takes seriously, having kept his teammates up to date on the latest discussions between the NBA and NBPA. “I care about the game of basketball and the next generation and want to make it better for them,” Green said of his NBPA role. “I’ll be, in the future, the old guy. It’s a fraternity you gotta make sure that it comes full circle where everybody is getting taken care of.”
- Jovan Buha and John Hollinger of The Athletic dig into the Clippers‘ outlook beyond this season, with Hollinger arguing that retaining Marcus Morris should be a top priority for the club after surrendering a first-round pick for him at the trade deadline. The team also figures to try to re-sign Montrezl Harrell, though Hollinger notes that there are a number of potential center alternatives on the free agent market if the Clips get outbid for Harrell.
- In case you missed it a few weeks ago, we previewed the Lakers‘ and Clippers‘ salary cap outlook for the 2020/21 season, taking a closer look at how much spending flexibility each team will have this offseason.
Notes On Proposed Formats For NBA’s Return
Although a resumption of the 2019/20 season appears likely, there’s still no clarity on what form the NBA will take upon its return. A potential playoff format has been the subject of much discussion and debate this week, with the league still believed to be considering bringing back anywhere from 16 to 30 teams.
Among other issues, the league must decide whether or not to play any regular season games, whether a play-in pool or play-in tournament makes sense, and whether or not to reseed its playoff teams regardless of conference.
[RELATED: Community Shootaround: Play-In Pool Format]
As the NBA continues to weigh all those questions, a number of notable basketball writers are sharing their input on the potential format of a return to play. Here are some highlights:
- In a deep dive, ESPN’s Zach Lowe explores various playoff formats for the NBA’s return, suggesting that a seven-team play-in tournament for the final three postseason spots (currently held by the Grizzlies, Nets, and Magic) could be one solution. No Eastern lottery teams would be involved in such a tournament, but the Trail Blazers, Pelicans, Kings, and Spurs would be.
- John Hollinger of The Athletic contends that most of the experimental postseason proposals are unnecessarily complicated or have dangerous downsides. In Hollinger’s view, the NBA should just keep it simple, bringing back its 16 current playoff teams and play a “normal” postseason. It’s worth noting that Hollinger’s former team, the eighth-seeded Grizzlies, would undoubtedly favor that solution, which forgoes a play-in tournament.
- In a podcast, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said that some people around the NBA believe the league’s inclination to have more than 16 teams return this summer is directly related to a desire to have Pelicans star Zion Williamson involved in any return to play (hat tip to RealGM). New Orleans currently ranks 10th in the West and 18th overall in the NBA standings.
- Danny Leroux of The Athletic makes a case for allowing the NBA’s top teams to pick their playoff opponents, regardless of the format the league chooses.
- If the NBA decides to bring back all 30 teams, the league ought to freeze the draft lottery order based on the current standings in order to avoid a potential tank-fest, says Marc Berman of The New York Post.
- Chris Mannix of SI.com questions whether the NBA should even be prioritizing crowning a champion in 2020, and whether that champ will be viewed as legitimate.
International Notes: LNB, Yabusele, Calathes, Blatt
One side effect of the NBA’s changing schedule will be the impact it has on international players interested in coming stateside, as Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype writes. If the NBA’s free agency period doesn’t begin until September or October, it will no longer line up with the offseason for international leagues, reducing the likelihood that players in Europe will be able to exercise NBA outs in their contracts.
“Every year, there are a number of overseas players who exercise their buyout clause to sign with an NBA team, and the deadline for those buyout clauses is normally between July 10 and July 20,” one international agent told Kennedy. “That way, it’s during the free-agency period and the player has the option of participating in Summer League beforehand to see if an NBA team is going to offer him a guaranteed deal or a two-way contract.”
Typically, the offseasons for the NBA and most top international leagues overlap, making it simpler for players to make the leap one way or the other. If that’s not the case for 2020, it’ll be a minor problem in the coming months. However, if this season’s unusual circumstances prompt the NBA to shift its calendar on a more permanent basis, it’ll become a more significant long-term issue that will require some sort of solution.
Here are a few more notes from around the basketball world:
- The LNB, France’s top basketball league, has canceled the rest of its 2019/20 season without crowing a champion due to COVID-19, as Dario Skerletic of Sportando relays. The league announced the news in a press release.
- French team ASVEL Basket is prioritizing a contract extension for former NBA first-rounder and Celtics forward Guerschon Yabusele, and both sides are optimistic about reaching a new deal, according to a report from BeBasket (hat tip to Sportando).
- Former NBA guard Nick Calathes, who played in 129 games with Memphis from 2013-15, has reportedly agreed to terms on a three-year deal with Barcelona, per Sport24.gr (hat tip to Sportando). Calathes had spent the last several seasons with Panathinaikos in Greece, earning a spot on the All-EuroLeague First Team in 2018 and 2019.
- Czech basketball club BC Brno has a new co-owner, and former NBA head coach David Blatt is involved, per Valia Pilianidi of TalkBasket. As Pilianidi details – and as the club announced in a press release – Brno’s new co-owners are the Israeli company True Player Group, which is half-owned by Blatt’s family.
2020 Hall Of Fame Ceremony To Be Delayed Until 2021
The 2020 Basketball Hall of Fame enshrinement ceremony won’t take place this August, as initially planned. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the ceremony will tentatively be pushed back to the spring of 2021, according to the chairman of the Hall’s board of governors, Jerry Colangelo (story via Jackie MacMullan of ESPN).
This year’s star-studded class of Hall of Fame inductees is headed by Tim Duncan, Kevin Garnett, and the late Kobe Bryant. Former Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich, former college coach Eddie Sutton, longtime WNBA star Tamika Catchings, former FIBA and IOC executive Patrick Baumann, and veteran women’s basketball coaches Kim Mulkey and Barbara Stevens are also part of the 2020 class.
The induction ceremony for the nine new members of the Hall had been scheduled for the weekend of August 28-30, with proposed alternate dates of October 10-12. However, Colangelo tells MacMullan that those dates are “just not feasible” due to COVID-19’s impact on large gatherings.
“We’re definitely canceling,” Colangelo said to ESPN. “It’s going to have to be the first quarter of next year. We’ll meet in a couple of weeks and look at the options of how and when and where.”
Despite the delay, Colangelo made it clear that the Basketball Hall of Fame doesn’t intend to eventually merge the 2020 class with its 2021 class, which figures to be announced next spring — the plan is still to hold two separate ceremonies.
“We won’t be combining them,” Colangelo said. “The Class of 2020 is a very special class and deserves its own celebration.”
2020/21 Salary Cap Preview: Toronto Raptors
Hoops Rumors is looking ahead at the 2020/21 salary cap situations for all 30 NBA teams. Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the NBA, it’s impossible to know yet where the cap for 2020/21 will land. Given the league’s lost revenue, we’re assuming for now that it will stay the same as the ’19/20 cap, but it’s entirely possible it will end up higher or lower than that.
Following a thrilling run to the first NBA championship in franchise history last spring, the Raptors lost Finals MVP Kawhi Leonard, prompting a number of league observers to project a fall back to earth in 2019/20. However, this year’s version of the Raps proved they’re more than just Leonard’s supporting cast, entering the hiatus with a 46-18 record, good for third in the NBA.
With key contributors like Fred VanVleet, Marc Gasol, and Serge Ibaka all headed for unrestricted free agency, Toronto’s outlook is uncertain going forward, but the team should have the flexibility to bring back at least one or two of those veterans while retaining spending power for the 2021 offseason.
Here’s where things stand for the Raptors financially in 2020/21, as we continue our Salary Cap Preview series:
Guaranteed Salary
- Kyle Lowry ($30,500,000)
- Pascal Siakam ($27,285,000) 1
- Norman Powell ($10,865,952)
- Patrick McCaw ($4,000,000)
- OG Anunoby ($3,872,215)
- Matt Thomas ($725,000) — Partial guarantee. Non-guaranteed portion noted below.
- Total: $77,248,167
Player Options
- Stanley Johnson ($3,804,150)
- Total: $3,804,150
Team Options
- None
Non-Guaranteed Salary
- Terence Davis ($1,517,981) 2
- Dewan Hernandez ($1,517,981) 3
- Matt Thomas ($792,981)
- Paul Watson (two-way)
- Total: $3,828,943
Restricted Free Agents
- Chris Boucher ($1,985,289 qualifying offer / $1,985,289 cap hold): Early Bird rights
- Malcolm Miller ($1,985,289 qualifying offer / $1,985,289 cap hold): Bird rights
- Nando De Colo ($1,828,750 qualifying offer / $1,901,900 cap hold): Early Bird rights 5
- Oshae Brissett (two-way qualifying offer / $1,445,697 cap hold): Non-Bird rights
- Total (cap holds): $7,318,175
Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds
- Marc Gasol ($38,199,000): Bird rights 4
- Serge Ibaka ($34,907,406): Bird rights
- Fred VanVleet ($17,757,691): Bird rights
- Lucas Nogueira ($8,841,915): Bird rights 5
- Rondae Hollis-Jefferson ($3,000,000): Non-Bird rights
- No. 29 overall pick ($1,950,600)
- Jeremy Lin ($1,620,564): Non-Bird rights 5
- Jodie Meeks ($1,620,564): Non-Bird rights 5
- Jason Thompson ($1,620,564): Non-Bird rights 5
- Total: $109,518,304
Offseason Cap Outlook
The Raptors don’t currently have a ton of guaranteed money on their books for 2020/21, but we’re assuming they’ll operate as an over-the-cap team in order to retain the ability to re-sign some combination of VanVleet, Gasol, Ibaka, Boucher, and Hollis-Jefferson.
Depending on how expensive VanVleet and their veteran centers get, Toronto could even end up flirting with the tax line again next season. If we assume the cap doesn’t increase at all for 2020/21 and that Johnson and all the non-guaranteed players return, the club would have a cushion of about $45MM to re-sign its own free agents (and/or add outside talent) before going into tax territory.
Cap Exceptions Available
- Mid-level exception: $9,258,000 6
Footnotes
- This is a projected value. Siakam’s actual maximum salary will be 25% of the cap, unless he makes the All-NBA First or Second Team, in which case it will be anywhere from 28-30% of the cap.
- Davis’ new salary guarantee date is unknown.
- Hernandez’s new salary guarantee date is unknown.
- Gasol’s cap hold will be the lesser of $38,393,550 or 35% of the 2020/21 cap.
- The cap holds for De Colo, Nogueira, Lin, Meeks, and Thompson remain on the Raptors’ books because they haven’t been renounced after going unsigned in 2019/20. They can’t be used in a sign-and-trade deal.
- This is a projected value. If the Raptors’ team salary continues to increase, they may be limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5,718,000).
Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are based on the salary cap and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.
Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Early Bird Rights was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
And-Ones: Cotton, A. Williams, Super-Maxes
Reigning NBL MVP Bryce Cotton is sticking with the Perth Wildcats in Australia after opting out of his contract last month. The Wildcats issued a press release announcing that Cotton has signed a new three-year deal with the team. Emiliano Carchia of Sportando first reported that the 27-year-old had decided to remain in Perth.
Cotton was one of five NBL players to opt out of their contracts following the league’s salary-cutting measures. He generated international interest and considered a pair of “serious offers” before deciding to re-sign with the Wildcats, per Olgun Uluc of ESPN Australia.
Cotton has won three NBL titles since joining the Wildcats and was named the league’s MVP in 2018 as well. In 27 games in 2019/20, he averaged 22.6 PPG, 3.9 RPG, and 3.7 APG with a .426/.385/.830 shooting line, en route to his second MVP trophy.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Former NBA big man Alan Williams, who spent time with the Suns and Nets from 2015-19, is in advanced talks with Russia’s Lokomotiv Kuban about a contract extension, a source tells Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. In his first season with the squad, Williams averaged 11.2 PPG and 10.1 RPG in 19 VTB United League games, with 9.4 PPG and 9.4 RPG in 10 EuroCup contests.
- The super-max contract – introduced in the NBA’s most recent Collective Bargaining Agreement – has had some unintended side-effects and consequences. Danny Leroux of The Athletic examines those issues and digs into how to fix them.
- Bleacher Report’s NBA writers recently took a look back at some of the biggest “what-if” trades in NBA history — deals that were discussed and/or came close to happening, but ultimately didn’t.
Sixers To Reopen Practice Facility On Wednesday
The Sixers will begin a “phased reopening” of their practice facility on Wednesday, the team announced today in a press release. Players will be permitted to conduct voluntary individual workouts at the facility, in accordance with the strict guidelines implemented by the NBA.
The 76ers’ practice facility is located in Camden, New Jersey, rather than in Pennsylvania, so the team was waiting on the go-ahead from New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy.
Murphy announced this morning that professional sports teams would be permitted to return “to training and even competition” in New Jersey (Twitter link). According to the Governor, the state has been engaged in “constant discussions” with teams about the necessary safety protocols.
With Brooklyn and Charlotte reopening their practice facilities today, 21 NBA teams have done so — Philadelphia will be No. 22. That leaves the Bulls, Celtics, Knicks, Mavericks, Pistons, Spurs, Warriors, and Wizards.
Mark Cuban Shares Proposal For Return To Play
As ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski detailed earlier today, the format for the NBA’s potential return to play this summer is a topic of much debate within the league right now. Teams at the top of the standings will have different motivations than bottom-feeding clubs or those on the fringes of playoff contention, leading to disagreement over which format would make the most sense for the league as a whole.
On Monday, we discussed the possibility of the NBA re-seeding playoff teams, regardless of conference, for its 2020 playoffs. Earlier today, we explored the idea of what a World Cup-style play-in pool would look like in place of the usual first round. Now, Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has shared his own proposal with ESPN’s Tim MacMahon.
Cuban would like to see all 30 teams return to action and play approximately five to seven regular season games, as MacMahon relays. Once those games were completed, these steps would follow:
- The top 10 teams from each conference would make the playoffs.
- Those teams would be re-seeded from 1 through 20 based on regular season record.
- The Nos. 17 and 20 teams and the Nos. 18 and 19 teams would face one another in a pair of single-elimination or best-of-three matchups.
- The winners of those matchups would advance to face the Nos. 15 and 16 teams for the final two spots in the playoff bracket.
- The postseason would proceed with its usual best-of-seven format from there, using 1-16 seeding rather than an East/West divide.
Cuban pointed out that such a format would give every team except the Warriors and Timberwolves a chance to qualify for at least the play-in tournament. Assuming safety and scheduling concerns didn’t get in the way, bringing every team back and playing several regular season games would also help out the league financially, allowing a number of clubs to fulfill their local TV deals, tweets MacMahon.
Cuban, who referred to his proposal as “fair” and “entertaining,” expressed concern about the play-in pool format that has been discussed by the NBA, according to MacMahon. The Mavericks owner argued that the group-stage concept “throws away the value of the whole season.”
Of course, it’s worth noting that Cuban’s proposal would benefit the Mavs. They currently hold the NBA’s 13th-best record and – given their current cushion – would have no chance of slipping to 15th and being part of his proposed play-in tournament. If the NBA used another form of play-in tournament, putting the seventh and eighth seeds in each conference up for grabs without playing any regular season games first, Dallas would be at risk of losing the No. 7 spot in the West.