NBA Not Expected To Alter Draft Lottery Process
Although the NBA’s 2019/20 regular season is unlikely to be completed in full, the league isn’t expected to make any changes to its lottery format, league sources tell ESPN’s Tim Bontemps.
In other words, the lottery order will still be determined by the NBA’s reverse standings, even though teams may have played a different number of games, with no clubs playing a full 82-game schedule. The lottery has been indefinitely postponed and now figures to take place in the summer or fall.
Bontemps suggests that some executives will “inevitably grumble” about the lottery order being determined by an incomplete season, but notes that every team has played at least three-quarters of its overall schedule. That should make for a “more than representative sample,” writes Bontemps, noting that 23 of 30 teams would have to approve any changes to the format.
“I don’t see anything changing,” one executive said to ESPN. “Where will the collective will come from to do it?”
[RELATED: Hoops Rumors Glossary: NBA Draft Lottery]
We took a closer look in March at what the 2020 lottery odds would look like if the regular season can’t be resumed. Of course, if the NBA is able to play a handful of regular season contests before the playoffs this summer, that order would be subject to change.
When we presented those tentative odds in March, we assumed the lottery order would be determined by reverse winning percentage for teams that haven’t played the same amount of games. For instance, the 19-45 (.297) Timberwolves would have better odds than the 20-47 (.299) Hawks. Bontemps doesn’t confirm that point one way or the other, but I’d be surprised if that’s not how it works.
BIG3 Cancels 2020 Season
The BIG3, the professional 3-on-3 basketball league co-founded by Ice Cube, is canceling its 2020 season due to the coronavirus pandemic, according to a press release.
The league, which intends to start preparing for its 2021 season, cited “safety, uncertainty of testing, changing government regulations, insurance and liability issues,” and a handful of other concerns as reasons why the ’20 campaign had to be canceled.
“Ultimately, we need the fan experience and the games themselves to be great,” the BIG3’s statement reads. “While other leagues have more immediate financial considerations, as a rising league, we need to put the fan experience above all and ensure each season is better than the one before.
“While we investigated many alternative scenarios, such as playing at a single location like a Los Angeles studio sound stage, the extension of the California stay at home order, California’s constant confusion and changing of the rules when combined with the multiple other issues listed above led to us to determining these scenarios were not feasible.”
Former NBA players such as Joe Johnson, Rashard Lewis, Amar’e Stoudemire, and Josh Smith were among the standout BIG3 performers during the first three seasons of the 12-team league, which typically begins in June. Zach Randolph and Marreese Speights were among the notable veterans expected to join the BIG3 for its 2020 season.
The BIG3 had planned to precede its 2020 season with a reality show-style, three-on-three tournament, which will now be delayed until ’21 as well. The program, titled BIG3: Not in My House, will premiere sometime before the 2021 regular season begins, according to today’s announcement.
“The BIG3, along with (production partner) Endemol, was ready to proceed with this show immediately, but were faced with issues because U.S. networks mostly cannot start reality show and studio productions until at least September,” the league said in its statement. “We will have to wait until network studio production and scheduling stabilizes.”
Pelicans Notes: Facility, Gentry, Zion, K. Williams
As we relayed earlier today, the Pelicans have joined the growing list of NBA teams that have reopened their practice facilities.
Addressing that subject on a call with reporters this afternoon, head of basketball operations David Griffin said that only seven of the club’s players are still in the area and will use the facility — the rest of the Pelicans are finding other ways to work out (Twitter link via Andrew Lopez of ESPN).
Griffin added that he’s not asking players who are out of market to travel back to New Orleans at this time, since he would rather wait until it’s safer and more necessary, according to Lopez.
Here’s more on the Pelicans:
- Alvin Gentry, 65, falls in an age bracket at risk of being seriously affected by COVID-19. However, the Pelicans’ head coach tells Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter links) that that increased vulnerability will “not stop me from doing my job one bit” when play resumes. “I’m going to approach it with caution,” Gentry said. “But I will be immersed in it totally from a competitive standpoint and everything else.”
- Speaking today to reporters, Griffin admitted he’d embrace the idea of starting the NBA season later, since it would help the Pelicans gain more of a foothold in their market (Twitter link via Lopez). The NFL’s Saints are New Orleans’ most popular professional sports team, so reducing the NBA’s overlap with the football season could be good news for the Pels.
- Even before the Pelicans reopened their facility today for individual workouts, a couple of players had been permitted in the building for rehab purposes. According to Griffin, Zion Williamson and Kenrich Williams were getting regular treatment there over the last several weeks (Twitter links via William Guillory of The Athletic). Williams, sidelined since January 6 due to a back injury, will be ready to practice in full when teams reconvene, says Griffin.
- Guillory and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic examine what the Pelicans got right – and wrong – in the 2019 draft, which saw the team select three players besides Williamson.
Bojan Bogdanovic Undergoing Season-Ending Wrist Surgery
1:24pm: Confirming that Bogdanovic will undergo season-ending surgery on Tuesday in New York, the Jazz announced in a press release that the procedure will repair a ruptured scapholunate ligament. According to the club, Bogdanovic actually first injured his right wrist “sometime in 2019.”
12:40pm: Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic will undergo a surgical procedure on his right wrist, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that the surgery will end Bogdanovic’s season. He’s expected to be fully recovered for the start of the 2020/21 campaign.
With the remainder of the ’19/20 season and the start date for next season still very much up in the air, we don’t know exactly what Bogdanovic’s recovery timeline will look like. Still, based on Woj’s report, it sounds like it’ll be a multi-month process, extending through the summer.
As Wojnarowski explains (via Twitter), Bogdanovic injured his right wrist in January and played through it for the rest of the season. Sources tell ESPN that his discomfort re-emerged during the NBA’s hiatus, prompting the team to decide to shut him down and have him undergo surgery. The Jazz have an eye toward the long term, since the forward is in the first season of a four-year deal.
Bogdanovic, who is under contract through 2023, will earn $18.7MM annually for the next three years. The 31-year-old enjoyed a career year in his first season with the Jazz, averaging 20.2 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 2.1 APG with a .447/.414/.903 shooting line in 63 games (33.1 MPG).
Assuming the ’19/20 season can be completed, Bogdanovic’s injury will put a serious dent in Utah’s chances of making a deep playoff run. He was a key part of the club’s success this season — the Jazz had a 113.5 offensive rating when Bogdanovic played, compared to just 105.0 when he sat.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Knicks To Hire Walt Perrin As Assistant GM
The Knicks are finalizing the hiring of Jazz executive Walt Perrin, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Perrin will be an assistant general manager in New York.
Perrin, who has spent nearly the last two decades in Utah, was initially hired as the team’s director player personnel before eventually being promoted to vice president of player personnel. Prior to joining the Jazz in 2001, he was a scout in Minnesota and Detroit, holding the title of director of college scouting with the Pistons.
John Hollinger of The Athletic, formerly a Grizzlies executive, praised the hiring for the Knicks, referring to Perrin as someone who’s a “fixture at every event with an even remotely relevant prospect” (Twitter link).
Perrin will be the second noteworthy addition to the Knicks’ front office since Leon Rose assumed president of basketball operations duties in March. The organization previously hired away capologist Brock Aller from the Cavaliers to be the Knicks’ VP of strategy. Rose also elected to retain GM Scott Perry for at least one more year.
Thunder Reopen Facility, Can Conduct Coronavirus Tests
The Thunder are reopening their practice facility, the Thunder Ion, on Monday and will allow players to conduct voluntary individual workouts there, as Royce Young of ESPN relays (Twitter link). Players are expected to be in the gym today, according to Young.
In addition to opening their facility, the Thunder have received authorization to conduct coronavirus tests on players or staffers who enter the building. Their statement suggests they’ll be able to administer those tests even for individuals who are asymptomatic.
“While our testing will be done through private resources, our state health authorities have given us assurances that any testing of players or essential staff would not impact the needs of the community and have provided the written documentation that is required by the NBA to test any players and essential staff,” the team said, per Young.
[RELATED: NBA Starts Allowing Teams To Test Asymptomatic Players For Coronavirus]
Oklahoma City is the 17th club known to have reopened its practice facility on a limited basis following the coronavirus shutdown. We listed the other 16 in our earlier story on the Pelicans and Clippers reopening their buildings.
Clippers, Pelicans Reopening Practice Facilities
The Clippers are among the teams reopening their practice facilities on Monday, as first reported by Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times. The Pelicans, reported last week to be targeting May 18 as their reopening date, are also moving forward with that plan, as Christian Clark of The New Orleans Times-Picayune writes.
As has been the case for teams around the league, the Clippers and Pelicans will face strict regulations from the NBA as players return to their facilities for voluntary individual workouts. No more than four players can be in the building at a time, and their workouts are limited to one hour. They also have to undergo temperature checks before entering the facility and wear masks when they’re not engaged in physical activity.
More than half of the NBA’s teams are now known to have reopened their respective facilities. We count 16 clubs so far, though it’s possible that number is even higher if some teams have reopened their buildings without publicizing it.
The Bucks, Cavaliers, Grizzlies, Hawks, Heat, Jazz, Kings, Lakers, Magic, Nuggets, Pacers, Raptors, Rockets, and Trail Blazers have also reopened their practice facilities.
[UPDATE: The Thunder have reopened their practice facility as well.]
Community Shootaround: The Last Dance
On Sunday night, ESPN aired the final two hours of The Last Dance, its 10-part documentary series that told the story of the Bulls‘ 1997/98 season, with a number of entertaining digressions along the way.
With nearly every North American professional sport on a hiatus for the time being, the Michael Jordan-centric series was well-timed. It dominated the discussion among basketball fans for five weeks while appealing to more casual viewers as well.
For older viewers, it was an opportunity to relive the Bulls’ dynasty of the 1990s while perhaps learning some new details along the way. For younger viewers who didn’t get a chance to follow Jordan in his prime, it was perhaps more illuminating, offering the opportunity to explore iconic NBA moments such as MJ’s series-winning shot over Cleveland in 1989, his rivalry with the Bad-Boy Pistons, and his return from an 18-month stint as a baseball player.
Even now that the documentary has finished airing, there are no shortage of topics to discuss. For instance, did 1998 really have to be the “last dance” for that Bulls dynasty? ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne explored this morning whether the team could have been kept intact beyond that season.
ESPN’s Royce Young, meanwhile, notes that Jordan said in the last installment of the doc that he would’ve been willing to sign up for one more year if the rest of the team’s key players were brought back too; on the other hand, ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link) expresses some skepticism that Scottie Pippen would have been on board to return when he had a massive offer from Houston waiting for him in free agency.
Of course, the ongoing Jordan vs. LeBron James debate hasn’t lost any momentum in recent weeks, though an ESPN survey suggests that The Last Dance may have helped tip the scales in further in Jordan’s favor when it comes to public opinion. According to ESPN’s poll, 73% of respondents now believe Jordan is the superior overall player.
We want to know what you think. Could the Bulls have won a seventh title if they’d brought back the 1998 team, or was it the right call for that version of the club to go out on top? Did The Last Dance change – or solidify – your stance in the Jordan/LeBron debate?
Outside of those topics, we want to know what you thought about the documentary in general. What were you favorite moments or episodes? Were you surprised by anything you learned over the course of those 10 episodes? Were you disappointed by details that may have been left out? Did you think the story of Jordan and the Bulls was well told?
And, of course, do you buy Jordan’s claim that he didn’t really push off Bryon Russell in Game 6 of the 1998 Finals?
Head to the comment section below to share your thoughts on The Last Dance!
Grizzlies Have Reopened Practice Facility
We can add the Grizzlies to the list of NBA teams that have reopened their practice facilities for voluntary individual workouts, per a report from Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian.
According to Herrington, the team didn’t immediately reopen its facility last Friday when the NBA loosened its restrictions, but did so at some point this week. Herrington’s source declined to say which players – or how many of them – have used the facility so far.
The NBA is permitting teams to open their facilities for players as long as those teams receive the go-ahead from local governments and health authorities. No more than four players are permitted in a facility at a time, and players can’t shoot on the same basket. They’re also required to have their temperatures checked before entering the building and must wear a mask when they’re not engaged in physical activity.
Coming into Friday, we knew of 11 teams that had reopened their facilities. We’ve added the Grizzlies and Lakers to that list today — the Lakers’ facility is expected to be opened tomorrow. However, the Clippers will not be reopening on Saturday, ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk tweets.
Reports have indicated that the NBA believes more than two-thirds of its teams will be able to reopen their buildings by Monday.
Amick’s Latest: TV Revenue, Vegas, Training Camps, More
If the NBA is unable to play its postseason this year, the national television revenue the league loses as a result would amount to approximately $900MM, a source tells Sam Amick of The Athletic. That estimate doesn’t account for the regional sports network revenue that could be lost if teams don’t play at least 70 regular season games in 2019/20.
As the NBA attempts to find a way to resume its season, those financial concerns are one of the many factors the league is weighing, writes Amick. Losing nearly a billion dollars in national TV revenue for the playoffs wouldn’t just have an impact on players’ and owners’ wallets this year — it would have a ripple effect on future seasons, likely forcing the league and the players’ union to renegotiate aspects of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and reevaluate the salary cap.
Here are some more of the issues the NBA is attempting to sort through as it considers possible plans, per Amick:
- There was concern within the NBA’s league office when Las Vegas mayor Carolyn Goodman appeared on CNN last month, pushing to reopen the city and use its residents as test cases. However, Amick says the “sting of that segment” has subsided and that there’s still a very real possibility that Vegas will play a role in hosting the resumption of the NBA season.
- A source with knowledge of the discussions tells Amick that the NBA’s early conversations involved the possibility of a four- or five-week period for training camps before the season resumes. However, as of late, those estimates have been adjusted to two or three weeks.
- No decisions have been made yet on whether all 30 teams would play if the season resumes. Still, sources tell The Athletic that – on a Wednesday call with GMs – commissioner Adam Silver encouraged teams out of postseason contention to “take a holistic view on the matter and remain willing to assist for the greater good.” Amick suggests that’s a clue that the league would still like to involve all 30 teams.
- No NBA player who has contracted COVID-19 so far has required hospitalization, and all have fully recovered, reports Amick. Given the strong likelihood that more players will test positive though, Silver remains focused on figuring out the medical aspect of a potential return. “It’s all based on medical,” one source told The Athletic.