Mike Miller Has Support To Remain On Knicks’ Staff
As the Knicks intensify their pursuit for a new head coach, interim head coach Mike Miller has support from people in the organization to remain on the coaching staff, SNY’s Ian Begley reports.
Miller, 55, was moved up from assistant coach to interim head coach following the dismissal of David Fizdale in early December last year. While the Knicks’ losing record persisted, the team played better under Miller, going 17-27 in 44 games until the season was stopped amid the coronavirus pandemic.
With new team president Leon Rose in the fold, the Knicks reportedly have former Timberwolves head coach Tom Thibodeau at the top of their list. However, in addition to Miller, the team also plans to interview former Nets coach Kenny Atkinson and former Knicks head coach Mike Woodson.
While Miller’s lone head coaching experience has been a 44-game stretch this season, he has experienced success at other levels, most notably winning Coach of the Year with the G League’s Westchester Knicks in 2017/18. It remains to be seen if Miller will be given a serious opportunity to become the full-time head coach, but he has impressed team officials enough to at least be in the mix.
NBA Enters ‘Exploratory’ Talks To Resume Season In Orlando
The NBA has entered exploratory conversations with the Walt Disney Corporation about restarting the 2019/20 season at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida in late July, tweets ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
“The NBA, in conjunction with the National Basketball Players Association, is engaged in exploratory conversations with The Walt Disney Company about restarting the 2019/20 NBA season in late July at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida as a single site for an NBA campus for games, practices and housing,” NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said (via Shelburne). “Our priority continues to be the health and safety of all involved, and we are working with public health experts and government officials on a comprehensive set of guidelines to ensure that appropriate medical protocols and protections are in place.”
As we relayed earlier this week, Orlando emerged as a frontrunner to be the host city whenever the league resumed its season. In this bubble/campus-like format, Orlando would host all players, coaches, and other essential personnel as the NBA attempts to resume play.
Given the uncertainty amid the coronavirus pandemic, it remains to be seen if the season can be resumed while ensuring the safety of its players. However, this represents the most serious step since the season was suspended toward a return to play.
NBA Issues Survey To GMs On Possible Formats To Resume Season
In a recent survey sent to the NBA’s 30 general managers, several different proposals for play formats were proposed as the league weighs resuming the 2019/20 season, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports.
Ranging from a direct-to-playoffs format to resuming the regular season, a number of different scenarios are mentioned. As the NBA zeroed in on Disney World in Orlando to resume play sometime in mid-July, the following scenarios are on the table:
- Playoffs: The top eight teams in each conference would advance directly to the postseason.
- “Playoffs Plus”: Increasing the number of teams that receive a chance to continue playing through either a play-in tournament or replacing the playoffs first round with a group stage.
- Note: The number of teams to return in this scenario would be either 18, 20, 22, or 24.
- Regular Season: Under this proposal, all 30 teams would resume the season where it ended and continue on as scheduled.
- Regular Season + Play-In: All teams play the same amount of games which would then include a play-in tournament and conclude with a traditional postseason.
- Playoffs Plus play-in: A play-in tournament which includes bubble teams playing for the eighth seed; a play-in tournament for the seventh and eighth seed; or a stage that replaces the first playoff round and all groups. In this scenario, every team would play two games against each group opponent and the top two teams from each group would advance to a traditional second round.
Further discussions in the survey include the amount of scrimmage games that would be played before a restart (between two and five), the total number of regular-season games that would be played (72 or 76), whether or not to do a traditional playoff format or reseed all teams, and when the season would end (Labor Day, Sept. 15, Oct. 1, Oct. 15 or Nov. 1).
Discussions continue on how and when the NBA season could be resumed safely and without fans in attendance.
Victor Oladipo Talks Health, Pacers, Legacy
Pacers All-Star Victor Oladipo was able to return to action earlier this year after undergoing surgery for a torn quad last January, which ended his 2018/19 season and forced a late start to the currently-suspended campaign.
All told, over an 18-month period, Oladipo has had to abruptly stop playing basketball twice. As the NBA weighs the possibility of continuing the season, Oladipo tells Michael Lee of The Athletic he wants to establish himself as one of the greats.
After returning in January, Oladipo appeared in 13 games (10 starts) before the coronavirus pandemic shuttered play. Oladipo admitted that he “would be lying” if he said he was playing above 80% this season.
Ahead of free agency this summer, the 28-year-old discussed his personal goals moving forward, his intended legacy and much more.
Check out the highlights below:
On hiss ultimate career goal::
“At the end of the day, I wanted my name to be mentioned with one of the greats. So, when this quad injury happened, my job is not over. My legacy isn’t finished. This knee is a little bump in the road, I guess you would say. But someone once told me a long time ago, ‘If the road you’re on is easy, then you’re on the wrong road.’ So I hate calling it a ‘bump in a road.’”
On the feeling he needs to constantly prove himself:
“Me, personally, I feel they don’t really respect me. And that’s fine. I get it. It was only one year or a year and a few months, or whatever the case may be. And I still got a lot to prove. I want the whole world to remember my name. That’s why I do what I do. And that’s why I’m going to come back stronger than ever because I still have some unfinished business. And I still got a lot of things that I need to accomplish and want to accomplish — so my name can ring bells.”
On understanding the Pacers culture:
“The money is great, obviously, and the lifestyle is cool, but coming from where I come from, if they ain’t talking about you as one of the best, it’s no point in you even playing. That’s what I got from PG County. I want to be a legend, period, when it comes to this game. That’s why I work as hard as I do. I remember when no one knew who I was, and that’s what keeps me going every day. That makes me work harder every day. That’s why it’s so hard to take a break because it’s so many things I need to do.”
Players Who Tested Positive For Coronavirus Recovered ‘In Short Order’
There are at least 10 known cases of NBA players who tested positive for the coronavirus and all players recovered “in short order,” according to Sam Amick of The Athletic.
Jazz center Rudy Gobert had the first known case of COVID-19 — his positive test led to the NBA suspending the season. In the aftermath, his teammate Donovan Mitchell, four Nets players including Kevin Durant, Pistons center Christian Wood, Celtics Marcus Smart and two Lakers players also tested positive.
While it’s good to hear that the players recovered quickly, safety has been the main concern discussed the NBA works toward potentially resuming the 2019/20 season. The league expects 22 of its 30 teams to have their practice facilities open for voluntary workouts by this Monday with strict guidelines in place for players.
Rockets To Reopen Training Facility On Monday
The Rockets will be the latest team to open their training facility this coming Monday as the NBA works toward potentially restarting the season, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
As coronavirus restrictions have been loosened in certain parts of the country, several teams have begun opening their facilities for limited, voluntary workouts. Wojnarowski noted earlier this week that the NBA expected 22 of the league’s 30 teams to have their facilities open for voluntary workouts by this coming Monday.
For those players who choose to participate in the workouts, several safety precautions are required. Players are allowed to train for an hour at a time, with no more than four total players in the building. Temperature checks are administered before entering the facility and players are required to wear a mask when not engaged in physical activity.
Tristan Thompson Talks Upcoming Free Agency, Cavaliers
While the rest of the 2019/20 season is up in the air for every NBA player, it’s an especially uncertain time for the players who were set to hit free agency this summer. One of those players is Cavaliers big man Tristan Thompson.
A key part of the Cavs’ 2016 NBA championship, Thompson has had an up-and-down tenure in Cleveland. This season, Thompson was averaging 12.0 PPG (a career-high) and 10.1 RPG in 57 games (51 starts) before the coronavirus pandemic stopped play. Regardless of what happens to the 2019/20 campaign, the Cavaliers are already set to enter next season with Larry Nance Jr., Kevin Love and Andre Drummond in their frontcourt, so it’s not clear if Thompson will be part of the team’s future plans.
In a conference call with reporters, including Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com, Thompson discussed some topics, including his tenure in and future in the NBA.
Check out some highlights below:
Thompson’s thoughts on his upcoming free agency:
“(It hasn’t) crossed my mind at all. I don’t like to think too far ahead or think maybe or what-if. I just try to look at it, just the reality of everything now, what’s in front of us.
“No one is thinking about free agency, they’re thinking about how we’re going to get some games going. In terms of free agency stuff, I let Rich Paul handle that. He’s the best in the game. Keep the main focus the main focus and that’s staying ready to play some basketball, whenever that may be. In terms of free agency and whether guys are going to take one-year deals, the cap situation, guys are going to do what’s best for them and their family. My approach right now is just enjoy family time and stay basketball ready.”
On his tenure with the Cavaliers:
“Being in my ninth season, never thought in a million years I would have the success I’ve had. Taking it one day at a time and enjoying every bit of it. Meeting so many great people, being part of a franchise and city that’s been through so many tough times and being able to break the 52-year drought — that was the most important thing I think in my time here. I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
On the players’ main concern with resuming the season:
“I think the main concern is just how can we do it in a way where everyone’s at peace when they go to work? As long as guys aren’t second guessing or hesitating and then we could start moving forward, but none of that can be done until there’s a direction with our country you know in terms of what we’re doing health-wise.”
NBA Will Likely Need To Restructure CBA Amid Pandemic
During Adam Silver‘s call with NBA players on Friday, many near-term questions were presented, but there was a shortage of definitive answers as the league aims to resume its 2019/20 season. Silver stressed the need for testing and how it will expand as players return to practice facilities. Additionally, more information was provided in terms of travel, training camp and the 2020/21 season.
All of that doesn’t even scratch the surface of the financial impact the league will endure. With the season suspended in March, there have been no NBA games for two months and if they do resume, there is no guarantee fans will be allowed, potentially for all of 2020.
Per ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link), the NBA was projecting $8 billion in revenue for the current season and $8.4 billion in 2020/21. However, those projections were in place before the coronavirus outbreak. As Silver noted, having fans in the stands for all games equates to 40% of the NBA’s revenue.
If the league moves forward with fan-less arenas, which may be limited to one or two locations at least for the rest of 2019/20, the loss of revenue will essentially force the league to restructure the current collective bargaining agreement. The league has already cut back salaries of employees, including players, while teams evaluate paying non-laid off or furloughed employees on a month to month basis.
Pau Gasol Interested In Finishing Career With Lakers
As Pau Gasol‘s professional career winds down, the legendary Spaniard says he would have interest in finishing his NBA career in the Lakers purple and gold, as Ryan Ward of ClutchPoints writes.
Gasol tells the outlet that while there have not been many opportunities to return to the team where he enjoyed his greatest successes, he would welcome the chance.
“It’s something that has been on my mind,” Gasol said. “Kind of like the potential of maybe finishing or playing my last year with the Lakers would be great. It’s appealing if you will, but the opportunity never really kind of presented itself in a serious official manner.
“I have a great relationship and love for (Lakers owner) Jeanie (Buss) and the Lakers organization and the city of Los Angeles, which is always going to remain extremely meaningful to me no matter what, but we’ll see…”
Gasol, 39, has not appeared in an NBA game since he appeared in 30 contests with the Spurs and Bucks during the 2018/19 campaign. The six-time All-Star signed with the Trail Blazers last July but was waived by the team before appearing in a regular-season game as a left foot injury hampered him.
After not latching on with another team, Gasol indicated in February that he hoped to suit up for Spain in the Olympics and was aiming for an NBA return. Given the coronavirus pandemic, Gasol will not get to suit up for Spain this summer, but would still like to play in the Olympics in 2021 if possible and hasn’t given up on a potential NBA comeback, even as he acknowledges that retirement isn’t out of the question.
Adam Silver On Player Travel, Testing, 2020/21 Season
During Friday’s call with NBA players, league commissioner Adam Silver addressed several topics regarding future plans to potentially resume the 2019/20 season. It remains unclear if or when that could happen but Silver discussed coronavirus testing, locations to play and the length of a possible training camp.
Silver also addressed other topics on the call, including other players that had been tested for coronavirus, potential travel alternatives for players should the season resume, and a potential start date for next season.
Check out some of those notes below:
- Silver mentioned that the NBA would not allow teams to use privates jets to shuttle players concerned with commercial travel to workouts, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported (Twitter link). One of the reasons for that decision is to manage a competitive advantage amongst teams, per Wojnarowski.
- While Jazz center Rudy Gobert was the first NBA player to test positive for coronavirus, he was not the first player to be tested for the disease, Silver told players, per Yahoo’s Chris Haynes (Twitter link). Silver added that before the crisis shuttered the season, the league was ahead of the curve in terms of testing.
- Per Shams Charania of The Athletic, a Christmas Day start to the 2020/21 season is “gaining momentum.” Obviously, if the current reason were to pick up, the ending could go well into August or September, when training camps typically begin. Therefore, a later beginning to the following season would be needed. Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer suggested on Friday that even a January start isn’t out of the question.