Adam Silver Talks NBA Restart, Finances, ’20/21 Season
The NBA’s restart at Walt Disney World has been “better than what we had envisioned” so far, commissioner Adam Silver tells Chris Mannix of SI.com. Praising those involved in the plan for the sacrifices they’ve made, Silver notes that the players have “taken to it in a more spirited way” than the league anticipated.
As Silver explains in his conversation with Mannix, a number of players who aren’t participating in the restart – either because their teams weren’t invited or because they couldn’t play due to injuries or other issues – have reached out to say that they wish they could be part of the NBA’s summer in Orlando.
Speaking to Mannix, Silver touched on several other topics, including the long road back to resuming the 2019/20 season, NBA players’ advocacy on social justice issues, and the criticism the league has faced from some observers due to its social justice statements.
The conversation is worth checking out in full, but here are a few of the highlights from the NBA commissioner:
On Silver’s biggest regret about the restart plan:
“I’d say my biggest disappointment is that we couldn’t find a sensible way to bring 30 teams down there. We know everything here involves compromises, but I do feel bad there are eight teams that are not part of the experience.”
On how the NBA would have been impacted financially if the season hadn’t resumed:
“In terms of a net basis, it’s not as dramatically different as people might think, because it is so costly to do what we’re doing in Orlando. It’s not a sustainable model, but we also recognize that this virus will end and that at some point we will return to more of a normal business operation with fans in seats. But I recognize that there’s a chance that still this season could come to a halt. The league certainly would have survived had we been forced to shut down, and it will survive if we’re forced to shut down sometime before October.”
On the NBA’s plans for the 2020/21 season:
“We are deep into the planning stages, but only to the extent that we have dozens of permutations as we look into next season. It’s certainly not bubble or bust. Our first and highest priority would be to find a way to have fans in our arenas.
“We’re continuing to look at all the different testing methods. We are current on vaccine developments and antivirals and other protocols around the possibility of bringing people together in arenas. We’re studying what colleges are doing as they look to bring thousands of students back on campus.
“We’re going to try to find the right balance between waiting as long as possible, so we have the best possible information at the time we’re making the decision, and recognizing that, at some point, we have to begin to lock in plans. We would like to find a way to play in front of fans, but it’s just too early to know how realistic this is.”
NBA Again Finds No Positive COVID-19 Cases
According to a press release issued today, the NBA has yielded zero positive results for the novel coronavirus among its 342 players since August 5, the date test results were last released.
The league has thus had a month without any positive COVID-19 tests since the Disney World restart campus was implemented, as Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today indicates (Twitter link).
This marks the fourth consecutive instance, as reported by the NBA and the NBPA, that there have been no new coronavirus cases among players in Orlando. The last two positive coronavirus tests were announced about a month ago after first players arrived at the Disney, but before those players cleared quarantine.
Of course, there are months of playoffs set to commence next week, so the NBA is not out of the woods just yet with regards to coronavirus testing. But the lack of COVID-19 cases at the Disney campus continues to suggest that the league’s restart plan has been effective.
Guests, Staff Members Heading To Orlando Campus After First Round
The NBA is relaxing its policy on guests being allowed on the Orlando campus and attending games after the first round of the playoffs, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reveals.
Via guidelines established by the league and the Players’ Association, each player will be allowed to bring in four guests — and they can exceed that figure for children. Those guests can travel on team charters following coronavirus testing. Additionally, one guest per player will be allowed to attend games, though exceptions will be made for small children.
Player guests will have two options in order to satisfy COVID-19 protocols. They can quarantine in the team’s market for three days, then travel to Orlando and quarantine for four more days. Alternatively, they can travel directly to Orlando and quarantine for a week.
It’s clear that the league wants those players to limit their guest list to family members and close personal friends. Among those who will be prohibited from entering the campus are agents, trainers, massage/physical therapists, personal chefs and tattoo artists. Individuals deemed casual acquaintances will be banned as well.
Playoff teams will also be able to bring in more staffers prior to the conference semifinals. Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets those teams will be able to add two team staff members on the Disney campus on August 22.
And-Ones: 2020/21 Season, Giannis, Bubble, Execs
The National Basketball Players Association has always viewed the NBA’s proposed start date of December 1 for the 2020/21 season as unlikely, a point that NBPA executive director Michele Roberts reiterated this week in a conversation with Chris Mannix of SI.com.
Roberts speculated that next season won’t start until early 2021. She also echoed another point she has made previously, suggesting that it’s hard to imagine how the NBA can play without a bubble if the state of the coronavirus pandemic doesn’t significantly improve.
“Right now I don’t see how sports can be played outside of a bubble concept,” Roberts told Mannix. “I don’t see that, given the state of where we are. Given the absence of a vaccine. Because as long as this thing spreads the way it spreads, the only way you can stop the spread from impacting their ability to perform, and this is at any job, is to isolate. Keep people separated and maintain as much distance as possible.
“Now, having said that, do I think our guys are going to be in a bubble for six or seven months? Hell no,” Roberts continued. “It’s not going to happen. I think what we’re going to have to do is figure out creatively how we can have bubble-like the environments that allow us to play the number of games that we believe we need to play in order to complete the season and crown a champion.”
According to Roberts, she has had “healthy conversations” with players about what next season might look like, but for now the focus remains on safely finishing the 2019/20 campaign.
Here’s more from around the NBA:
- Although Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo technically left the NBA’s campus for his recent oral surgery, the trip didn’t count as leaving the bubble and he wasn’t required to quarantine upon returning. As Joe Vardon of The Athletic explains, the league has “privatized” a dentist’s office in the Orlando area — players who go there and back from the Walt Disney World campus are considered safe, since the dentists and their assistants are tested daily.
- With 22 teams sharing Walt Disney World hotels and players across the NBA feeling united in the fight for social justice, there has been more fraternizing among rival players in Orlando than usual. Sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports that some coaches have encouraged players to dial back on those friendly interactions with opponents as the postseason approaches. Those requests have been “met with mixed reviews among players,” per Haynes.
- In an entertaining piece for ESPN.com, Brian Windhorst details how an oft-overlooked award – Executive of the Year – can inspire pettiness and jealousy among the NBA presidents and general managers who vote on the annual honor.
Restart Notes: Tipline, Departures, Testing, Missing Eight
Numerous players have circumvented the anonymous tipline by contacting commissioner Adam Silver directly, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports reports (video link). The tipline was established to encourage players to report violations of protocol at the Orlando campus. Dwight Howard, Richaun Holmes and Bruno Caboclo were among the players reprimanded by the league for violations since teams arrived in Orlando.
We have more restart-related news:
- The teams in Orlando that don’t make the playoffs will head home immediately, Haynes tweets. NBA teams that have been mathematically eliminated on or before Wednesday will head home right after their final game has ended.
- The league has taken some heat for seemingly preferential treatment in terms of access to COVID-19 testing. Players and staff members have been tested multiple times but the league isn’t taking away tests from the general public, as Mark Medina of USA Today explains. The NBA launched a community testing program that will provide thousands of COVID-19 PCR tests for free, both in Orlando and in the league’s 29 other team markets, through this month.
- The biggest losers in the restart were the eight teams who weren’t invited to Orlando, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today opines. Several of those teams have young rosters that could have benefited from additional playing time. There have been discussions about bringing those teams to Orlando once others start leaving after being eliminated from contention but it’s unlikely to become a reality, Zillgitt adds.
NBA Flexible With Start Of Next Season
The NBA’s experiment at the Disney World campus continues to be a success, with no COVID-19 cases reported in the latest round of testing, but uncertainty still surrounds the start of next season, writes ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The league office is telling teams that the priority will be to play a full 82-game schedule and to have fans present for as many of those games as possible. December 1 has been set as a tentative start date, but the league is willing to be flexible if it would result in more games with paying customers. Sources tell Wojnarowski that Martin Luther King Day, January 18, is being considered for opening night and February and March are realistic as well.
[RELATED: Financial, Logistical Uncertainty Looms Over 2020/21 NBA Season]
It’s also possible that some NBA cities will be able to host large crowds by winter, while others still have high virus rates. Woj says conversations have been held regarding neutral-site games or having teams temporarily move to non-NBA markets where fans could attend. Canada’s borders may still be closed to U.S. traveling parties when the season begins, forcing the Raptors to move their operations to an American city.
The NBA doesn’t plan to repeat the “bubble” concept with 22 teams, but sources say several teams could be sent to regional sites for roughly a month at a time to play games. They would then go home to train for about two weeks before moving onto the next site. Orlando is being considered as one of the cities, along with Las Vegas, which was a finalist to host this year’s restart.
Wojnarowski shares a few more tidbits from Orlando:
- There’s growing skepticism that next season can be completed in time for NBA players to take part in the Olympics. However, one idea being discussed is a month-long midseason break similar to what the NHL has done for the Winter Olympics.
- The reactions of other teams fighting for the eighth and ninth seeds in the Western Conference ranged from “displeased” to “livid” regarding Utah’s decision to rest four starters Friday in a loss to the Spurs. San Antonio is among six closely bunched teams that are fighting to reach the postseason, and there are concerns that the Jazz may do the same thing when they face the Spurs again in their final reseeding game. The league has warned teams about preserving the integrity of the games, but it is limited in what it can do about players sitting out.
- The players union doesn’t support a plan to bring the eight idle teams to Orlando once the first group leaves the WDW campus. Sources tell Wojnarowski that the “inevitable solution” will be voluntary workouts at team facilities. The NBPA won’t consent to making those workouts mandatory.
- Jacque Vaughn has been assured he will get “significant consideration” in the Nets‘ search for a new coach, which is expected to begin once Brooklyn is eliminated from the playoffs. In Chicago, the new management team is taking its time in evaluating Jim Boylen’s coaching future. Several prominent assistants who would be considered for the job are in Orlando, so there’s no rush to make a move, Wojnarowski adds.
NBA Explores Idea Of Bottom Eight Teams Conducting OTAs At Disney Campus
A report earlier this week suggested that the idea of creating a second “bubble” this summer for the NBA’s bottom eight clubs to conduct organized team activities appeared to be losing steam.
However, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic, league officials made it clear in a Wednesday conference call that they’re still trying to figure out as solution that will allow those teams to stay active. One idea that has been discussed, sources tell Amick, is bringing those bottom eight teams to the NBA’s first bubble at Walt Disney World.
As Amick explains, we’re just over a week away from six of the 22 teams participating in the Orlando restart being eliminated, which would open up more space at the Disney hotels and basketball courts. Two weeks later, after the first round of the playoffs ends, eight more clubs will be eliminated, leaving just eight of the original 22 on campus.
That could create an opportunity for the NBA to invite the bottom eight teams – the Warriors, Timberwolves, Cavaliers, Hawks, Knicks, Pistons, Bulls, and Hornets – into its “bubble.” Presumably, players, coaches, and staffers would quarantine in Disney hotels for several days before being cleared to participate in group workouts, practices, and perhaps even inter-squad scrimmages.
Amick cautions that this idea is just being considered for now, with nothing decided as of yet. A number of the hotel rooms being vacated by teams by the end of the first round of the postseason are expected to be filled by family members of players on the remaining clubs, who will be permitted to bring guests onto the campus around the end of August. So the NBA would have logistical challenges to overcome to bring such a plan together.
It also seems unlikely that all of those bottom eight teams would be enthusiastic about traveling to Orlando, quarantining, and spending a period of time at the Disney campus. The Warriors are known to prefer the idea of group workouts in their own market, and the Knicks have been averse to the idea of a second bubble because they have a number of free agents on their roster who likely wouldn’t participate (any organized team activities the NBA approves are expected to be voluntary, not mandatory).
Still, it’s worth noting that one of the NBPA’s primary concerns about OTAs for the non-Orlando teams is a belief that it’d be difficult to replicate the Disney safety protocols at another location. Bringing those teams onto the Disney campus would be the simplest way to ensure that those players are subject to the same safety protocols, so the union would have to consider such a plan. We’ll see if anything comes of it.
Mo Bamba Had COVID-19, Led To Conditioning Issues
Magic center Mohamed Bamba contracted COVID-19 in June, which led to subsequent conditioning issues and a large reduction in playing time during the restart, Josh Robbins of The Athletic reports.
Bamba’s demotion to third-string center behind Nikola Vucevic and Khem Birch was one of the mysteries of the restart. The revelation by the No. 6 overall pick of the 2018 draft of his positive coronavirus test earlier this summer shed more light on the situation.
The illness led to fatigue and muscle soreness and temporarily removed Bamba’s senses of smell and taste, according to Robbins. His lack of playing time — he’s only made brief appearances in two of Orlando’s four seeding games — led to his decision to make his diagnosis public. He saw action in 60 games this season prior to the suspension of play.
“Part of me is reading the temperature of the room and just knowing that there are definitely going to be questions, and sometimes you’ve just got to address them with honesty,” Bamba said. “In this case, I think it’s best for them to have that context and have that understanding of what, exactly, is going on. I want people to know that I’m still working as hard as ever, if not even harder, and I’ll get through this.”
Due to his illness, Bamba was unable to go through individual workouts at the Magic’s practice facility prior to team’s arrival on the Disney campus. He also had a pair of false positive tests once he was on the campus, forcing him to go into additional quarantine and causing him to miss three days of practice.
Subsequently, he’s been relegated to spot duty due to conditioning issues. Bamba had been bulking up before the diagnosis, putting on 20 pounds. He’s had trouble carrying that extra weight without steady exercise.
He feels he’s ready to contribute if called upon.
“I was frustrated because I really felt ready to contribute like I was earlier in the year,” Bamba said. “But the medical staff is in the perfect place to protect me, so I have to follow their guidelines. It really kills me to be sitting there, but at the same time, it’s also really motivating. When you’re sitting out, you can see the game from different angles, different sights and sounds. Especially in the bubble, with no fans, you can really lock in on the game. But I know I have to stay focused, so whenever I’m called upon, I’m ready.”
And-Ones: Draft, Robinson, NBA Foundation, Bubbles
There was some surprise around the NBA that so many college early entrants decided to withdraw from the 2020 draft before Monday’s deadline, according to Jeremy Woo of SI.com. As Woo observes, the 2021 draft class is widely viewed as stronger than 2020’s, and the ’20/21 college season remains somewhat in flux, given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Still, Woo acknowledges that the stability of returning to a college program was likely appealing for many of those prospects who withdrew, especially since we also don’t yet know what the NBA and G League schedules will look like for ’20/21.
Elsewhere on the draft front, Jonathan Givony of ESPN (Insider link) has updated his 2021 mock draft to account for recent early entrant decisions. Prospects such as Corey Kispert (Gonzaga), Isaiah Joe (Arkansas), Trendon Watford (LSU), and Luka Garza (Iowa), who recently pulled out of the 2020 draft pool, now show up in the second round of Givony’s mock for next year.
Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Former No. 5 overall pick Thomas Robinson has parted ways with Khimki Moscow, his team in Russia, as Ennio Terrasi Borghesan of Sportando relays. Robinson appeared in 313 games for six NBA teams after being drafted in 2012, but hasn’t been on an NBA roster since being cut by Atlanta before the 2018/19 season.
- The NBA announced today that its Board of Governors – in partnership with the NBPA – will contribute $300MM over the next 10 years to a new, league-wide charitable foundation called the NBA Foundation, which is “dedicated to creating greater economic empowerment in the Black community.”
- Jason Lloyd of The Athletic takes an interesting look at what the “bubble” sports leagues are getting right and what lessons can be learned from the experiments, which have been a success so far.
NBA Continues To Report Zero New COVID-19 Cases Among Players
The NBA and its players union have issued another update on coronavirus testing taking place at the Walt Disney World campus in Florida, announcing today in a press release that there have been no confirmed positive coronavirus tests since the last update on July 29.
During that time, 343 players have been tested for COVID-19, according to today’s announcement. It’s the third consecutive update from the NBA and the NBPA that confirms there have been no new coronavirus cases among players at the Disney campus.
Since teams began arriving at the campus on July 7, only two coronavirus cases have been reported. Both occurred prior to July 13 and were caught before the affected players cleared quarantine, so the league’s protocols have worked exactly as intended so far.
Although the NBA must still get through a couple more months in Orlando, the fact that there has been no COVID-19 outbreak to date – or even a threat of an outbreak – is a very promising sign for the league as it looks to complete its 2019/20 season.