And-Ones: Jackson, Holland, Box Scores, Video
Mark Jackson hasn’t coached since the Warriors let him go in 2014 but his desire to patrol the sidelines hasn’t waned. He told Marc Berman of the New York Post and other reporters he’d relish another chance to be a head coach.
“I truly look forward to having the opportunity to coach again,” the ESPN/ABC analyst said. “I had a blast at Golden State, built incredible relationships that will last a lifetime and I look forward to the challenge of coaching again.”
Jackson expressed similar feelings in an ESPN interview in May. However, he did not receive an interview in the Knicks’ coaching search before they chose Tom Thibodeau.
We have more from around the basketball world:
- Former Cavaliers guard John Holland has signed with Russia’s Unics Kazan, Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays. Holland played in Israel last season. He saw action in 25 total games with Cleveland – all but one during the 2017/18 season – and averaged 2.2 PPG in 7.0 MPG.
- Add a new line to NBA box scores due to the pandemic — NWT (Not With Team)-Self Isolating, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. That will apply to players who miss games due to the coronavirus or are in quarantine for a given reason. The league has also developed rules regarding player participation at the Orlando campus, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Teams must designate participation status in a league portal by 5 PM the day before games. In instances when teams are playing the second game of back-to-back, teams must submit player participation status five hours prior to tip-off.
- More than 300 fans will be invited to appear live on the 17-foot video boards surrounding the court during each game of the restart, according to NBA press release. It will give participating fans the feeling of sitting next to one another at a live game without leaving the comfort and safety of their homes, the release adds. The league’s national broadcast partners, ESPN and Turner Sports, will have more than 30 cameras — including many in robotic form — repositioned closer to the court and showcase never-before-seen camera angles.
Financial Effects Of Pandemic Likely To Impact NBA Offseason
A number of team owners around the NBA are feeling the financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic, as Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com writes. Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, for instance, has seen business fall off precipitously at his restaurants, hotels, and casinos, while Heat owner Micky Arison has had to temporarily shut down his Carnival Cruise Lines.
While some team owners have been hit harder than others by the effects of COVID-19, there’s an expectation that the pandemic will have a league-wide impact on spending this offseason, as Windhorst writes. Some teams may have to make difficult financial decisions that could result in unexpected player movement.
“With few exceptions, no one wants to make long-term commitments right now,” one general manager told ESPN. “You can already feel it coming.”
In addition to the teams that may feel pressure to dump pricey contracts or avoid expensive free agent commitments, some clubs may face financial constraints in the draft. Although selling second-round draft picks remains fairly common, no NBA team has sold a first-round pick since the Nuggets did so with the No. 27 selection in the 2013 draft, according to Windhorst. Some people around the league believe that teams will consider the possibility again in 2020.
“I suspect first-round picks will be for sale in this draft,” a team executive said. “We haven’t really seen that in a decade.”
Here are a few more noteworthy details and quotes from Windhorst’s examination of NBA teams’ finances:
- Warriors owner Joe Lacob has told his fellow owners that he’s exploring a deal with Goldman Sachs to raise up to $250MM to manage expenses, per Windhorst. Sources tell ESPN that other team owners are considering ways to raise capital as well, with some – including the Rockets – pursuing legal action against companies that have denied coronavirus-related insurance claims.
- Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta recently took out a $300MM loan and is more leveraged than many other owners, since he purchased the franchise fairly recently, but he continues to insist he’s not looking to sell any shares in the team. Brokers who have approached him representing potential bidders have been told the same, reports Windhorst.
- Nets owner Joseph Tsai recently sold about 25% of his shares in tech company Alibaba, according to Windhorst. Other owners might not have similar opportunities to raise capital. “I don’t know what will happen, but I may lose $50MM next season,” one owner told Windhorst. “If that happens, I have three options: I could borrow the money, I could sell part of the team or I could do a cash call and me and my partners would have to write checks.”
- NBA rules allow team owners to borrow $325MM against the equity in their franchises. A majority of NBA teams – including the Warriors – have maxed out that credit, sources tell Windhorst.
- Although the Buss family’s pockets aren’t as deep as some of their fellow owners, the Lakers bring in about $200MM annually from their local TV deal and aren’t expected to have any issues re-signing Anthony Davis, writes Windhorst.
Aron Baynes Receives Clearance To Travel To Orlando
Suns center Aron Baynes has cleared the NBA’s medical protocols after contracting COVID-19 and has been given the go-ahead to travel, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Baynes is set to arrive at the Walt Disney World campus later today.
[RELATED: Aron Baynes reveals he tested positive for COVID-19]
Once he gets to Disney World, Baynes will have to quarantine for two days, returning a pair of negative coronavirus tests before he’s cleared to join the Suns for practices. If he can get up to speed quickly, he could still suit up for the team’s first seeding game on Friday vs. Washington.
The Suns are currently six games out of the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, with four other non-playoff teams ahead of them in the standings. As such, the odds of Phoenix capturing that No. 8 seed are slim.
Still, with unrestricted free agency looming this summer, Baynes has some incentive to show that he’s healthy and productive to finish the season. He has enjoyed a career year so far, averaging 11.5 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 1.6 APG with a .351 3PT% — all of those numbers are career highs. The veteran big man also filled in admirably in the starting five when Deandre Ayton served a 25-game suspension early in the season.
Eastern Notes: Isaac, Connaughton, Heat, Mokoka
Jonathan Isaac hasn’t played for the Magic in nearly seven months, having suffered a knee injury on January 1. However, it looks like his return is imminent — the team’s performance staff and front office officials have cleared Isaac to suit up for Orlando’s scrimmage on Monday, writes Josh Robbins of The Athletic.
The Magic are being extra cautious with Isaac, one of the franchise’s young cornerstones, so he’ll still have to make it through today’s shootaround before being given the go-ahead for the club’s evening scrimmage vs. Denver. And even if he plays, he’ll face restrictions, Robbins notes.
“It’s been a very long time since he’s played,” Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said of Isaac. “As always, we will take a very cautious approach, and his playing time will be placed under a very limited minute restriction as he gets reacclimated to the NBA game.”
The Magic had originally been planning to be without Isaac this summer, but the young forward has exceeded expectations, writes Robbins. If he gets through Monday’s scrimmage with no issues, he would be well positioned to contribute in the team’s seeding games and potentially the playoffs as well, which would be a nice boost for Orlando. Isaac was one of the NBA’s best defenders during the first half of the season, with averages of 2.4 blocks and 1.6 steals per game in 32 contests.
Here’s more from around the East:
- Bucks wing Pat Connaughton, who revealed last week that he had tested positive for COVID-19, said on Saturday that he was en route to the NBA’s campus in Orlando, tweets Malika Andrews of ESPN. Assuming Connaughton began his quarantine that evening and returns two negative coronavirus tests, he should be cleared to rejoin the team today.
- Heat starters Bam Adebayo and Kendrick Nunn confirmed that their arrivals to Orlando were delayed by positive COVID-19 tests, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun Sentinel. Adebayo said that he was essentially asymptomatic, while Nunn had “mild symptoms,” per Winderman. “It felt like a common cold, to be honest,” Nunn said. “I’m just thankful I got over it.”
- Bulls two-way player Adam Mokoka was named the MVP of a summer tournament in France, as Rob Schaefer of NBC Sports Chicago relays. Mokoka scored 18 points in the final of the Amiral League, which took place in Paris and also featured NBA players Frank Ntilikina and Sekou Doumbouya.
Western Notes: Burke, Spurs, Fox, Barnes
Mavericks guard Trey Burke worked out at the Orlando campus for the first time on Friday, Tim McMahon of ESPN tweets. He wasn’t a full go but did some conditioning work and ran through sets, coach Rick Carlisle told MacMahon. Burke was signed as a substitute player but didn’t arrive at the campus until Wednesday.
We have more from the Western Conference:
- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich is rotating his assistants to run the team during scrimmages against other clubs, Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press tweets. Becky Hammon was the head coach for their Thursday scrimmage, Mitch Johnson will run the show on Saturday and Will Hardy will guide the team on Tuesday.
- Kings point guard De’Aaron Fox had no restrictions during Friday’s practice, James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area tweets. Fox sprained his ankle after the team arrived from Sacramento. He took part in non-contact drills earlier this week.
- Kings forward Harrison Barnes passed his COVID-19 tests in Sacramento and headed to Orlando on Friday, Ham reports. “He’ll have to start his two-day quarantine once he gets here and pass that protocol before he can join us on the court,” coach Luke Walton told Ham and other media members. Barnes tested positive for the coronavirus earlier this month but Sacramento held his roster spot in anticipation he would recover in time.
Pacific Notes: Rubio, Suns, Holmes, Bagley
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday for the first time since entering the NBA’s Walt Disney World campus, Suns guard Ricky Rubio acknowledged that his delayed arrival was a result of testing positive for the coronavirus, according to Andrew Lopez of ESPN. As Lopez writes, Rubio said he’ll have to be careful about ramping back up to game speed after not just enduring a four-month hiatus but dealing with the virus as well.
“I’m good. I don’t have symptoms,” Rubio said. “Now that I’m back playing, after being out for three or four months, your legs feel it, your lungs feel it. That’s something I have to work on and figure out how to give my best to the team and focus on my health too.”
As Lopez relays, Rubio didn’t say when he first tested positive for COVID-19, but admitted that it was hard on him to have his family back in Spain while he dealt with the virus in Phoenix.
Here’s more from around the Pacific:
- Suns officials said this week that the team’s new $45MM practice facility is on track to be completed by late August or early September, per Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. The team had to use its old arena, the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum, for individual workouts in the weeks leading up to the trip to Orlando as construction progressed on the new facility.
- Kings center Richaun Holmes, who was subjected to a 10-day quarantine period at Walt Disney World after inadvertently crossing the campus line, explained his mistake to reporters on Wednesday. “Ordered some wings and went to grab the wings, but I really wasn’t too aware of the borders,” Holmes said, according to Jason Anderson of The Sacramento Bee. “I kind of knew what was going on, but the specific area I was in, I wasn’t aware. So, yeah, I stepped out and grabbed the food and came back, and they just let me know they wanted to be as safe as possible. They had to enforce the rules and I completely understand that, so I won’t make that mistake again.”
- Despite an injury-plagued sophomore season for Marvin Bagley III, the Kings‘ support for the former No. 2 overall pick hasn’t wavered, Anderson writes in a separate Sacramento Bee story. “We know what kind of player he’s going to be,” head coach Luke Walton said of Bagley, who is out for the season with a foot injury. “He’s going to have a great career. And we’ve got to keep him healthy and he’s got to continue to work, which he’s proven to do since I’ve been here as far as every time that he’s gotten injured. So it’s going to be a big offseason, but I’m confident that he’ll attack that with everything he has.”
- In case you missed it, we rounded up a series of updates on all five Pacific teams on Wednesday, and earlier today passed along word that Lakers forward Markieff Morris has cleared quarantine at the NBA’s Orlando campus.
Eric Bledsoe Arrives At NBA Campus, Begins Quarantine
Having gone through the NBA’s protocols after testing positive for COVID-19 earlier this month, Bucks starting point guard Eric Bledsoe arrived at the Walt Disney World campus on Wednesday night, the team announced (via Twitter).
As Malika Andrews of ESPN notes, Bledsoe will now have to quarantine for two days and will have to return two negative coronavirus tests – at least 24 hours apart – before he can rejoin the team and participate in practices. He obviously won’t be active for Milwaukee’s first inter-squad scrimmage on Thursday vs. San Antonio.
Although Bledsoe won’t be immediately available for the Bucks, his presence in Orlando is good news for the Eastern Conference leaders. Milwaukee has a comfortable 6.5-game lead on the Raptors for the No. 1 seed in the East, so there should be little need for the club to go all-out in the eight seeding games. Bledsoe will have plenty of time to ramp up to 100% before the start of the postseason next month.
The Bucks are a little closer to full strength as a result of Bledsoe’s arrival, but are still waiting on role player Pat Connaughton. He revealed earlier this week that he also tested positive for the coronavirus and is waiting on clearance to travel to Orlando.
Aron Baynes Reveals He Tested Positive For COVID-19
Suns center Aron Baynes revealed in a conversation with Shams Charania of Stadium (video link) that he recently tested positive for COVID-19 and is going through the NBA protocol in the hopes of joining the team at the league’s campus in Orlando.
According to Baynes, his immediate family members tested positive as well, but they’ve since recovered and are testing negative, while he’s still returning positive tests. The big man added that he was hit harder by the virus than his wife and children.
“They all had very minimal symptoms, whereas it actually put me on my butt for a good week,” Baynes said. “I slept for four days straight.”
Although Baynes says he’s feeling better now, he must return two consecutive negative tests at least 24 hours apart before he can receive medical clearance to travel to the Orlando campus and report to the Suns. Once he gets clearance and arrives at Walt Disney World, he’ll need to briefly quarantine again and return two more negative tests.
“Can’t wait for @aronbaynes to join us in Orlando,” the Suns tweeted this afternoon in response to Baynes’ interview with Charania.
Baynes is one of a handful of Suns players whose arrivals to Orlando have been delayed. Ricky Rubio, Elie Okobo, and Jalen Lecque also didn’t initially travel with the club on July 7, though head coach Monty Williams and GM James Jones have declined to offer any specific details on anyone’s absence. Rubio has since reported to the NBA campus and returned to practice; it’s not clear where things stand with Okobo or Lecque.
Restart Notes: Media Sessions, Mental Health, Super-Teams, More
The NBA has been successful so far in its efforts to keep the coronavirus out of its Walt Disney World campus, but the league continues to take additional precautions as it looks to avoid any sort of outbreak.
Sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) that the NBA sent an email to teams on Tuesday asking players and coaches to wear face coverings during Zoom calls now that a small group of media members are attending those sessions in person.
“We want to make sure we are staying within rules of campus and since we’re indoors and they aren’t working out, wearing masks apply here,” the league said in its memo.
Here’s more on the NBA’s restart and what’s happening on the Disney campus:
- ESPN’s Malika Andrews shares a handful of entertaining stories on life on the NBA’s campus and noting that things have been running as smoothly as could be expected so far. “What the league is working to pull off is just f—ing epic,” one executive told ESPN. “I do feel really good about how things are going thus far.”
- The “most looming unknown” in Orlando is how players and coaches will respond from a mental health perspective, according to ESPN’s Baxter Holmes, who observes that every team will be on campus for at least five or six weeks, and at least a couple will be there for three months.
- One coach who spoke to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports believes that the close-quarters campus setting will result in more recruiting than would typically take place in a postseason, essentially functioning like USA Basketball camps have in the past. “The next super-team will come out of this,” the coach said. “I believe it’s inevitable.”
- Chris Mannix of SI.com and Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports are among the reporters who have written about their unique experiences covering the restart at the Disney campus.
Westbrook Returns To Practice, Mbah A Moute Cleared To Travel
The Rockets announced some good news on Wednesday, as Russell Westbrook participated in his first summer practice after clearing quarantine, while Luc Mbah a Moute has been cleared to travel and should arrive soon at the NBA’s Walt Disney World campus.
As Tim MacMahon of ESPN reports, Westbrook spoke to reporters before Houston’s Wednesday practice, indicating that he’s “thankful and blessed” to be able to get back on the court after recovering from the coronavirus. Westbrook, who said he only experienced very minor COVID-19 symptoms, added that he was able to do conditioning workouts at home while quarantined.
According to MacMahon, head coach Mike D’Antoni said today that Westbrook may play in the Rockets’ first scrimmage on Friday against Toronto, though that hasn’t been decided yet.
“Whatever he wants is cool,” D’Antoni said. “He knows his body. Again, we’re not talking about just a normal athlete. We’re talking about a super athlete, and I sometimes underestimate it. I know today I might have a hard time getting through practice, but he might not have any problem. We rely on him and the medical staff to make an informed decision, and whatever that decision is, we’ll go with it.”
Meanwhile, D’Antoni also provided an update on Mbah a Moute, indicating that the veteran forward could arrive in Orlando as soon as Wednesday (Twitter link via Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle).
The Rockets signed Mbah a Moute as a substitute player for Thabo Sefolosha, but his arrival has been delayed by a couple weeks, reducing the likelihood that he’ll earn regular minutes once the seeding games begin next week.