Restart Notes: Testing, TBT, Campus, Entertainment
When NBA commissioner Adam Silver first began talking in the spring about the possibility of resuming the 2019/20 season, he stressed that he didn’t want the league to be taking away coronavirus testing resources from the public. Now that 22 teams have reported to the Orlando campus and daily COVID-19 testing is taking place, that’s an issue worth watching, writes Tom Haberstroh of NBC Sports.
According to Haberstroh, the NBA recently switched testing providers, going from Quest Diagnostics to BioReference Laboratories right around the same time that Quest issued a press release announcing a surge in demand and a delay in processing results. Major League Soccer is also using BioReference Laboratories for coronavirus testing and neither the MLS nor NBA has faced processing delays from BioReference so far. However, according to Haberstroh, BioReference is “experiencing serious delays” with the general public.
Dr. Zachary Binney, an epidemiologist at Oxford College of Emory University, tells Haberstroh that the optics of the NBA getting preferential treatment are troublesome, especially at a time when many states are being hit harder than ever by the coronavirus.
“If BioReference or Quest is unable to return tests to the general public in less than 3-5 days, then I think the NBA (receiving priority) is causing a problem,” Binney said. “The NBA has only two choices. One is to jump to the front of the line with sick people in the hospital or they have to wait an unsatisfactory amount of time to get their results that gives the virus space to move throughout the bubble. Neither of those choices are acceptable.”
Here’s more on the NBA’s restart:
- Kyle Goon of The Orange County Register contends that the league has lowered its standard for its restart plan from “safe” to “safer than elsewhere” over the last few months.
- Rich Hofmann of The Athletic spoke to some players participating in The Basketball Tournament about their experience so far playing in a “bubble” environment and the challenges that NBA players will face in the coming weeks and months. “After going through this for eight days, I really have my doubts about them doing it for three months,” former Temple standout Khalif Wyatt said “It’s a long time, first of all. These guys have families and kids that they won’t want to be away from for three months. We’ve tested a lot, so I know they’ll be testing a lot. I’m sure the NBA will make it super comfortable for them but it’ll just be really different. It’s just going to be hard.”
- Jim Sergent and Mark Medina of USA Today take an interesting visual look at how the NBA’s Walt Disney World campus has taken shape, breaking down many of the protocols in place to ensure player safety.
- Having obtained a memo from the league, Fred Katz of The Athletic details many of the off-the-court entertainment options available to players at the Disney campus, including boating, golfing, and bowling.
Thomas Bryant, Gary Payton II Test Positive For COVID-19
Wizards center Thomas Bryant and point guard Gary Payton II have tested positive for the novel coronavirus and did not travel with their teammates to the Orlando campus for the NBA’s season restart, according to Ava Wallace of The Washington Post (Twitter link).
Shooting guard Garrison Mathews also did not travel with the rest of the team to Orlando, though his absence was a result of “personal reasons,” as Luke Adams noted in another Wizards story earlier today.
The 6’10” Bryant, a third-year player out of Indiana, started in 28 of his 38 games with the Wizards this season. He averaged career-highs in points (12.1 PPG), rebounds (6.8 RPG), assists (1.9 APG), and three-point percentage (40.7% on 1.4 attempts per night).
Since going undrafted in 2016 out of Oregon State, Payton saw limited action with the Bucks, Lakers and Wizards in parts of three NBA seasons. He saw more consistent action with Washington this year, playing in 14.9 MPG across 29 games, including 17 starts.
The future availability for all three Wizards players in the restart is now up in the air. Players who test positive for COVID-19 can be replaced by substitutes, but teams also have the option of waiting for those players to be medically cleared.
Washington is already missing starting shooting guard Bradley Beal (a two-time All Star), power forward Davis Bertans, and nominal starting point guard John Wall, who has been sidelined for the entire season.
Restart Notes: Silver, Disney Workers, Conditioning, Food
The last of the 22 teams headed for Orlando will arrive today, but concerns remain about whether the NBA’s attempt to finish its season will be successful, writes Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. The idea of keeping so many players and staff members protected in a controlled environment remains daunting, as commissioner Adam Silver admitted this week.
“We won’t be surprised when they first come down to Orlando if we have some additional players test positive,” Silver said in an interview with Fortune Brainstorm Health. “What would be most concerning is once players enter this campus and then go through our quarantine period, then if they were to test positive or if we were to have any positive tests, we would know we would have an issue.
“We would know that there’s in essence a hole in our bubble or that our quarantine or our campus is not working in some way,” he added later. “So that would be very concerning.”
Six teams were forced to shut down their practice facilities over the past week after positive coronavirus tests among their travel groups. Silver admits a significant number of positive tests in Orlando could lead to another shutdown of the season.
There’s more news related to the restart:
- One frequently raised concern is that some Disney workers won’t be subject to the same testing requirements as NBA personnel, but Magic CEO Alex Martins doesn’t expect that to be an issue, Youngmisuk adds in the same story. “I don’t have that concern because we’ve been assured by Disney and by the NBA that our players coaches and staff will not come in direct contact with any of those employees at Disney,” Martins said. “Whether they be food and beverage employees, or whether they be housekeeping employees, specific protocols have been put in place so that they’re really not coming into contact with each other at all. And because of that, I have the utmost confidence that there won’t be any interaction there.”
- Players across the league seem to have remained in shape during the long layoff, notes Baxter Holmes of ESPN. However, there’s still work to do to get them ready for the rigors of NBA games. “Imagine not playing 5-on-5, not getting hit, not getting hit in the air and landing — all those little details that are so critical to your brain, [to] your central nervous system,” said physical therapist Fabrice Gautie, who has worked with many NBA players.
- The NBA is responding after several players already in Orlando shared photos of their meals on social media, which were compared to airline food, writes Gabriel Fernandez of CBS Sports. “After clearing quarantine, players will also have access to various restaurants on campus and delivery options to choose from,” a league spokesman said. “Players will receive three meals a day and four meals on game days. There is never a shortage of food options – players can always request additional food by speaking with their team nutritionists.”
Central Notes: Brogdon, Pacers, Giannis, Pistons
Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon tested positive for the coronavirus when the NBA’s mandatory testing program began in June, but announced today (via Twitter) that he’s “feeling well” and is “ready for Orlando.”
The Pacers are one of eight teams scheduled to travel to the Walt Disney World campus on Thursday, and with Brogdon’s quarantine period now over, there’s hope that he’ll be able to accompany the team on that trip. According to Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports (Twitter link), Brogdon has to return another negative COVID-19 test before getting the go-ahead to travel with the Pacers to Orlando.
Here’s more from around the Central:
- J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star explores how Victor Oladipo‘s absence will impact the Pacers‘ rotation this summer, writing that Aaron Holiday and Edmond Sumner are the best bets to see increased roles.
- Asked today if he has any concerns about teams tampering with Giannis Antetokounmpo at the NBA’s campus in Orlando, Bucks GM Jon Horst replied, “Zero,” tweets Eric Nehm of The Athletic. Horst went on to joke that such tampering would “technically violate the social distancing rules” of the campus.
- It’s not clear yet what responsibilities new Pistons assistant GM David Mincberg will take on, but the veteran executive is “something of a jack-of-all-trades addition” for the team, according to Omari Sankofa II of The Detroit Free Press, who notes that Mincberg has experience in scouting, analytics, salary cap management, and legal counsel.
Northwest Notes: Jokic, Dort, Osbourne, McCollum
Nuggets All-Star center Nikola Jokic did not join the team on its flight to Orlando on Tuesday due to COVID-19 testing protocols, Mike Singer of the Denver Post tweets. Jokic, who contracted the novel coronavirus in Serbia, needed two negative tests there and two more in the U.S. before he could join his teammates. Jokic had two negative tests in Serbia but a tight timeline prevented him from meeting those standards, according to ESPN’s Ohm Youngmisuk. Jokic can head to Orlando once he passes all those tests.
We have more from the Northwest Division:
- Luguentz Dort wasn’t sure he’d receive a multi-year deal from the Thunder until shortly before the agreement was reached, Joe Mussatto of The Oklahoman writes. Dort had his two-way contract converted into a standard four-year, $5.4MM deal late last month. “I had conversations with my agent and everything, but nothing was actually like 100% sure,” Dort said of the negotiations. “It was still unsure until these past couple weeks … and then it happened.”
- Trail Blazers assistant coach Dale Osbourne did not travel with the team to Orlando, Dan Sheldon of NBC Sports Northwest tweets. No additional details were provided by coach Terry Stotts. Osbourne has been on Stotts’ staff for eight seasons.
- CJ McCollum believes the Trail Blazers can snare the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference, according to Jason Quick of The Athletic. Portland enters the restart 3.5 games behind Memphis, which currently has the eighth-best conference record. “I think we have as good a chance as anyone,” McCollum said. “It’s as healthy as we’ve been in a long time … I think we have as good of chance as any of the teams going for that eighth (spot).”
Nets Forward Taurean Prince Tests Positive, Won’t Play In Orlando
In another major blow to the depleted Nets, forward Taurean Prince has tested positive for the novel coronavirus and will not play in Orlando, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.
Brooklyn has been devastated by injuries, illness and defections as teams head to Orlando for the league’s restart. Earlier on Tuesday, Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie revealed he wouldn’t rejoin the team after testing positive for COVID-19 a second time.
A handful of other Nets players were ruled out in earlier weeks. Superstars Kevin Durant (Achilles) and Kyrie Irving (shoulder) won’t participate. Nicolas Claxton (shoulder) is also injured, while Wilson Chandler has decided to sit out for family reasons and DeAndre Jordan opted out after contracting COVID-19.
Prince did not opt out of playing but his late positive test put his chances of recovering in time to return to action in jeopardy, Wojnarowski adds in another tweet. In his first season with the club after being traded last offseason by the Hawks, Prince averaged 12.1 PPG and 6.0 RPG in 64 games.
The Nets now have three open slots for substitute players, Bobby Marks of ESPN notes in a tweet. Brooklyn will have to rely heavily on Caris LeVert, Joe Harris and Jarrett Allen as the team tries to hold onto a playoff spot during the eight-game seeding round.
Southwest Notes: Pelicans, Favors, Rockets, Clarke
When the Pelicans announced on Monday that they’d signed Sindarius Thornwell, they indicated in their press release that the guard is a substitute player, but didn’t reveal which player on the roster he’d be replacing. More than 24 hours later, we have no further clarity on which New Orleans player will be supplanted by Thornwell.
According to John Hollinger of The Athletic (Twitter link), Thornwell is replacing a player who tested positive for the coronavirus and the Pelicans can’t name that player for privacy reasons. The team previously announced that three players tested positive for COVID-19, but the identities of those players wasn’t reported. Still, it will likely just be a matter of time until we know which Pelican won’t participate in the summer restart, if only by the process of elimination.
Here’s more from around the Southwest:
- Pelicans center Derrick Favors, whose contract expires at season’s end, admitted today that he weighed the risk of suffering a pre-free-agency injury this summer before ultimately deciding to play. “I definitely thought about it,” Favors said, per Will Guillory of The Athletic (Twitter link). “But I trust my body and I trust what I’ve done.”
- Rockets GM Daryl Morey said this week that he isn’t too concerned about the 2020/21 salary cap uncertainty, having concluded that any fluctuation is “probably not going to impact us too much,” tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN. As ESPN’s Bobby Marks tweets – and as I pointed out when I previewed Houston’s ’20/21 cap – a shifting tax line could affect the Rockets, since they already have more than $123MM committed to six guaranteed contracts.
- Grizzlies forward Brandon Clarke, who missed the team’s last eight games before the hiatus due to a quad injury, said on Monday that he feels like he’s back to full health, as Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal writes. “Over these past five to six weeks, I’ve gotten back to the player that I was. I feel like I’m pretty much the same health that I was pre-injury,” Clarke said. “I got the same balance and running habits, so it’ll all just be about my habits on the court.”
Magic Notes: Coronavirus, Fultz, Aminu, Isaac
The Magic became the first team to report to the NBA’s Walt Disney World campus on Tuesday, but not all of the team’s players were in attendance. Here are a few of the latest updates on the Magic:
- A player on the Magic – who hasn’t been identified – tested positive for COVID-19 and didn’t accompany the club to Disney, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. According to Nick Friedell of ESPN (Twitter link), president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said the Magic expect the player to rejoin the team once he’s cleared to do so.
- Point guard Markelle Fultz has a non-coronavirus personal matter to address and has been excused from reporting to the NBA’s campus for now, according to Reynolds (Twitter links). He’s expected to rejoin the club at some point too.
- Injured forward Al-Farouq Aminu didn’t travel with the team to Disney and is continuing his rehab work at the Magic’s practice facility, tweets Roy Parry of The Orlando Sentinel. It’s not clear whether Aminu still has a chance to return this season.
- The Magic’s other injured forward, Jonathan Isaac, is with the club at the NBA’s Disney campus, notes Parry (Twitter link). Isaac continues to rehab the knee injury that has sidelined him since the start of January, but remains unlikely to play this summer. “He’s at the stage where he can do a little light court stuff, but that’s about it,” Weltman said of Isaac, according to Josh Robbins of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Nets To Hold Spencer Dinwiddie Out Of Restart
Nets team doctors have decided to have Spencer Dinwiddie sit out of the NBA’s restart, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). The decision is being made out of an “abundance of caution,” Charania adds, as Dinwiddie recently tested positive for the coronavirus. The Brooklyn guard has confirmed the news in a tweet.
“After another positive test yesterday and considering the symptoms, @BrooklynNets, team doctors and I have decided that it would be in the best interest for me and the team that I do not play in Orlando,” Dinwiddie wrote. “I will be supporting the guys every step of the way!”
Word broke on June 29 that Dinwiddie has been diagnosed with COVID-19. On Sunday night, he said that the sinus pressure headaches he had been getting were “starting to subside,” expressing hope that he could receive medical clearance this week and travel to Orlando with the Nets. However, he admitted that he felt a bit dizzy and weak when using an exercise bike and still hadn’t received the two negative tests he required as part of the NBA’s protocol.
Even if Dinwiddie receives medical clearance in a few days, he’d have to travel to the Walt Disney World bubble separately from his team, which would mean being subjected to a more rigorous quarantine and testing period before being cleared to practice. He’d then have an even shorter ramp-up period than his teammates before seeding games begin on July 30, and may still be dealing with the after-effects of the virus.
As such, it makes sense that the Nets are holding out Dinwiddie, though it creates yet another hole in a roster that has been decimated by injuries, positive coronavirus tests, and opt-outs. Superstars Kevin Durant (Achilles) and Kyrie Irving (shoulder) won’t participate. Nicolas Claxton (shoulder) is also injured, while Wilson Chandler has decided to sit out for family reasons and DeAndre Jordan opted out after contracting COVID-19.
The Nets, who currently hold the No. 7 seed in the Eastern Conference, may have a hard time holding off the Magic, who are just a half-game behind Brooklyn in the standings. However, the Nets remain in the driver’s seat for a playoff spot, since they have a six-game lead on the Wizards, who have been hit hard by injuries and opt-outs of their own — the club will be without All-Star guards Bradley Beal and John Wall in addition to sharpshooter Davis Bertans.
Brooklyn has reportedly agreed to a deal with Justin Anderson to replace Chandler. Players who test positive for the coronavirus are also eligible to be replaced by substitute players, so the club will be able to sign replacements for both Dinwiddie and Jordan. Any player who is replaced by a substitute player will be ineligible to return this season.
Because Dinwiddie’s absence is related to a positive COVID-19 test, he won’t have to forfeit his remaining salary for the 2019/20 season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Kings Latest Team To Shut Down Practice Facility
The list of NBA teams temporarily closing their practice facilities continues to grow. According to Sam Amick of The Athletic (Twitter link), the Kings have shut down their facility after a member of their traveling party tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday.
It’s not clear whether the individual who tested positive is a player, coach, or team staffer. However, with the Kings scheduled to travel to Orlando this Wednesday, the team doesn’t intend to reopen its practice facility before then, Amick adds.
The Kings are the seventh of the 22 teams traveling to Orlando known to have closed their practice facility due to at least one positive coronavirus test. The Bucks, Clippers, Heat, Nuggets, Suns, and Nets have done so as well, though some have since reopened.
As we’ve noted in earlier stories, the NBA anticipated having a number of individuals testing positive for COVID-19 before clubs reported to Orlando — the goal is to make sure that no one who has tested positive enters the Disney campus until they’ve gone through a self-quarantine period, tested negative twice, and been medically cleared.
Still, the ongoing positive tests are certainly a concern. If the Kings’ latest coronavirus case belongs to a player, that player won’t be able to report to Orlando until later this month and would miss a significant portion of the ramp-up period before games begin.
Previously, Kings veterans Buddy Hield, Jabari Parker, and Alex Len all tested positive for the coronavirus.