NBA Expected To OK Chicago Mini-Camps, Games For Bottom Eight Teams
4:14pm: Within her full ESPN.com story on the proposed Chicago campus, MacMullan writes that most of the bottom eight teams would prefer to hold mini-camps in their own markets, but commissioner Adam Silver and NBPA executive director Michele Roberts – who have repeatedly expressed that they believe the Orlando campus will be safer than teams’ own markets – want to create a similar environment for the non-Orlando teams before they approve group workouts and scrimmages.
Seven of the bottom eight teams – all except the Knicks – were on a call today with the NBA to discuss the issue, with the league seeking assurances that teams would send their players to Chicago, per MacMullan. There’s a belief that veterans like Stephen Curry and Blake Griffin may not travel to Chicago for the event, but that younger players would be more inclined to participate.
Participation would be voluntary and the cost of setting up the campus would be split among the NBA’s 30 clubs, sources tell ESPN. MacMullan notes that some of the bottom eight teams want to wait a couple weeks to see how the Orlando plan plays out, while others are in favor of moving forward with a plan as soon as possible, since they don’t believe there’s a ton of time to work out the details.
There’s still work to be done before the NBPA signs off on the plan, tweets K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago.
3:56pm: The NBA is close to signing off on creating a second campus location in Chicago for the league’s bottom eight teams who weren’t invited to Orlando, sources tell ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan (Twitter link via Adrian Wojnarowski).
As MacMullan reports – and Woj relays – the eight clubs not invited to Orlando would be permitted to hold mini-training camps and inter-squad games in Chicago. The goal would be for the event to take place in September.
The news comes as a bit of a surprise. Many of the clubs whose seasons are over have been pushing the NBA to allow some sort of offseason team activities along these lines, in the hopes of keeping their young players engaged and active during a nine-month gap between games. However, a report earlier this week suggested that the NBA wasn’t expected to approve mandatory OTAs, and there was skepticism that the league would go to the effort of creating another “bubble” without its massive TV deals – and its 2020 postseason – at stake.
We’ll have to wait for more details on the NBA’s Chicago plan, but it seems safe to assume there would be more player opt-outs among the bottom eight teams than there have been among the top 22. As Bobby Marks of ESPN points out (via Twitter) that approximately 40 players on the non-Orlando teams could reach free agency in October, limiting their incentive to participate in a September mini-camp for teams they may be leaving a month later.
The Warriors are the only team without any pending free agents on their roster, but Anthony Slater of The Athletic notes (via Twitter) that their preference has been to hold a controlled mini-camp in the Bay Area — not to participate in a de facto Summer League across the country.
The Warriors, Timberwolves, Hornets, Bulls, Hawks, Knicks, Cavaliers, and Pistons are the eight teams not playing in Orlando this summer who would be invited to the Chicago campus, assuming the NBA and NBPA finalize an agreement.
Latest On NBA’s Coronavirus Testing Results
After announcing last week that 16 of the 302 NBA players who were tested for COVID-19 last Tuesday came back positive, the league has issued an update today on its latest coronavirus testing results. Here are the details, per the NBA:
- Of the 344 players tested between June 24-29, an additional nine players tested positive for COVID-19.
- That makes 25 of 351 total players who have been diagnosed with the coronavirus since mandatory testing began on Tuesday, June 23.
- Of the 884 team staff members who were tested between June 23-29, a total of 10 tested positive for the coronavirus.
Some of the 25 players who tested positive have been publicly identified, including Spencer Dinwiddie and DeAndre Jordan of the Nets. In other cases, teams have revealed that players on their roster tested positive without specifically identifying them, such as when the Pelicans announced they had three cases. In general though, the NBA and its teams won’t be announcing which specific players or staffers have tested positive, leaving that decision up to those individuals.
As the NBA notes in today’s announcement, any player, coach, or staffer who tests positive must self-quarantine until they satisfy public health protocols and have been cleared by a doctor. While some players, such as Jordan, may opt out of the NBA’s restart as a result of a coronavirus diagnosis, players will be permitted to rejoin their teams after their self-isolation period, assuming they’re asymptomatic and return multiple negative tests.
The NBA’s hope is that all COVID-19 cases around the league will be identified before teams and players travel to the Walt Disney World campus next week.
Restart Notes: Older Coaches, Roberts, Power Rankings, Disney Employees
The league won’t prevent older coaches and staff members from working at the Orlando campus, Tim MacMahon of ESPN tweets. “We’ve been assured by the league that no one will be red-flagged by the league from going to Orlando based on age alone,” according to Mavericks coach and NBA Coaches Association president Rick Carlisle. All coaches and staffers will go through a medical screening process, MacMahon adds.
We have more news related to the NBA’s restart:
- National Basketball Players Association executive director Michele Roberts is unconcerned about losing some fans due to the players’ desire to make social justice messages during the resumption of play, she told The Athletic’s Michael Lee. Among other things, the league will paint “Black Lives Matter” on the Orlando courts. “Anybody that says, ‘I’m done with the NBA,’ see ya,” she said. “I can’t even abide someone that says that because we are saying killing Black people is something we need to talk about. If they don’t want to hear that, I don’t really think they have a place in our game.”
- After perusing each team’s eight “seeding” games prior to the playoffs, The Athletic’s Zach Harper places the Bucks and Lakers in the top two spots in his latest Power Rankings. Harper previously had the Lakers on top. The Clippers and Raptors remained in the third and fourth spots, respectively, with the Heat moving up two notches to No. 5.
- While NBA teams will be subject to rigorous testing, Disney World employees won’t have similar restrictions, Rich Greenfield of LightShed tweets. There will be no COVID-19 testing of employees at Disney parks before they return to work next week. Instead, they will only be administered temperature checks.
Restart Notes: Coronavirus, Announcers, Team Employees
In an appearance today on Time 100 Talks, commissioner Adam Silver once again expressed confidence in the NBA’s restart plan, but reiterated that the league won’t go “full-steam ahead” with that plan if there’s a significant spread of COVID-19 within the Orlando campus.
“Never full-steam ahead no matter what,” Silver said, per Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN. “One thing we are learning about this virus as much is (it’s) unpredictable, and we and our players together with their union look at the data on a daily basis. If there were something to change that was outside of the scope of what we are playing for, certainly we would revisit our plans.
“We are testing daily,” Silver continued. “We haven’t put a precise number on it but if we were to see a large number of cases and see spread in our community, that would of course be a cause to stop as well.”
Here’s more on the NBA’s return to play:
- Although local play-by-play announcers and analysts won’t be on site at Walt Disney World to call games, the expectation is that network announcers will be in attendance, tweets Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald. According to Jackson, 79-year-old Marv Albert won’t participate, so TNT’s games will be handled by Kevin Harlan, Brian Anderson, or Ian Eagle. ESPN’s Hubie Brown, who is 86, may also not be on site, per Andrew Marchand of The New York Post.
- Teams around the NBA have extended the contracts of basketball operations employees that would have expired on July 1, according to Jake Fischer (Twitter link), who hears from league sources that those deals have been extended through November 1.
- In an interesting piece for ESPN.com, Baxter Holmes examines the difficult conversations that a number of NBA general managers are having with employees. As Holmes writes, some staffers who may be uncomfortable about going to Orlando are worried that their commitment to the team may be viewed differently if they opt out, potentially complicating their job security. Other staffers, meanwhile, want to participate but may be at greater risk due to their age or health issues. GMs are telling employees that they shouldn’t feel pressured to participate, per Holmes.
Nets Notes: Durant, Practice Facility, Chandler
Nets star forward Kevin Durant, who won’t participate in the NBA’s restart as he continues to rehab his Achilles injury, won’t accompany the team to the Walt Disney World campus, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link).
The news doesn’t come as a real surprise. Teams’ traveling parties are limited to 35 people and Durant has said he’s not sure he’d want to participate in the Disney restart even if he were fully healthy. Since he now won’t make his Brooklyn debut until December, there’s no urgency for KD to ramp up his 5-on-5 work in July and August, so it makes more sense for him to continue his rehab program away from the team for now.
Here’s more on the Nets:
- Brooklyn’s practice facility reopened on Tuesday after being closed for several days following DeAndre Jordan‘s and Spencer Dinwiddie‘s positive coronavirus tests, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Brooklyn is one of a handful of NBA clubs that has closed its facility amid COVID-19 cases, as we detailed earlier today.
- Appearing on The Court Vision podcast with Jameer Nelson and Ben Stinar, Nets forward Wilson Chandler further explained why he has decided to opt out of the NBA’s return. “For me, personally, I think like the unknown of this whole COVID thing and just having a grandmother who’s 87 – she just turned 87 – and battling all types of illnesses and having young kids, I think it’s more important for me to be at home with my family and taking care of my family,” Chandler said, as Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype relays.
- Alex Schiffer of The Athletic explores how the Nets will fill the hole in their rotation created by Jordan’s opt-out, and briefly touches on Jacque Vaughn‘s candidacy for the team’s permanent head coaching job.
Three Pelicans Players Tested Positive For COVID-19
Three players on the Pelicans‘ roster tested positive for the coronavirus when mandatory testing began last Tuesday, head of basketball operations David Griffin told reporters today (Twitter link via Jim Eichenhofer).
Those three players are following the NBA’s protocol, self-isolating and being re-tested daily. After they complete their quarantine period, return two negative tests, and get medical clearance, they’ll be able to resume workouts and travel to Orlando.
The NBA announced last week that 16 of the 302 players who were tested for COVID-19 last Tuesday were diagnosed with the virus. Based on Griffin’s comments today, it sounds like three of those 16 positive tests belonged to members of the Pelicans, though he didn’t specify which players are affected.
It’s also not clear whether or not any of the three Pelicans who tested positive are showing symptoms. Teams have the ability to sign a substitute player to replace a player who tests positive for the coronavirus, but Griffin didn’t suggest that anyone is any jeopardy of missing the restart, so hopefully New Orleans’ three affected players are asymptomatic.
Nuggets Close Practice Facility Following Positive COVID-19 Tests
The Nuggets have become the latest NBA to close their practice facility, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that Denver made the decision after members of the team’s travel party tested positive for the coronavirus.
As Wojnarowski notes, the Nuggets closed their practice facility to players and staff on Saturday. There’s a chance it could open again later this week — the next few days of COVID-19 testing will help determine when it reopens, Woj adds (via Twitter).
A report last week indicated that Nikola Jokic tested positive for the coronavirus, but he was in Serbia at the time. It’s not clear if any Nuggets players in Denver has contracted the virus as well or if the positive tests belonged to team staffers. Two members of the travel party tested positive, tweets Mike Singer of The Denver Post.
Of the 22 teams participating in the NBA’s restart this summer, Denver is at least the fourth known to have closed its practice facility temporarily due to positive COVID-19 tests. The Suns, Heat, and Nets reportedly did the same last week.
DeAndre Jordan Tests Positive For Coronavirus, Won’t Go To Orlando
Nets center DeAndre Jordan has tested positive for COVID-19 and will not join the team for the league’s restart in Orlando, he tweeted on Monday night.
Jordan said he learned of the positive test on Sunday evening and it was confirmed on Monday.
The news on Jordan is another huge blow for the Nets. High-scoring guard Spencer Dinwiddie revealed on Monday he had tested positive with symptoms and is unsure whether he’ll participate in the restart.
Brooklyn’s roster has been decimated by injuries, defections, and positive coronavirus tests. Superstars Kevin Durant (Achilles) and Kyrie Irving (shoulder) won’t participate. Nicolas Claxton is also injured, while Wilson Chandler has decided to sit out for family reasons.
Teams can sign substitute players to replace those who voluntarily opt out or contract the coronavirus, so Chandler and Jordan are eligible to be replaced, but injured players like Durant, Irving, and Claxton aren’t. Brooklyn is signing Justin Anderson to replace Chandler; the team will also add a substitute player in place of Jordan, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
Durant was one of four Nets players to test positive for COVID-19 shortly after the suspension of play in March.
After signing a multi-year contract with the Nets last offseason, Jordan averaged 8.3 PPG and 10.0 RPG in 56 games while splitting time at center with Jarrett Allen. Under new head coach Jacque Vaughn, Jordan took Allen’s spot in the starting lineup right before the season was suspended in March.
Dinwiddie Tests Positive For Virus; Orlando Status Uncertain
Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie has tested positive for COVID-19 and his playing status for the league’s restart in Orlando is now uncertain, Shams Charania of The Athletic reports.
Dinwiddie had been practicing in New York when he experienced symptoms. Dinwiddie said he had been “diligent” about protecting himself from the virus in recent months. He flew privately to New York and tested negative for the novel coronavirus multiple times after arriving there.
“Originally, we were supposed to be one of the teams to enter into the Orlando bubble early, but training camp got switched back to New York and unfortunately I am now positive,” Dinwiddie said. “Given that I have experienced symptoms, including fever and chest tightness, it is unclear on whether or not I’ll be able to participate in Orlando.”
Dinwiddie plans to remain in self-quarantine and re-evaluate after 14 days, Charania adds.
Brooklyn enters the restart with the seventh-best record in the conference. However, its team has already been depleted by injuries and defection.
Superstars Kevin Durant (Achilles) and Kyrie Irving (shoulder) won’t participate. Nicolas Claxton is also injured, while Wilson Chandler has decided to sit out for family reasons.
Free agent forward Justin Anderson has agreed to sign with the Nets for the remainder of the season but if Dinwiddie can’t play, Brooklyn’s backcourt will take a major hit. In 64 games this season, Dinwiddie averaged 20.6 PPG, 6.8 APG and 3.5 RPG. The Nets did add some depth in that area last week by signing free agent Tyler Johnson.
The NBA announced on Friday that 16 of 302 players had tested positive on June 23. It’s unclear whether Dinwiddie was one of those 16 players or if he tested positive later in the week.
Durant was one of four Nets players to test positive for COVID-19 shortly after the suspension of play in March.
Teams heading to Orlando must submit rosters on Wednesday but they can still replace a player that tests positive for coronavirus or elects not to play, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. The player being replaced would be ineligible to return. In Dinwiddie’s case, it appears that a decision on his status would be made later in the month.
Restart Notes: Raptors, Staffers, Referees, Schedule
The Raptors, who traveled to Florida a week ago and are staying and training in the Fort Myers area, are essentially experiencing a “test run” of the environment the NBA will look to create at Walt Disney World next month, writes Tim Bontemps of ESPN.
As Bontemps details, the Raptors are staying in a hotel that is otherwise unoccupied, are eating meals in a large ballroom with spaced-out tables or in their own hotel rooms, and are being directly shuttled to and from Florida Gulf Coast University for workouts.
If the Raptors make a deep playoff run, their early start in Florida could mean that they end up being away from home longer than any other team. However, head coach Nick Nurse doesn’t think his players or staffers are thinking about that yet, as Bontemps relays.
“Right now, we’re not,” Nurse said on Saturday. “Maybe at some point on the back end of it, or midway through it, we might. But I just don’t know. We’re, what, five days in? They’ve been a snap of a finger. They’ve blown by. So it doesn’t feel like a burden or overwhelming. It just feels like we’re all starting and getting ready to go.”
Here’s more on the NBA’s restart:
- NBA teams have been informed that they’ll have the ability to replace staff members who test positive for COVID-19 on the Orlando campus and are unable to work, league sources tell ESPN’s Tim Bontemps (Twitter link).
- The National Basketball Referees Association announced today that it has ratified a letter of agreement with the NBA addressing issues related to the resumed season.
- Nick Friedell and Tim MacMahon of ESPN make their picks for the 12 most important “seeding games” on the summer schedule, including Lakers vs. Clippers, Grizzlies vs. Pelicans, Bucks vs. Raptors, and more.
- Jabari Young of CNBC explores some of the creative ways the NBA will look to make money and engage fans when play resumes in Orlando this summer.
- Marc Berman of The New York Post spoke to Dr. Stephen Gonzalez, an executive board member for the Association for Applied Sport Psychology, about the mental health challenges that NBA players will face on the Orlando campus this summer.