Amick’s Latest: Restart Concerns, Guests In Orlando, More
The Clippers have been the most vocal of the teams pushing the NBA to allow family and friends to be allowed in the Orlando bubble earlier in the summer, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. Currently, the league doesn’t plan to allow any guests to join players until after the first round of the postseason. Amick says the Clippers hope that rule will be tweaked to allow a player to bring in at least one guest at the start of the playoffs.
“They’re fighting for that,” a rival general manager told Amick.
According to Amick, some GMs and others around the league have wondered if the NBA would consider reducing the number of teams invited to Orlando from 22 to 16. Doing so would provide more room for family members or friends to join players sooner, and would mitigate concerns about long-shot playoff contenders like the Wizards and Suns possibly treating seeding games like a de facto Summer League. However, it’s not under consideration at the moment, says Amick.
As Amick writes, players aren’t the only ones who have expressed disappointment about the limitations on family members and friends being allowed at the Orlando campus. A source tells The Athletic that Celtics head coach Brad Stevens has pushed the NBA to reconsider its ruling that families of staff members won’t be allowed at Disney at all.
Here’s more from Amick’s latest piece for The Athletic:
- A number of general managers who spoke to Amick praised the work the NBA has done to ensure a safe environment at Walt Disney World, suggesting that players and staffers will be better off at the Orlando campus than in teams’ home markets. “I think the precautions the NBA is taking to enhance the safety of the bubble participants are nothing short of extraordinary,” one GM said. “… Once (everyone is) on campus, I think (people within the league) will appreciate the NBA’s work on this.”
- Not every GM is fully on board with the plan, however, with some expressing reservations to Amick. Asked how he felt about the experience to come, one offered the following assessment: “Uncomfortable — how can anyone not be? A lot of uncertainty. I know all the proper measures are being taken but (there) is still a lot (of) unknown. You know and I know why we are playing — for the money. If not that, do you really think we would be playing? I get it, and I’m in…but with hesitation.”
- The fact that Walt Disney World staffers will be traveling in and out of the campus environment is a major point of concern for a number of general managers who spoke to Amick. “It is, by definition, no longer a bubble, and so even the illusion of a safer environment is gone,” one said. “With each case that rises in Orlando, the smart players with families are like, ‘Why the f— are we going there again?” another said.
- There’s a sense that the NBA has to try to make it work because the league would risk creating major financial problems for the league for years to come if this season can’t be completed, writes Amick. “The financial stuff that’s coming in is so heavy, and I think everybody has to share in that responsibility,” one GM told The Athletic. “If you don’t at least try and see how this goes … the NBA could be impacted easily in the next five to 10 years in a way that it’d be very similar to what your industry is going through as well. There’s just going to be mass layoffs, and it could really change.”
Malcolm Brogdon Tests Positive For Coronavirus
12:27pm: Brogdon has confirmed his positive COVID-19 test in a statement on the Pacers’ website:
“I recently tested positive for the COVID virus and am currently in quarantine. I’m doing well, feeling well and progressing well. I plan to join my teammates in Orlando for the resumption of the NBA season and playoffs.”
12:03pm: Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon has tested positive for the coronavirus, reports J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star (via Twitter).
Teams began mandatory testing for COVID-19 on Tuesday as they prepare for the NBA restart in Orlando next month. Brogdon is the second notable player known to have tested positive this week — word broke yesterday that Nikola Jokic has also contracted the virus.
The league is bracing for a number of positive coronavirus tests this week, but those cases aren’t expected to derail the plan to resume the season. The goal is to identify players with COVID-19 now and ensure they don’t bring it with them into the Orlando bubble next month.
Brogdon and other players who test positive will quarantine until they’re symptom-free and considered fully recovered. At that point, they’ll be permitted to travel to Orlando for group workouts and training camps.
It’s not clear whether or not Brogdon is suffering from any coronavirus symptoms, but hopefully he makes a speedy recovery either way.
Restart Notes: COVID-19, Schedule, Winslow, More
With NBA teams just a couple weeks away from traveling to Orlando to enter the Walt Disney World “bubble,” the stats on coronavirus cases in Orange County, Florida continue to be worrisome. As Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press relays (via Twitter), data from Wednesday morning showed that the area had 561 new cases on Tuesday, with a positive test rate of 17.3%.
The recent COVID-19 numbers in Florida are “extremely concerning,” epidemiologist Zachary Binney tells Henry Bushnell of Yahoo Sports, who spoke to a series of experts to get their thoughts on the NBA’s restart plan. Binney noted that he thought the NBA’s plan was a good one, but cautioned that it’s being compromised by Florida’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Since Walt Disney World staffers have to go in and out of the bubble, there’s a greater chance that one of them will bring the virus with them now that it’s becoming so prevalent in the Orlando area.
Despite some worrying COVID-19 trends, people around the NBA are still expressing confidence that the plan can work. Mavericks owner Mark Cuban recently told Steve Selby of The New York Post that the Orlando bubble will likely be safer than a player’s home city, given all the testing happening at Disney. Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta, meanwhile, said on CNBC on Tuesday that the NBA and other sports leagues will have to prepare to deal with some positive test results.
“I think (the NBA season) is going to get off the ground,” Fertitta said, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “I don’t know if it’s going to stay. But we’re going to do whatever. You’re going to follow the protocols. It’s no different from one of our businesses. If somebody’s sick, you send them home. Everybody else watch themselves. Sanitize the establishment, and you have to move on.
“If you’re not willing to say, ‘Oh my gosh, (hypothetically) three people tested today for the Houston Rockets, and three people tested today for the L.A. Lakers. Those guys go home, and we’re going to play the games’ — if we’re not willing to recognize that that’s going to be what happens, then we’re not going to complete the season, not in football, baseball, basketball or whatever.”
Here’s more on the NBA’s restart:
- Magic CEO Alex Martins told Orange County officials today that the NBA’s plan is for games to be played “all day long” inside three Disney arenas when the season restarts (Twitter link via Tim Reynolds). A “stringent sanitation process” will occur between games, Martins added.
- The NBA and NBPA each issued press releases today announcing that they’ve made progress in talks to advance social justice issues. The two sides “agreed in principle that the goal of the season restart in Orlando will be to take collective action to combat systemic racism and promote social justice,” according to the announcements from the league and the players’ union.
- Although he hasn’t given any indication that he plans to opt out of the NBA’s restart, Grizzlies forward Justise Winslow recently questioned the league’s plan, suggesting that the NBA and NBPA are focused on money rather than player safety. Evan Barnes of The Memphis Commercial Appeal has the details.
- In an opinion column, Mark Medina of USA Today contends that players who voluntarily opt out of the NBA restart this summer shouldn’t feel guilty for doing so.
Teams Viewing July 1 As Deadline For Players To Opt Out Of NBA Campus
When the NBA announced its plans to resume the season in Orlando, one of the caveats was that players were not required to go. June 24 was announced as the date that players needed to notify their team of that choice. However, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com (Twitter link) hears that teams view Wednesday as a soft target date for the players’ decisions.
Franchises are treating July 1 as a deadline, per Woj. NBA teams are required to submit their roster of eligible players to the league by then.
Players are technically allowed to opt out of the league’s restart up until the playoffs, ESPN’s Bobby Marks explains on Twitter. Teams are allowed to replace the excused player with a substitute, though if that’s done after the teams arrive in Orlando, the substitute would have to quarantine for 10 days upon traveling to Florida.
Davis Bertans and Trevor Ariza are the only players whose decisions to skip the NBA’s return have been reported so far.
Nikola Jokic Tests Positive For Coronavirus; U.S. Return Delayed
Nuggets center Nikola Jokic tested positive for the coronavirus last week in Serbia, delaying his return to the United States, report Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst of ESPN (via Twitter).
According to the ESPN duo, Jokic has been asymptomatic since testing positive. The All-Star big man is expected to be cleared to travel to Denver within the next week, per Woj and Windhorst.
We learned last week that Jokic may have been exposed to COVID-19, having been in close proximity to KK Partizan center Nikola Jankovic, who tested positive shortly thereafter. Tennis star Novak Djokovic, who was at the same event, announced earlier today that he has tested positive for the coronavirus as well.
While Jokic’s return to Denver will be delayed, it doesn’t sound as if he’s suffering from any symptoms, and it seems likely he’ll be recovered before the Nuggets travel to Orlando in July. Assuming that’s the case, the 25-year-old will be able to participate in training camp with the team and should be good to go for the eight seeding games and the postseason.
Teams Bracing For COVID-19 Cases; Two Suns Test Positive
With the second phase of the NBA’s return-to-play plan getting underway today, mandatory coronavirus testing will begin for players on teams who will be part of the Orlando restart this summer, and those clubs are bracing for a “significant” number of positive tests, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
Full training camps won’t officially begin until July 11, after teams have reported to Orlando. Players who take part in group workouts at that time will have tested negative for COVID-19 at least twice upon arriving at Walt Disney World. During the two weeks before teams travel to Orlando, those clubs will look to identify and quarantine any players who have contracted the virus to ensure that they don’t bring it with them into the bubble.
According to Wojnarowski, one Western Conference playoff team had four positive coronavirus tests within the past few weeks. Meanwhile, Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic reports that two Suns players have tested positive, prompting the team to temporarily shut down voluntary workouts at its Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum practice facility.
While an increasing number of positive tests in the coming days will likely prompt questions about the NBA’s restart plan, the league remains hopeful that by the time teams are ready to travel to Orlando around July 7, any affected players will either be fully recovered or will remain quarantined as they recover.
NBA, NBPA Agree To Enhanced Insurance Plan For Injuries
The NBA and the NBPA have agreed to put in place an enhanced insurance plan for players in Orlando, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
According to Wojnarowski, the plan would cover career-ending injuries suffered this summer, whether they’re conventional basketball injuries or somehow related to COVID-19. The potential group policy would cover players for “several million dollars,” Woj adds.
There’s a belief among players that they’ll be at greater risk of injury this summer due to a lengthy hiatus and their limited access to basketball facilities during that layoff.
Players will get a training camp period and will have the opportunity to play a series of intersquad scrimmages in Orlando before the seeding game begin. However, the ramping-up period will look different than a typical fall training camp, as many teams will immediately have to fight for their playoff lives once games begin on July 30.
When Wojnarowski reported earlier this month that several players were pushing for an enhanced insurance plan, he noted that it would be difficult to prove that any injury suffered in Orlando is directly responsible for a reduction in a player’s future earnings unless it directly threatens the player’s career. Based on today’s report, it sounds as if the new agreement will only cover those career-threatening ailments rather than shorter-term injuries.
Bam Adebayo, De’Aaron Fox, Kyle Kuzma, Donovan Mitchell and Jayson Tatum were among the players said to be lobbying for enhanced insurance protection. All five are eligible for contract extensions this offseason.
Raptors Travel To Florida For Pre-Disney Camp
The Raptors confirmed today in a press release that select players and staff members are traveling to Fort Myers, Florida to prepare for the resumption of the 2019/20 season. According to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter link), most Raptors players are already in Florida or are en route.
Although NBA teams aren’t expected to report to the league’s campus at Walt Disney World for training camps until around July 7, the Raptors are headed to Florida early in order to get their international travel across the U.S./Canada border out of the way. Training in Toronto would have put the team at risk of being subject to a longer quarantine period once they traveled to Orlando in July.
According to today’s announcement, the Raptors will remain in the Fort Myers area until going to Disney in July. While the press release doesn’t mention it, the expectation is that the team will use the Alico Arena in Florida Gulf Coast University as its practice facility for the time being, per an earlier report from Shams Charania of The Athletic.
No group workouts will be permitted until teams report to Disney next month, so for now, the Raptors will continue to conduct individual workouts. Players and staffers are expected to remain at their hotels, leaving only for workouts and other “essential activities,” as Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca notes (via Twitter).
Restart Notes: NBPA Agreement, Facilities, Cuban, Long Shots
The NBA is close to reaching an agreement with the National Basketball Players Association on restarting the season, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said this morning on SportsCenter (video link). Despite concerns over COVID-19 rates in Florida, the bubble environment, injury risks and other issues, Windhorst called the plan “too big to fail” and said the “overwhelming majority” of players want to start playing again.
“They all admit there’s concerns. But they all admit this is the best they can do,” he said. “And they’re steeling themselves for the wave of potential positive tests back that are going to come in the next few days explaining it that we want to find out who’s sick so we can get them healthy so we can establish the bubble. Again, that is a rhetoric that may look silly in a few days or it may be reality, but we are headed towards at least a restart of training camp with agreement from the union very soon.”
Windhorst added that a deal with the NBPA could be announced “in the next 48 hours” and definitely by the end of the week.
There’s more as the restart draws closer:
- The NBA will allow teams to have 10 coaches in their facilities beginning Tuesday, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Four players at a time will be permitted from June 23-30, then eight from July 1-9. Full training camps will begin once teams arrive in Orlando (Twitter link).
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban tells Steve Serby of The New York Post that players will be safer in the bubble environment of Orlando than they would be in their respective cities. It’s part of a wide-ranging interview that also touches on Black Lives Matter, the challenges of playing in an empty arena, Dallas’ chances to make a playoff run, and the danger of injuries after a long layoff. “The four-month break since March 11 till the start of camp isn’t all that different than the end of the regular season to summer league or the midpoint of the playoffs to the start of training camp,” Cuban said. “So I don’t expect any difference on the injury front than a traditional start of season. Plus our training and medical staffs are going to be hyper-vigilant for obvious reasons. So I think we will all err on the side of caution when it comes to player health.”
- Ethan Strauss of The Athletic picks the Thunder, Nuggets, Raptors and Rockets as the best long-shot bets to win the NBA title.
COVID-19 Spike Unlikely To Change Restart Plans
The NBA is taking notice of the high number of COVID-19 cases in Florida, but it isn’t expected to alter plans to resume the season next month in Orlando, according to Baxter Holmes and Zach Lowe of ESPN.
Sources described commissioner Adam Silver as “resolute but somber” during a recent call with team executives. He acknowledged the seriousness of the recent rise in coronavirus cases in the state, but expressed confidence that the league’s bubble concept will protect players and staff members.
Florida set a single-day record Saturday with 4,049 new positive tests and has recorded record highs in seven of the past 10 days. The state is becoming a national hot spot with close to 94,000 total infections, but much of the increase is based in south Florida. The two counties where Walt Disney World is located in the central part of the state have a total of about 5,500 cases.
Players expressed their concerns this week in a virtual town hall conducted by the National Basketball Players Association, the authors add. Sources say a major topic was the lack of restrictions for WDW staffers, who will not live in the three hotels where the NBA will be stationed and will not be required to submit to coronavirus testing.
“Can’t say I am surprised, given the state’s approach to reopening,” NBPA executive director Michele Roberts said of the rising numbers. “We are obviously clearly monitoring the situation. While we take some solace in knowing our players will not travel commercially to get to Orlando, that access to the campus is severely limited and, of course, all of the other health and safety protocols in place, the numbers will keep our attention. If necessary to add further restrictions respecting those third parties having access to the campus, we will seek to implement them.”
She added that placing additional restrictions on resort employees may be difficult because they are union members.
The NBA’s health guidelines that were distributed to teams this week set limits on interactions with Disney staff members. Staff will be required to wear personal protective equipment and practice social distancing whenever they are in the same place as anyone from the league. Rooms will be serviced just once a week and only when the occupants are out. All bus drivers will be required to undergo coronavirus testing.