Latest On Potential Plans To Resume NBA Season
Some executives and agents around the NBA believe the remainder of the 2019/20 season should be canceled, according to Jabari Young of CNBC. As Young explains, there are team owners who are concerned about liability issues relating to COVID-19 and executives who would prefer to focus on safely resuming play for the 2020/21 season.
Additionally, according to Young, some franchise owners believe that so many of the league’s usual revenue streams would be nonexistent even if the season can resume that it may not be worth the risk to attempt it this summer.
“What (owners) are saying is, ‘If we return, where is the revenue that is going to justify the additional cost of returning?'” a team executive said to Young. “They are looking at the cost side versus the revenue side. What revenue comes in now?”
Young also cites player agents who view the eventual cancellation of the season as “inevitable,” including one who said he thought commissioner Adam Silver would have done so by now.
While the CNBC report paints a dreary picture for the possible resumption of the ’19/20 season, it has received some push-back from some executives and owners, as well as from the NBA’s biggest star.
“Saw some reports about execs and agents wanting to cancel (the) season???” LeBron James tweeted this afternoon. “That’s absolutely not true. Nobody I know (is) saying anything like that. As soon as it’s safe we would like to finish our season. I’m ready and our team is ready. Nobody should be canceling anything.”
Of course, there are hundreds of executives and agents working in the NBA, so it’s unlikely they’re all in lock-step on how the league should move forward. It’s certainly possible that Young and James are talking to different people who have different opinions on potential next steps.
Still, Young notes within his piece that a league spokesperson told him that the NBA continues to work on plans to resume play this summer. Spurs CEO R.C. Buford also said that team presidents met on Thursday and the consensus among that group is that they want to try to finish the season (Twitter link via Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press).
A pair of team owners conveyed similar sentiments in TV appearances today — Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said on CNN that he’s “cautiously optimistic” the NBA will be able to resume and complete its season, while Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry, on CNBC, expressed optimism that the playoffs could be held in July or August (video links).
So far, the NBA has been content to remain patient as it waits to see how the coronavirus situation plays out and how government ordinances and health experts’ recommendations evolve. As Marc Stein of The New York Times (via Twitter), there has been no rush to make concrete decisions, since the league wants to “exhaust every last bit of hope.” With the calendar about to turn to May, the NBA will likely need to start taking more decisive action – one way or the other – within the next month or two.
In case you missed them, here are some of this week’s other headlines related to the possible resumption of the ’19/20 campaign:
Pat Riley: Heat Are “Close” To Being Title Contenders
Heat president Pat Riley is delighted with the progress his team made this season and believes the organization is “close” to being at a championship level again, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Riley made the comments in a video released today, saying he hopes the league will find a way to salvage the playoffs so he can see the results of moves the team made at the trade deadline.
“I think we were (41-24) or something along those lines and headed to home-court advantage in the playoffs. It was a great year,” Riley said. “I’m really disappointed that we haven’t seen the finish, especially after we made the trade when we brought in Andre Iguodala, Solomon Hill and Jae Crowder. I thought that was going to give us a little bit of an edge going into the playoffs.”
Riley pinpointed the addition of Jimmy Butler in a sign-and-trade last summer for creating a lot of optimism for the new season. Another boost came from unexpected production by rookie guards Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn, along with second-year forward Duncan Robinson.
“I’m so happy that we turned a lot of things around and we found the right players,” Riley said, “the right mix of pick-and-roll players, guys that can post up and really found a couple of guys that can shoot the ball — really shoot the ball — so we’re happy for that and we’re really optimistic about moving forward into the future with these players.”
Riley touched on a few more topics during the video:
- The Heat are running through scenarios for free agency, but everything is “up in the air” because of uncertainty over whether the season will resume. Miami has several important decisions to make, with new acquisitions Crowder and Hill both headed for free agency, along with Goran Dragic, Meyers Leonard, Derrick Jones Jr. and Udonis Haslem. In addition, Kelly Olynyk has a $13.2MM player option. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald suggests Riley’s comments are a sign that he will try to keep the team together instead of renouncing the free agents and operating under the salary cap (Twitter link).
- There’s strong support around the league for finding a way to complete the season, Riley added. He said all 30 teams have been participating in conference calls with the commissioner’s office and players union to discuss strategies. “I think that’s a very important thing for all of the franchises, complete the season even if it moves on later,” Riley said. “I think we’re all right behind Adam Silver and him waiting until he launches us back into action.”
- Riley was “stunned” when he learned that the season was being suspended in the wake of a positive coronavirus test by Jazz center Rudy Gobert, but ultimately believes it was the right decision. “We heard that a player from the Utah Jazz had tested positive,” Riley said. “But I didn’t think it was going to last that long or turn out to be what it is today for not only the Heat, but for everybody to have to shut it down. Shut the country down, shut the world down and try to fight this thing. So it was pretty innocent that night only from the standpoint that, ‘OK, we can take care of this and then we’ll be back.’ But I think Adam Silver made an incredible move, and that just sort of cascaded into a lot of other decisions by other teams and other sports and industries.”
NBA Increasingly Willing To Delay Start Of 2020/21 Season
While some other top basketball leagues around the world are setting deadlines to decide the fate of their 2019/20 seasons, the NBA is increasingly willing to be patient as it considers if and when to resume its own season, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said this week during an appearance on SportsCenter (video link).
Previous reports have indicated that the NBA would prefer not to have the current season run beyond August or early September. However, Wojnarowski suggests that the league’s timeline is becoming more flexible.
“More than ever, I think this is a league that is really willing to push the calendar on this season,” Wojnarowski told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt. “I had reported (previously) that the league wanted to have the Finals wrapped up ideally by Labor Day weekend. They’re more willing than ever to delay the start of next season.”
As Wojnarowski explains, one key factor influencing the NBA’s thinking is the fact that it could be a while before teams can host games with fans in attendance. If clubs are still required to play behind closed doors in the fall, there would be less incentive for the league to push to start next season at its usual time. In that scenario, delaying opening night could increase the odds of being able to play more games next season in front of fans.
“If they were going to start at the normal time, mid-to-late October, it’s hard to imagine that there would be fans in the stands,” Woj said. “And so I think as much time as they can buy for themselves, the league is willing to do that right now. They’re trying to look at everything. This isn’t just, ‘Let’s figure out the next couple months and this season.’ This is a two-, three-, four-year look moving forward.”
Based on Wojnarowski’s report, it sounds as if the idea of finishing the current season in the fall and starting the 2020/21 campaign in December – or maybe even later – isn’t out of the question.
We’re still a ways off from getting a real sense of what a reshaped NBA schedule might look like for the next couple years, but Woj’s report echoes a point we’ve heard repeatedly since the league suspended its season seven weeks ago — the NBA is willing to think outside the box and consider a wide variety of possible scenarios as it weighs all its options.
Western Notes: Lakers Loan, Bagley, Walton, Towns
The Lakers returned a $4.6MM loan they received from a federal government program intended to help small businesses during by the coronavirus pandemic, according to ESPN’s Kevin Arnovitz. The Lakers applied for relief through the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program. When many small businesses were shut out of the program, the team opted to return the money.
“Once we found out the funds from the program had been depleted, we repaid the loan so that financial support would be directed to those most in need,” the team said in a statement. “The Lakers remain completely committed to supporting both our employees and our community.”
We have more from the Western Conference:
- Kings coach Luke Walton isn’t sure how much big man Marvin Bagley III will play if the season resumes, Jason Jones of The Athletic reports. Bagley has played in only 13 games this season due to a left foot sprain and a broken thumb. “In talking to Marvin, he feels much better,” said Walton, who added Bagley would still have to go through protocols during injury rehab, including three-on-three and five-on-five play.
- Walton struck an optimistic tone regarding his club in the same story from Jones. “I love where we’re at as a group,” Walton said. “I think our future is bright, I think we have a great group of guys. This is a hard thing, winning consistently in any pro sport is hard. But when you get a good group of guys that works hard and likes each other and is willing to trust each other, I think, is how you make that happen.” Sacramento was 28-36 when play was halted but had won seven of its last 10 games.
- The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the Timberwolves and it has brought organization members closer on an emotional level, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic writes. Karl-Anthony Towns’ mother, Jacqueline, and a relative of Malik Beasley succumbed to complications from the virus. “We’ve done everything possible for our players and our staff and their families to make sure they’re as safe as possible,” president of basketball operations Gersson Rosas said. “Once it affects you the way it’s affected us now, we’re ultra-sensitive to the fact that we want to be here for our players and their families and our staff.”
Hiatus Notes: Facilities, Resuming Season, Arena Staffers
The NBA has informed each of its 30 teams to assign a senior executive to the position of facility hygiene officer, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
It’s a position that will be made necessary by the coronavirus pandemic as teams begin reopening their practice facilities. As we detailed earlier today, that could start happening as early as May 8, though the NBA has implemented a number of restrictions and contingencies related to that plan.
Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today notes (via Twitter) that one of the two memos the league sent to teams today is a 14-page document that thoroughly outlines the health and safety conditions that must be in place for facilities to be reopened.
Besides the rules we described in our earlier story – most of which are mentioned in the NBA’s press release – one measure the league has asked teams to take is to conduct certain precautionary tests (resting ECG and troponin) on players before they resume working out at team facilities, as Charania reports (Twitter link).
Here’s more on the NBA’s coronavirus-related hiatus:
- Although the NBA is clinging to a “pie-in-the-sky” plan of playing five to seven several regular season contests if it can resume its 2019/20 season, sources who spoke to Marc Berman of The New York Post believe it’s more likely that the league would move directly to a 16-team playoff, perhaps in Las Vegas.
- With the NBA still prioritizing finishing its current season, Jabari Young of CNBC looks at the possibility of the 2020/21 campaign beginning in December and explores whether it makes sense to push back the start of the season on a permanent basis.
- Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle runs some numbers and estimates that – even without media or fans in the arena – an NBA game might require about 120-150 people in attendance, which will complicate plans to safely resume the season.
- While virtually every NBA team announced plans last month to pay its part-time arena workers the wages they’d be losing as a result of the postponed games, a USA Today report finds that not all arena staffers are benefiting from those initiatives. Nancy Armour, Rachel Axon, Steve Berkowitz, and Tom Schad of USA Today suggest there are “substantial discrepancies” in how tens of thousands of game-day workers are receiving financial aid — and “widespread reticence” from teams to disclose the specifics of their assistance plans.
NBA To Allow Reopened Team Facilities No Earlier Than May 8
After a weekend report suggested the NBA was aiming to allow teams to reopen their practice facilities as early as May 1, the league has told teams that its new target date is Friday, May 8, league sources tell Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link). The league’s full announcement can be found right here.
The NBA is hoping to allow teams to open facilities for voluntary individual workouts if the stay-at-home orders in their respective home states allow, but will wait at least another week-and-a-half to move forward with that plan.
Assuming it sticks to the May 8 target date, the league will allow up to four players in a facility at a time, with no more than one team staffer in attendance, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Group activities will remain prohibited and head and assistant coaches can’t participate. Additionally, players would be required to wear face masks at all times except when engaged in physical activity, and staffers working with players must wear gloves and practice social-distancing of at least 12 feet, according to Charania (Twitter link).
The NBA had received “significant pushback” from teams about the idea of reopening facilities in select states and municipalities on May 1, officials tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). While competitive imbalance is a potential issue – given the disparity between how certain states are handling the pandemic – teams are more concerned about player and staff safety, says Wojnarowski.
The Hawks were one team that appeared to be a strong candidate to reopen their facilities this Friday, if permitted, since Georgia is among the first states to roll back stay-at-home restrictions. However, as general manager Travis Schlenk first told TV host Matt Stewart (Twitter link), the Hawks didn’t plan to reopen their facilities this week, preferring to play it safe and assess the effects of the loosened restrictions in the area.
“We’re going to put the health of our players and staff at the forefront,” Schlenk told Sarah Spencer of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Despite the Hawks’ reticence and some league-wide pushback on the initial May 1 date, there have been other teams embracing the idea of reopening their facilities, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). As Woj explains, those clubs would prefer players to be in a “clean, safe, and monitored team environment” rather than risking those players working out at public gyms.
Relatedly, clubs were reminded today that their players remain prohibited from using non-team facilities such as public health centers and gyms for workouts, as Charania reports (via Twitter).
Latest On NBA’s Plans To Reopen Teams’ Facilities
After ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported over the weekend that the NBA will allow some teams to reopen their practice facilities beginning on May 1, clubs around the league are attempting to determine the viability of doing so.
As we detailed on Saturday, the NBA can’t unilaterally direct teams to open up their facilities, since some franchises play in states that have stricter stay-at-home orders than others due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Even in cities where facilities can be reopened, group workouts and organized team activities will continue to be prohibited.
According to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link), teams expect to receive further directives from the NBA at some point this week outlining what will and won’t be permitted as facilities begin to reopen.
Here’s more on the subject:
- Toronto mayor John Tory said on Monday morning that he has preliminary discussions with Raptors management about reopening the team’s practice facility in May (Twitter link via Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca). Tory doesn’t want the Raptors to be at a disadvantage relative to other teams, but is prioritizing safety and will allow public health officials to make the final call.
- It was unclear as of Sunday whether the Heat will be permitted to reopen their practice facility this Friday, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. “As of right now, under current orders, the AmericanAirlines Arena is closed,” Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez’s Office of Communications told The Herald in a statement. “But, we have until Friday to gather information on what the NBA plans are and to work with the Miami Heat on what could be possible, safe and acceptable.”
- The Warriors‘ facilities are expected to remain closed as long as the City of San Francisco keeps its current lock-down ordinances in place, league sources tell Logan Murdock of NBC Sports Bay Area. Social-distancing guidelines have been instituted in the city through May 3 and will likely be extended beyond that.
- New York City’s lock-down regulations are expected to run through at least May 15, but the NBA figures to be proactive in helping Knicks and Nets players find somewhere to work out next month, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. As Berman notes, Taj Gibson and Frank Ntilikina are believed to be the only Knicks players still staying in the New York area, with the rest of the club’s players spread across North America.
- Chris Mannix of SI.com explores the competitive imbalance that may affect a resumed season if certain teams are permitted to reopen their facilities days or weeks before others.
Some NBA Teams Can Reopen Facilities May 1
6:35pm: Group workouts and organized team activities will still be prohibited, Wojnarowski adds in a full story. In areas where longer stay-at-home orders are in place, the league will try to help teams find other arrangements so their players can train.
5:17pm: The NBA will let some teams reopen their practice facilities to players beginning Friday, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The permission will only apply in cities and states where governments have relaxed their stay-at-home orders, Woj adds.
The league ordered all 30 teams to shut down their facilities effective March 20 in an effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Several teams had announced voluntary closures before that mandate was issued.
Georgia was one of the first states to begin relaxing restrictions, with some businesses reopening yesterday. Several players were asking their teams if they should find a way to get to the state to work out, according to Wojnarowski, but teams want to make sure their athletes are in safe, clean and controlled environments (Twitter link).
Wojnarowski cautions that the NBA’s decision doesn’t mean plans are in place to restart the season, but the league wants players to be able to safely return to their team’s gyms (Twitter link). A source tells ESPN that commissioner Adam Silver and the owners believe they need more time to determine whether the season can be salvaged.
A few writers examine how the decision will affect the teams they cover:
- The Hawks haven’t heard anything official from the league, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic (Twitter link), and there’s no plan in place to begin using the team facility again.
- May 8 is the earliest date the Hornets could reopen, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has issued a stay-at-home order for the state through then, with plans to begin phasing it out.
- Michigan is under a stay-at-home order until at least May 15, so the Pistons have nearly three weeks before they can reopen, adds Rod Beard of The Detroit News (Twitter link).
Coronavirus Notes: Paul, Dolan, Arenas, China
Chris Paul, president of the National Basketball Players Association, admitted to reporters in a teleconference today that nobody can be certain what’s going to happen with the current season, writes Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman (link via USA Today).
“This is a situation where no one knows,” Paul said. “The virus is actually in complete control. I seriously tried to answer things the best I could, but there are things where, it’s not like I’ve got the answers and I’m just not telling you.”
Today marks six weeks since the last NBA game was played, and the league was supposed to be conducting the first round of its playoffs. If the season does resume, Paul estimates players will have to train for two to four weeks to get ready. He expressed confidence that the league will give them the time they need.
“Whatever the amount of time is, just know that players will have the input because we’re the ones playing,” Paul said. “We don’t ever want to put guys in a situation where their injury risk is higher.”
There’s more coronavirus-related news to pass along:
- Knicks owner James Dolan has fully recovered from the virus and has registered to donate plasma antibodies to help with research, according to Larry Brooks of The New York Post. Dolan recently tested negative and is reportedly in good health. He had only mild symptoms and continued to work while quarantined.
- A professor at MIT tells Michele Steele of ESPN that arenas can eventually be made as safe as public parks. Alex Pentland, head of the human dynamic lab, recommends having fans wear masks and filling only half the available seats, although family members could sit together. He also advises making all aisles one way and having fans in each section enter from a specified gate.
- Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times talked to several American players about their experiences with the Chinese Basketball Association. Kyle Fogg said when he returned to China, he had his temperature taken several times by workers in hazmat suits. He and Ray McCallum Jr. were both quarantined to hotel rooms with armed guards posted outside to ensure they didn’t leave. “Everybody back home, they’re like, ‘Oh, we’re quarantined,’” McCallum said. “But I see on the news they’re outside. No.” The CBA remains on hold with hopes of starting play again in July.
Coronavirus Notes: Draft, Silver, Hiatus
Holding the draft before the season officially ends doesn’t make sense, Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel opines. That would create some awkward situations, such as a playoff team drafting the replacement of a rotation player while its season is still ongoing. The draft also involves a lot of trades and teams couldn’t deal a player in the midst of an ongoing season, Winderman adds.
We have more COVID-19 related news:
- Commissioner Adam Silver struck a pessimistic tone during his media conference call on Friday, according to Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated. Silver has taken a somber tone in recent interviews but his latest comments felt more pessimistic, Mannix continues. After previously announcing that the league wouldn’t make any decisions in April, Silver said there were no guarantees any decisions would be made in early May, Mannix adds.
- While there’s a growing need to return to normalcy, it’s tough to know when the time is right to restart the season, Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes. While Silver didn’t rule anything out during his conference call, it doesn’t appear as if games will be played until at least July and there’s still a possibility the league will cancel the remainder of its season.
- There will be a sense of rebirth when basketball is played again, agent Bernie Lee writes for Hoops Hype. There’s opportunity in every situation and the current hiatus can be equated with a player getting hurt, Lee continues. There’s shock, followed by a wave of energy that comes from support. Monotony then sets in due to the rough path of recovery. The final stage is the rebirth, Lee adds.