NBA Instructs Teams To Prepare For Games Without Fans
The NBA has sent a memo to its teams requesting that they begin preparations to play games without fans in attendance in case the coronavirus outbreak worsens, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
The league memo also asked its franchises to identify “essential staff” that would be required to play the games in empty arenas.
Among the measures that the NBA wants its teams to prepare for is the possibility of making “temperature checks” on various players, team staff members, referees and anyone else deemed “essential” to stage a game without fans, according to Marc Stein of the New York Times (Twitter link). The league also reminded its teams of existing rules regarding postponements or cancellations of games, Charania adds in another tweet.
There hasn’t been any noticeable impact on attendance domestically since the outbreak but the coronavirus has led to drastic measures outside North America. Italy, for example, has banned fans from sporting events for at least a month and there is growing fear that the Tokyo Olympics could be postponed or even cancelled.
And-Ones: Italy, 2020 Draft, 2021 Free Agents
The coronavirus outbreak continues to have a major impact on Italian sports, with Nicola Lupo of Sportando passing along word that all sporting events taking place in Italy through April 3 will be played behind closed doors. The Italian government, which announced those measures, also said that athletes, coaches, and other team personnel will undergo medical tests to help avoid the virus from spreading.
There aren’t as many former NBA players competing professionally in Italy right now as there are in China and some other countries around the world, but Italy is still one of Europe’s basketball hubs, featuring one EuroLeague team in Olimpia Milano. The ruling will have a major impact on what basketball games in Italy look like over the next several weeks.
Here’s more from around the basketball world:
- Georgia guard Anthony Edwards, the country’s leading freshman scorer, ranks atop many draft experts’ big boards for 2020. John Hollinger of The Athletic breaks down Edwards’ pros and cons, arguing that despite some flaws, Edwards has a “pretty high floor” and looks like “the least-bad option in a bad draft.”
- Jonathan Tjarks of The Ringer wonders if the uninspiring crop of NCAA prospects this spring will prompt more teams to look at international draft options. Deni Avdija, Killian Hayes, and Theo Maledon are among the prospects who could appeal to NBA teams, as Tjarks details.
- Although the 2021 free agent class looks tantalizing, many of the very best players who could hit the market that summer – including LeBron James and Kawhi Leonard – are already playing where they want to be, so it remains to be seen how much star movement there will be, writes Danny Leroux of The Athletic.
- As Lonzo Ball tries to help push the Pelicans into the postseason and LaMelo Ball prepares for the 2020 draft, their brother LiAngelo Ball is expected to sign a G League contract soon, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Ball has been practicing with the Thunder‘s NBAGL affiliate, the Oklahoma City Blue, as of late.
Coronavirus Could Impact Combine, Workouts
Concerns over the coronavirus could impact the NBA’s pre-draft combines, on-site workouts and international scouting events, Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe of ESPN report.
League officials and team executives are monitoring the situations and those events could become more limited in scope, or even cancelled, depending upon the spread of the virus. The global Hoop Summit is scheduled to be held in Portland in April, and the draft combine is, as usual, scheduled to be held in Chicago in May.
The league has already outlined short-term recommendations to its teams. Players are being asked to fist-bump instead of high-fiving fans and avoid handling items from fans such as pens, balls and jerseys to autograph, according to a league memo.
Blazers guard CJ McCollum has already stated in a Twitter post he won’t sign autographs until further notice and many other players are likely to take the same stance.
According to the ESPN report, the NBA and the Players Association have been consulting with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and infectious-disease experts.
To date, there have been no reports of anyone associated with the league contracting the disease. A player who contracted the coronavirus would likely miss two weeks, the ESPN report adds.
NBA Issues Statement On Coronavirus
The NBA has talked to leading health officials as concerns about the coronavirus continue to grow, according to Stephen Whyno of the Associated Press. With a month and a half left in the regular season, there are no plans to alter the schedule, but league officials are working with the Centers for Disease Control and are keeping a close watch on the situation.
“The health and safety of our employees, teams, players and fans is paramount,” the NBA said in a statement released Saturday. “We are coordinating with our teams and consulting with the CDC and infectious disease specialists on the coronavirus and continue to monitor the situation closely.”
As the disease spreads across the globe, more than 85,000 people have been affected, with 2,900 reported deaths. There have been 62 cases in the United States, which reported its first fatality from the disease yesterday.
Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum tweeted last night that he will stop signing autographs until the virus is under control.
“The Corona Virus has officially hit Oregon,” he wrote. “More specifically Lake Oswego…Make sure y’all washing y’all hands with soap for 20 or more seconds & covering ya mouths when you cough. I am officially taking a break from signing autographs until further notice.”
Internationally, the impact of the virus on the game is leading to extreme measures:
- In China, where the virus originated, the CBA has suspended play and there has been no word on whether the season will resume.
- Tuesday’s scheduled EuroLeague game between Olimipia Milano and Real Madrid will be played in a closed setting with no fans or media permitted to attend, tweets Emiliano Carchia of Sportando. Similar measures will also be taken for this week’s contest between Asvel and Valencia (Twitter link) and a EuroCup game between Brescia and Venezia (Twitter link).
- Turkey has suspended all flights to Italy, which has 1,128 reported cases of the virus. An important EuroCup clash set for Wednesday in Istanbul between Virtus Bologna and Darussafaka is now in jeopardy (Twitter link).