James Harden Arrives At Orlando Campus
Rockets All-Star James Harden arrived at the NBA’s Orlando restart campus on Tuesday evening, five days after most of the rest of his club touched down, per a video tweet from the team’s official Twitter account.
The 2018 NBA MVP did not travel with the rest of the Rockets for undisclosed reasons. Harden is averaging 34.4 PPG, 7.4 APG and 6.4 RPG in 61 games this season, his eighth All-Star campaign in Houston.
Tonight’s arrival is in line with the targeted mid-week estimate that Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni said the team had been aiming for as recently as Sunday, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Before Harden can join his teammates at practice, he will have to quarantine within his hotel room. Next, Harden will have to test negative for COVID-19 over three straight days and undergo a physical conditioning test, per Rachel Nichols of ESPN (Twitter link) and Marc Stein of the New York Times (Twitter link).
Despite the arrival of Harden, the Rockets will continue to be without a few players for now. Harden’s fellow All-Star guard Russell Westbrook announced yesterday that he did not travel with the team because he tested positive for COVID-19. Westbrook hopes to join the Rockets once he recovers.
Forward Luc Mbah a Moute also did not travel with the Rockets last Thursday for undisclosed reasons. Additionally, after accidentally breaking the campus’s quarantine restrictions, Mbah a Moute’s fellow forward Bruno Caboclo has been forced to re-isolate for seven more days.
Dennis Schröder Intends To Leave Orlando For Birth Of Child
Crucial Thunder backup guard Dennis Schröder has announced that he will leave the NBA’s Orlando restart campus in “three or four weeks” to join his pregnant wife for the birth of their second child, according to Royce Young of ESPN (Twitter link).
“I love basketball, but the family comes first all the time,” Schröder said of his decision to eventually, albeit temporarily, leave the Thunder during the season’s restart (link). “I’ll try to make something happen with the organization…. I’m not going to leave my wife by herself while she’s [having] the second baby. [Son Dennis Malick Schröder Jr.] is still 17 months old.”
Missing Schröder for any extended period of time would be a big blow for Oklahoma City as the club battles for playoff seeding in the West’s crowded middle tier. The team, currently the No. 5 seed with a 40-24 record, currently own the tiebreaker over the sixth-seeded Rockets, who possess the same record.
Schröder, a top contender for the Sixth Man of the Year award, ranks third on the Thunder in average minutes per game (31.0), behind All-Star Chris Paul (31.8) and promising second-year guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (35.1). Coach Billy Donovan has seen great results when playing all three players, each nominally a point guard, together.
A player who receives permission to leave the Disney campus for a family situation will be required to quarantine for four days upon returning, as long as he’s gone for fewer than seven days and tests negative for COVID-19 each day that he’s away.
Nikola Jokic Reports To Nuggets, Clears Quarantine
After a delay involving a positive coronavirus test and various travel complications, center Nikola Jokic has reported to the Nuggets at the Walt Disney World campus and has cleared quarantine, the team announced today (via Twitter). Jokic had been in his home country of Serbia before arriving in Florida.
Although Jokic has gone through his two-day quarantine period, he hasn’t yet been cleared to participate in practice, according to Chris Dempsey of Altitude Sports, who tweets that the big man is still waiting on results from “physical-type testing.” Jokic is watching the Nuggets’ Tuesday practice, Dempsey adds.
If the Nuggets – currently the No. 3 seed in the West – hope to make a deep playoff run, they’ll need Jokic at full health and full strength. The 25-year-old had been in the midst of another excellent season before the NBA went on hiatus, with averages of 20.2 PPG, 10.2 RPG, and 6.9 APG to go along with a .528 FG% in 65 games (32.3 MPG).
Jokic had been one of several Nuggets players whose arrival at the Disney campus had been delayed. A Monday report indicated that Gary Harris, Michael Porter Jr., Torrey Craig, and possibly Monte Morris aren’t there yet. However, there’s no indication that all of those players won’t eventually report and participate in the restart.
Michael Beasley Tests Positive For COVID-19, Leaves Campus
New Nets forward Michael Beasley has tested positive for the coronavirus and returned home, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Malika Andrews and Tim Bontemps of ESPN first reported that Beasley had left the NBA’s Walt Disney World campus.
Beasley, who signed with the Nets last Thursday, arrived at Disney shortly after the rest of the team got there last week. As Andrews and Bontemps note, GM Sean Marks told reporters that Beasley would require negative coronavirus tests for six days before he’d receive the go-ahead to join Brooklyn for practices. Presumably, the veteran forward didn’t clear quarantine before testing positive. Now his roster status is up in the air, per Charania.
No NBA team has a more decimated roster right now than the Nets, who are missing a total of seven players from their original squad. Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and Nicolas Claxton are sidelined with injuries, Wilson Chandler voluntarily opted out, and DeAndre Jordan, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Taurean Prince have been ruled out following positive coronavirus tests.
Brooklyn has been able to sign substitute players to replace those four non-injured players, bringing aboard Jamal Crawford, Lance Thomas, Donta Hall, and Beasley. Now, however, the Nets may be the first club whose substitute player requires a substitute of his own.
Players who contract COVID-19 don’t have to be replaced, but Beasley had already been out of the NBA for over a year and now won’t be able to participate in the season’s ramp-up period before seeding games begin.
As such, it would make sense for Brooklyn to replace him, and Justin Anderson looks like the logical candidate to do so — he reportedly reached a deal with the Nets back in June and said during an appearance on the JWILLY Show (YouTube link) on Monday that he’s quarantining in an Orlando-area hotel as he prepares to officially sign his contract.
Nets Sign Lance Thomas As Substitute Player
3:03pm: The Nets have made it official, announcing in a press release that they’ve signed Thomas as a substitute player.
There’s no word yet on how the deal will affect Anderson.
2:56pm: The Nets have finalized an agreement with free agent forward Lance Thomas, sources tell Ian Begley of SNY.tv (Twitter link). Begley first reported over the weekend that Thomas was nearing a deal with Brooklyn.
Thomas hasn’t appeared in an NBA game in 2019/20, having been waived by the Nets before the regular season began last fall. The 32-year-old previously appeared in 392 regular season contests over eight seasons with New Orleans, Oklahoma City, and New York, averaging 5.2 PPG and 2.6 RPG. He last suited up for the Knicks in ’18/19, recording 4.5 PPG and 2.5 RPG in 46 games (17.0 MPG).
Word of Thomas’ agreement with the Nets comes on the heels of Justin Anderson saying during an appearance on the JWILLY Show (YouTube link) that he’s quarantining in an Orlando-area hotel as he prepares to officially sign his contract with Brooklyn, as Brian Lewis of The New York Post relays.
The Nets are allowed to sign substitute players to replace their four players who have either opted out of the restart (Wilson Chandler) or been ruled out due to COVID-19 (Spencer Dinwiddie, DeAndre Jordan, and Taurean Prince). So far, the team has officially signed three substitutes — Jamal Crawford, Michael Beasley, and Donta Hall.
While it’s possible that Brooklyn could sign both Thomas and Anderson, that would presumably mean a fifth player on the roster is being replaced. There has been no word yet that another Net has opted out or contracted the coronavirus, and the club has yet to formally announce the signing of either Thomas or Anderson, so we’ll await further updates.
Harrison Barnes Tested Positive For Coronavirus
Kings forward Harrison Barnes announced today (via Twitter) that he tested positive for COVID-19 before the team traveled to Walt Disney World last week and has yet to report to the NBA’s Florida campus as he awaits medical clearance.
“I’ve been primarily asymptomatic and am doing well,” Barnes wrote. “I’m quarantined and am abiding by the safety protocol until I’m cleared for action. I hope to join my team in Orlando when it is safe to do so!”
The NBA and NBPA announced on Monday that 19 players had tested positive for the coronavirus in their home markets since July 1. Presumably, Barnes was one of those 19 players. He’s at least the fourth Kings player known to have tested positive in the last month. Buddy Hield and Jabari Parker have since recovered and recently reported to Orlando, while Alex Len also contracted the virus in June.
So far, there’s no indication that the Kings intend to replace any of those affected players with substitute players. If Sacramento were to sign a substitute player, the player being replaced would become ineligible to play for the rest of the 2019/20 season.
Unlike teams who are already looking ahead of the postseason, the Kings will face some urgency to win games right away when their season resumes on July 31, since they’re four games out of the final playoff spot in the West. So if Barnes or any other player is affected by COVID-19 symptoms longer than anticipated, it’s possible Sacramento would consider making a move.
Dispute Between NBA, NBPA Over Oladipo’s Salary
The NBA and NBPA disagree about how Victor Oladipo‘s remaining salary should be handled, assuming he doesn’t play for the Pacers this summer, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN.
As Windhorst notes, a player who voluntarily opts out of the NBA’s restart forfeits his game checks for this summer’s remaining contests (up to a maximum of 14 games). Conversely, a player who is unable to participate due to an injury will receive his remaining game checks.
Oladipo’s case falls into something of a grey area. He cited his health when announcing earlier this month that he had decided not to play this summer, and the Pacers haven’t signed a substitute player to replace him. However, he’s not technically considered an injured player since he had returned from his quad tendon injury well before the season was suspended in March. He has also since been cleared by both team and personal doctors to play this summer, sources tell Windhorst.
The players’ union believes that Oladipo should be paid his remaining salary, which works out to nearly $3MM. The league believes the All-Star guard is voluntarily opting out and shouldn’t be paid.
The NBA doesn’t want to set a precedent in case there are other players who decide to opt out despite being healthy enough to play. Oladipo’s public comments – in which he suggested he’s feeling healthy but wants to be cautious – have solidified the league’s position on the issue, Windhorst writes.
As we relayed on Monday evening, Oladipo may be reconsidering his decision to opt out of the restart, since he has felt good and faced no restrictions in practices. If he does suit up, he would – of course – receive the rest of his salary, rendering the dispute moot. If he doesn’t play, his remaining salary will be in jeopardy.
The Pacers, who want to retain Oladipo long-term and will look to avoid upsetting him at all ahead of his 2021 free agency, support the 28-year-old’s decision either way and are willing to pay him his salary whether or not he plays, sources tell ESPN.
While the NBA could defer to the Pacers and leave the decision up to them, that may also set a worrisome precedent, since other teams might not be as willing to pay players who opt out — especially if they’re not stars like Oladipo. I’d personally be surprised if Oladipo receives his remaining salary if he doesn’t participate in the restart, but we’ll have to wait and see how the situation plays out.
Lakers’ Rajon Rondo Fractures Thumb, Out 6-8 Weeks
7:00pm: Head coach Frank Vogel said he expects Rondo “to be part of our playoff run,” according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
7:19am: The Lakers‘ backcourt depth has taken another hit, as the team announced late last night that point guard Rajon Rondo suffered a fractured right thumb during Sunday’s practice. Rondo will undergo surgery on the thumb and is expected to resume full basketball activities in about six-to-eight weeks, as Mike Trudell of Lakers.com tweets.
Rondo, 34, was playing a career-low 20.8 minutes per game this season after averaging 31.7 MPG during the first 13 years of his NBA career. Still, that made him a regular part of L.A.’s rotation off the bench. He has recorded 7.1 PPG, 5.0 APG, and 3.0 RPG in 48 games (three starts) in 2019/20.
With Rondo sidelined and Avery Bradley having voluntarily opting out of the restart, the Lakers will have to lean more heavily on some of their other backcourt options. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Danny Green, and Alex Caruso are all candidates to receive a bump in minutes, tweets Anthony Slater of The Athletic.
As Slater points out, recently-signed guards Dion Waiters and J.R. Smith also move up on the depth chart and move closer to assuming rotation roles with Bradley and Rondo out of the mix.
The Lakers won’t be eligible to sign anyone to replace Rondo, since the NBA’s transaction window closed on June 30. At this point, only substitute-player contracts can be signed — and substitute players are only eligible to replace those who are opting out or who contract COVID-19.
Although L.A. will be without Rondo for the eight seeding games and the start of the postseason, his timeline puts him on track to make it back later in the playoffs, assuming the Lakers – as expected – make a deep run. If he were to return to action eight weeks from today (September 7), the Lakers could be in the midst of the Western Conference semifinals at that time.
Malika Andrews and Dave McMenamin of ESPN first reported late on Sunday night that Rondo had suffered a significant hand injury.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Oladipo Reconsidering Decision Not To Play In Orlando
Don’t count out Victor Oladipo from playing again this season after all.
Early this month, Oladipo said he wouldn’t play at the Orlando campus. Now, the Pacers star guard is having second thoughts, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. After a couple of strong team practices in Orlando, Oladipo might decide to suit up.
Oladipo has participated fully in those practices, Eric Woodyard of ESPN tweets. “He’s been going hard,” coach Nate McMillan said. The practices have included 5-on-5 scrimmages with Oladipo on the court, Charania adds (Twitter link).
Concerns over reinjuring his quad during the restart led to the decision to sit out. As ESPN’s Bobby Marks notes in a tweet, Oladipo won’t be paid simply for participating in practices. Only players who have tested positive for COVID-19 or have a season-ending injury can get paid during the restart while sitting out.
Oladipo stands to lose approximately $2.7MM if he doesn’t play. He has a $21MM salary this season as well as next season before he becomes a free agent.
Oladipo, who suffered a torn quad tendon during the 2018/19 season, missed approximately a full calendar year, making his return for the Pacers on January 29. He averaged 13.8 PPG prior to the stoppage of play, including a season-high 27 points during Indiana’s last game.
Two NBA Players Tested Positive On Campus, Didn’t Clear Quarantine
Of the 322 NBA players who have been tested for the coronavirus since arriving in Orlando on July 7, two returned confirmed positive tests, the league and the NBPA announced today in a press release.
Those players were tested while self-isolating in their hotel rooms and never cleared quarantine, according to today’s announcement. They have since left the NBA’s Walt Disney World campus to isolate at home or in isolation housing. As a result, the hope is that the campus isn’t compromised and there won’t be any sort of outbreak.
According to the NBA and NBPA, 19 players have also tested positive in their home markets since July 1. Those players remain in their respective markets and didn’t travel to Orlando. They’re recovering, quarantining, and awaiting medical clearance before they get the go-ahead to travel to Disney.
While the identity of many of those affected players isn’t known, some have been reported or have announced their positive tests themselves. Rockets star Russell Westbrook became the latest to do so today, announcing on Twitter that he contracted the virus.