Rest Of EuroLeague, EuroCup Seasons Canceled
As a potential NBA return gains momentum, the world’s second-most competitive professional basketball league won’t resume its 2019/20 season. The remainder of the ’19/20 EuroLeague and EuroCup seasons have officially been canceled, according to a press release.
While 29 of 30 NBA teams play in the United States, EuroLeague and EuroCup teams come from all over Europe, which complicated a return to play. Within its announcement, the ECA Shareholders Executive Board noted that there was no guarantee all teams would be able to hold training camps and prepare for games under the same conditions, or that all clubs would be able to travel to and from the necessary location(s).
The decision comes on the heels of the EuroLeague Players Association urging the league to cancel the season due to concerns about limited preparation time and an increased injury risk. The Executive Board cited those concerns in its press release as well, stressing that player safety was its top priority.
“Without a doubt, this is the most difficult decision we have had to take in our 20-year history,” Euroleague Basketball president and CEO Jordi Bertomeu said in a statement. “Due to reasons beyond our control, we have been forced to cut short the most successful and exciting season in European basketball history. This comes after two and a half months in which all the league’s stakeholders maintained their determination and exhausted every possible avenue in trying to deliver a complete and uniquely special season to our fans, whose passion is the driving force for all our efforts.”
At the time the EuroLeague season was suspended in March, Turkey’s Anadolu Efes – led by former NBA guards Shane Larkin and Rodrigue Beaubois, along with Sixers draft-and-stash prospect Vasilije Micic – was in first place with a 24-4 record, followed by Real Madrid and Barcelona at 22-6.
The 2020/21 EuroLeague season is now scheduled to begin on October 1, with the same 18 teams that played in the league this year returning for next season, per today’s announcement.
The ’20/21 EuroCup season, meanwhile, is tentatively set to tip off on September 30, with eight of 24 teams locked in for next year as a result of qualifying for this year’s quarterfinals. The other 16 spots will be determined based on this season’s domestic league standings.
Knicks, Nets Receive Permission To Reopen Facilities
6:19pm: The Nets intend to reopen their facility for voluntary workouts on Tuesday, the team confirmed today (Twitter link via Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News).
12:04pm: Gov. Andrew Cuomo has granted permission for New York sports teams to resume operations immediately, stating in a tweet that “Starting today, NY professional sports leagues can begin spring training.”
Although coronavirus cases remain high in the New York City area, Cuomo believes sports can be conducted safely without spectators in the stands. He made similar comments this morning during a briefing at Jones Beach on Long Island, according to Joseph Spector of The USA Today Network.
“I believe that sports that can come back without having people in the stadium, without having people in the arena, do it. Do it,” Cuomo told reporters.
The Knicks and Nets are two of the 11 NBA teams that haven’t opened their training facilities, notes Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link).
However, both teams may try to train somewhere else before joining the rest of the league in Orlando. A story published Friday by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski listed the Knicks, Nets, Celtics and Raptors as organizations that have expressed concerns to the league about unique complications affecting their marketplaces.
Cuomo has been urging professional leagues, most of which have their headquarters in his state, to explore ways to start playing again, Spector adds.
“Work out the economics if you can. We want you up,” Cuomo said. “We want people to be able to watch sport. To the extent people are still staying home, it gives people something to do. It’s a return to normalcy.”
Greg Whittington Attracting NBA Interest
Free agent forward Greg Whittington has received interest from multiple high-level NBA teams throughout the year, his agent told Hoops Rumors.
Whittington impressed scouts during a shortened campaign with Turkish team Galatasaray in the EuroCup, playing against some of the toughest competition overseas. He posted averages of 12.4 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in 14 Turkish League contests, shooting 52.8% from 3-point range.
“Greg’s put in the work, and now he knows he’s graduated to being able to pick his next opportunity,” agent Jerry Dianis said. “He can now cherry-pick his next opportunity, and obviously he has some high-level NBA and international interest. I think Greg is going to be the most coveted free agent outside of the NBA because of his versatility and ability to shoot the ball.”
Whittington also averaged 18.4 points per game for Hapoel Gilboa Galil in Israel the season before, shooting 41.5% from deep in 30 contests while leading the country in rebounding (9.6 per contest). His versatility and unselfishness are two major reasons why he’s registered NBA interest, with the 27-year-old also being named forward of the year this season.
Whittington, a lengthy 6’9″ combo forward, went undrafted in 2015 after spending two seasons at Georgetown. He joined the Heat for summer league and earned a training camp deal with the team that fall, spending the rest of the season in the NBA G League. He’s since made stops in Australia, Sioux Falls, Japan and Israel.
Whittington’s consistent play has made him a strong candidate for an NBA contract, though all transactions across the league remain on hold amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Several teams around the association are actively preparing for a return to action, possibly as early as July. The season was suspended indefinitely on March 11.
Jon Leuer Announces Retirement
Former Pistons big man Jon Leuer has announced his retirement after spending eight seasons in the NBA, the 31-year-old wrote on social media.
Leuer, who made stops with Milwaukee, Cleveland, Memphis, Phoenix and Detroit across his career, officially bid farewell to the game on Sunday.
“I love the game of basketball. I still want to play, but I know deep down it’s not the right decision for my health anymore,” he wrote on Instagram. “The past three years I’ve dealt with a number of injuries, including two that kept me out this whole season. It’s taken me a while to come to grips with this, but I’m truly at peace with my decision to officially retire.
“As disappointing as these injuries have been, I’m still thankful for every moment I spent playing the game. Basketball has been the most amazing journey of my life. It’s taken me places I only could’ve dreamed about as a kid. The relationships it brought me mean more than anything. I’ve been able to connect with people from all walks of life and forged lifelong bonds with many of them. What this game has brought me stretches way beyond basketball. I’m grateful for this incredible ride and everyone who helped me along the way.”
Leuer was the No. 40 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft and last played with the Pistons in April of 2019. Detroit traded him to Milwaukee last June; the Bucks later waived him in early July.
Leuer ended his career holding per-game averages of 6.4 points and 3.8 rebounds, mostly serving as a player off the bench. Perhaps his best season came during the 2016/17 campaign, which saw him average 10.2 points, four rebounds and 25.9 minutes per game in 75 contests.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
NBA Enters ‘Exploratory’ Talks To Resume Season In Orlando
The NBA has entered exploratory conversations with the Walt Disney Corporation about restarting the 2019/20 season at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida in late July, tweets ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.
“The NBA, in conjunction with the National Basketball Players Association, is engaged in exploratory conversations with The Walt Disney Company about restarting the 2019/20 NBA season in late July at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida as a single site for an NBA campus for games, practices and housing,” NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said (via Shelburne). “Our priority continues to be the health and safety of all involved, and we are working with public health experts and government officials on a comprehensive set of guidelines to ensure that appropriate medical protocols and protections are in place.”
As we relayed earlier this week, Orlando emerged as a frontrunner to be the host city whenever the league resumed its season. In this bubble/campus-like format, Orlando would host all players, coaches, and other essential personnel as the NBA attempts to resume play.
Given the uncertainty amid the coronavirus pandemic, it remains to be seen if the season can be resumed while ensuring the safety of its players. However, this represents the most serious step since the season was suspended toward a return to play.
NBA Issues Survey To GMs On Possible Formats To Resume Season
In a recent survey sent to the NBA’s 30 general managers, several different proposals for play formats were proposed as the league weighs resuming the 2019/20 season, The Athletic’s Shams Charania reports.
Ranging from a direct-to-playoffs format to resuming the regular season, a number of different scenarios are mentioned. As the NBA zeroed in on Disney World in Orlando to resume play sometime in mid-July, the following scenarios are on the table:
- Playoffs: The top eight teams in each conference would advance directly to the postseason.
- “Playoffs Plus”: Increasing the number of teams that receive a chance to continue playing through either a play-in tournament or replacing the playoffs first round with a group stage.
- Note: The number of teams to return in this scenario would be either 18, 20, 22, or 24.
- Regular Season: Under this proposal, all 30 teams would resume the season where it ended and continue on as scheduled.
- Regular Season + Play-In: All teams play the same amount of games which would then include a play-in tournament and conclude with a traditional postseason.
- Playoffs Plus play-in: A play-in tournament which includes bubble teams playing for the eighth seed; a play-in tournament for the seventh and eighth seed; or a stage that replaces the first playoff round and all groups. In this scenario, every team would play two games against each group opponent and the top two teams from each group would advance to a traditional second round.
Further discussions in the survey include the amount of scrimmage games that would be played before a restart (between two and five), the total number of regular-season games that would be played (72 or 76), whether or not to do a traditional playoff format or reseed all teams, and when the season would end (Labor Day, Sept. 15, Oct. 1, Oct. 15 or Nov. 1).
Discussions continue on how and when the NBA season could be resumed safely and without fans in attendance.
Former Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan Passes Away
Former Jazz coach Jerry Sloan has passed away due to complications from Parkinson’s disease and Lewy body dementia, the team announced today in a press release. Sloan was 78 years old.
“Jerry Sloan will always be synonymous with the Utah Jazz,” the club said in a statement. “He will forever be a part of the Utah Jazz organization and we join his family, friends and fans in mourning his loss. We are so thankful for what he accomplished here in Utah and the decades of dedication, loyalty and tenacity he brought to our franchise.”
After a two-and-a-half-year stint coaching the Bulls from 1979-82, Sloan took over as Utah’s head coach during the 1988/89 season. He remained in that role for 23 years, compiling a 1,127-682 (.623) regular season record with the franchise during that time. He also won 96 postseason contests with the Jazz, leading the club to two NBA Finals appearances against Michael Jordan‘s Bulls in 1997 and 1998.
Sloan’s 1,221 wins as an NBA head coach place him fourth in league history, behind only Don Nelson, Lenny Wilkens, and Gregg Popovich. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.
Prior to becoming an NBA coach, Sloan was a standout player, having been drafted fourth overall by the Baltimore Bullets in 1965. He spent most of his playing career in Chicago, earning a pair of All-Star berths and six All-Defensive nods for the Bulls.
We at Hoops Rumors send our condolences to Sloan’s family and friends.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Bucks Co-Owner: NBA Could Resume Play Within 6-8 Weeks
Appearing today on CNBC, Bucks co-owner Marc Lasry said he thinks the NBA is getting “a lot closer” to a potential return, adding that he believes games could resume sometime in early-to-mid July.
“I think we’ll have something, hopefully within the next six-to-eight weeks, we should be playing,” Lasry said on ‘Halftime Report,’ per Jabari Young of CNBC.
A report from Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic on Wednesday suggested the most popular scenario discussed by the NBA as of late would see the 2019/20 season resume in mid-July. Lasry’s projected timeline matches up with that report — eight weeks from today would be July 16.
Adding fuel to that fire, Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie tweeted this afternoon that he’s heard rumblings about a July 15 resumption, with Marc Stein of The New York Times noting (via Twitter) that many people around the league are “buzzing about the same rough time frame.”
Charania and Amick also said on Wednesday that Orlando has emerged as the “clear frontrunner” to host the NBA’s return. Lasry didn’t dispute that, though he indicated that he thinks the NBA might opt for a two-site approach, with Eastern teams playing in Orlando and Western teams in Las Vegas.
The NBA itself hasn’t made any announcements on potential plans, but there have been signals within the last couple days that momentum is building toward a formal update from the league within the next week or two. According to Young, Lasry noted today that the NBA has a Board of Governors call scheduled for next Friday.
“I’m sure we’ll be talking about it then,” the Bucks’ co-owner said.
Nets Have Internally Discussed Pursuing Bradley Beal
With Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant locked into long-term deals, the Nets may be in the market for a third star and have internally discussed potential avenues of acquiring Wizards guard Bradley Beal, reports Stefan Bondy of The New York Daily News.
The fact that these conversations have only happened “internally” is an important detail, since it’s unlikely the Wizards would actually engage in any trade discussions for Beal at this point. He signed a two-year contract extension last fall and there have been no indications that he wants to leave D.C., even as the club appears set to miss the playoffs again in 2019/20. The 26-year-old spoke in March about wanting to finish his career with the franchise.
Additionally, even before Beal extended his contract with Washington, new general manager Tommy Sheppard talked repeatedly about having no desire to consider trading the star shooting guard. Now that Beal is locked up through at least 2021/22, that stance is unlikely to change this offseason.
Still, in the event that anything does change for the Wizards and Beal, Brooklyn is worth monitoring as a possible trade partner, given the team’s cache of intriguing assets. In addition to possessing all of their own first-round picks starting in 2021, the Nets could make productive players like Caris LeVert, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Jarrett Allen available if it means adding another star. They should be well equipped to make a run at any impact player who might hit the trade market in the coming months, even if that player isn’t Beal.
With John Wall out for the season, Beal enjoyed the most productive year of his career in 2019/20, averaging 30.5 PPG, 6.1 APG, and 4.2 RPG in 57 games (36.0 MPG). Wall is expected to be ready to go for the start of the ’20/21 campaign, increasing the likelihood that the Wizards will push for a return to the postseason next year rather than breaking up their star backcourt.
Silver Wants Best-Of-Seven Playoff Series If Season Resumes
One of the many topics discussed by the NBA in the 10 weeks since COVID-19 shut down the 2019/20 season is the possibility of adjusting the playoff format if the season resumes. Reducing the number of games per series or even shifting to more of a tournament-style postseason could significantly cut down on the amount of time players and teams would have to remain in a “bubble” location to complete the season.
However, appearing on ESPN’s Get Up this morning (video link), Adrian Wojnarowski stressed that commissioner NBA Adam Silver continues to prioritize a best-of-seven format for playoff series, assuming the season can resume.
“Adam Silver wants to have seven-game series in the playoffs,” Wojnarowski told Mike Greenberg. “He doesn’t want to have shortened series early on. He wants to try to legitimize the champion as much as he can.”
While it seems inevitable that some NBA fans and observers will attach an asterisk to whatever team wins the 2019/20 title, maintaining that best-of-seven format would at least ensure that this year’s winner doesn’t make it through the playoffs under entirely different circumstances than usual.
Of course, the end of the season – again, assuming it can be completed – will still be very atypical. As Wojnarowski noted on Get Up and during a Wednesday appearance on ESPN’s SportsCenter (video link), the NBA still hopes to bring back all 30 teams – or as close to 30 as possible – this summer, and may need to provide some sort of incentive to convince those lottery-bound teams to return.
One of the biggest ongoing conversations around the league is how many clubs will be invited to the NBA’s “bubble,” how many will have an opportunity to make the playoffs, and what a potential play-in tournament for the final postseason spot or two could look like.
As Woj pointed out during both of his TV appearances, the league will have to walk a fine line as it attempts to make things fair for teams like the Mavericks and Grizzlies, who comfortably hold the Nos. 7 and 8 seeds, while potentially incentivizing a return for current lottery teams by putting those playoff spots up for grabs.