Bojan Bogdanovic Undergoing Season-Ending Wrist Surgery
1:24pm: Confirming that Bogdanovic will undergo season-ending surgery on Tuesday in New York, the Jazz announced in a press release that the procedure will repair a ruptured scapholunate ligament. According to the club, Bogdanovic actually first injured his right wrist “sometime in 2019.”
12:40pm: Jazz forward Bojan Bogdanovic will undergo a surgical procedure on his right wrist, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that the surgery will end Bogdanovic’s season. He’s expected to be fully recovered for the start of the 2020/21 campaign.
With the remainder of the ’19/20 season and the start date for next season still very much up in the air, we don’t know exactly what Bogdanovic’s recovery timeline will look like. Still, based on Woj’s report, it sounds like it’ll be a multi-month process, extending through the summer.
As Wojnarowski explains (via Twitter), Bogdanovic injured his right wrist in January and played through it for the rest of the season. Sources tell ESPN that his discomfort re-emerged during the NBA’s hiatus, prompting the team to decide to shut him down and have him undergo surgery. The Jazz have an eye toward the long term, since the forward is in the first season of a four-year deal.
Bogdanovic, who is under contract through 2023, will earn $18.7MM annually for the next three years. The 31-year-old enjoyed a career year in his first season with the Jazz, averaging 20.2 PPG, 4.1 RPG, and 2.1 APG with a .447/.414/.903 shooting line in 63 games (33.1 MPG).
Assuming the ’19/20 season can be completed, Bogdanovic’s injury will put a serious dent in Utah’s chances of making a deep playoff run. He was a key part of the club’s success this season — the Jazz had a 113.5 offensive rating when Bogdanovic played, compared to just 105.0 when he sat.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Knicks To Hire Walt Perrin As Assistant GM
The Knicks are finalizing the hiring of Jazz executive Walt Perrin, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, who reports (via Twitter) that Perrin will be an assistant general manager in New York.
Perrin, who has spent nearly the last two decades in Utah, was initially hired as the team’s director player personnel before eventually being promoted to vice president of player personnel. Prior to joining the Jazz in 2001, he was a scout in Minnesota and Detroit, holding the title of director of college scouting with the Pistons.
John Hollinger of The Athletic, formerly a Grizzlies executive, praised the hiring for the Knicks, referring to Perrin as someone who’s a “fixture at every event with an even remotely relevant prospect” (Twitter link).
Perrin will be the second noteworthy addition to the Knicks’ front office since Leon Rose assumed president of basketball operations duties in March. The organization previously hired away capologist Brock Aller from the Cavaliers to be the Knicks’ VP of strategy. Rose also elected to retain GM Scott Perry for at least one more year.
Brett Brown Expects Simmons, Embiid To Be Ready
Sixers coach Brett Brown expects Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid to be healthy enough to play whenever the NBA season resumes, write Rich Hofmann and Derek Bodner of The Athletic. Brown offered a medical update on both stars and covered a few other topics during a conference call Friday with Philadelphia media.
Simmons hasn’t played since suffering a lower back impingement in February. His injury has allowed him to work out at the team facility during the hiatus, and general manger Elton Brand said last week that he’s optimistic Simmons can return by the time play starts again. Brown called the injury “as disturbing a memory as it relates to a player that I can think of.”
“He’s lying on his back, he’s vomiting primarily because of pain, and trying to get him back on the plane and build him back up to some level of health where he can play basketball with us again, that timeline was always an interesting one,” Brown said.
Embiid was dealing with a shoulder sprain and had just returned to the lineup on the night the hiatus began. Although he no longer has any pressing injury concerns, Brown said Embiid’s health and fitness levels will be important, saying he has a “desire to be at a playing weight that equals his best since he’s been in the league.”
Brown addressed a few other topics during the conference call:
What will it mean for the Sixers if the season can’t be completed?
“I feel this strongly … this thing is so, for me, incomplete. We need to be able to come back to the table, take the team that we have, the work that we’ve been putting in, and let that be Judgment Day. Let that environment be, you know, ‘you did’ or ‘you didn’t’ type stuff. And that’s how I approach it. I feel very confident, and respectfully cocky, that we’ve done good work (during this stoppage). I’m proud of my coaching staff.”
How would playing in an empty arena change the atmosphere?
“Obviously, playing in front of no fans, especially our fans, isn’t ideal. How will it play out? I don’t know. None of us have ever done this. But the alternative of simply not playing is obviously far less desired. Do I think it’ll water down the competitive side? I don’t. Of course, it’s going to have some level of an impact. I do feel just the mere fact that we’ll be playing again might be able to sort of minimize whatever awkwardness playing in front of zero fans (would have).”
How he’s using “The Last Dance” documentary as a teaching tool:
“We’re all, ‘You need shooters, you need defensive people, you need somebody to pick ’em, Jo, Ben, whatever. Like, it’s hard for me to go past that human quality: ‘Are you a sick competitor? Does it really bother you when you lose?’ Obviously, that part of that documentary as we’re watching it, how can that not be at the forefront?”
Udonis Haslem Warns Of “Bad Basketball” Under Quarantine
Heat forward Udonis Haslem doesn’t believe that forcing players to live under quarantine conditions in a “bubble” city will result in a good product, writes Ira Winderman of The Sun-Sentinel.
Creating an isolated environment, likely in Las Vegas or Orlando, has been a prominent plan as the NBA searches for ways to safely resume its season. However, NBPA executive director Michele Roberts recently questioned what it would take to enforce those conditions, saying it sounds like “incarceration.” Haslem echoes those comments, stating that players need “outlets” beyond just the game or it will result in “bad basketball.”
“There’s a lot that goes on to prepare for a season mentally,” he said. “There’s a lot that goes into going out there and performing at a high level every night, and especially when you put yourself in a playoff atmosphere. I was one of those guys who’s always needed different outlets, for my mental health. So just moving forward, if that is something that we’re going to do, you just hope that both the league and the Players’ Association are smart about making sure we have different outlets, as far not just letting us out to play games and then locking us back up in the hotel, in quarantine.”
Commissioner Adam Silver has responded to those concerned about a bubble, suggesting players could be placed in more of a “campus” setting. Teams would stay at a central location where games would take place, but the players would be able to leave the site and would get a COVID-19 test when they return.
Even under those conditions, players face the possibility of being isolated from their families for two months or more, depending on how much of the regular season gets played before the playoffs begin. That would be unprecedented even for a veteran like Haslem, who is in his 17th NBA season and 18th in professional basketball.
“I’ve never been away from my family for that long,” he said. “Obviously, back in the day, when we would take the West Coast trips with the Big Three, when LeBron (James) first got here, it felt like a month. But, no, never, not even with my travels to Europe, away from the family, have I been away that long. So it will be tough. It will be definitely tough for a lot of us.”
Search For New NBPA Executive Director On Hold
The National Basketball Players Association will delay its search for a new executive director until it has a better understanding of what’s going to happen with this season, sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
Michele Roberts, who has led the union since 2014, won’t seek a contract extension when her current four-year term expires in 2022. The NBPA announced in March that it would begin its search for a successor, allowing plenty of time for a smooth transition.
The union has interviewed several candidates in recent weeks, including Pistons assistant general manager Pat Garrity, according to Haynes’ sources. Garrity served as treasurer for the union’s executive committee during his playing career. An executive search firm has been accepting nominations and is exploring a diverse set of applicants who have been in charge of other organizations.
There is no set timeline to find a replacement for Roberts, sources tell Haynes. She still has “unwavering support” from the players and will be counted on to guide the union through the coronavirus crisis, including negotiations that could affect how much the players earn in the next collective bargaining agreement. The current CBA will expire in 2024.
NBPA President Chris Paul: “We Want To Play Bad”
In the wake of a report earlier in the week suggesting that there’s “overwhelming” support among NBA players to try to resume the 2019/20 season, NBPA president Chris Paul appeared today on ESPN’s The Jump (video link) and essentially confirmed as much to Rachel Nichols.
Acknowledging that there are complicated issues to work through, and stressing that the health and safety of players should be the NBA’s top priority, Paul stated in no uncertain terms that players are itching to get back on the court.
“A lot of hard conversations that have to be made, a lot of hard decisions,” the Thunder guard said. “But with the team around us, I think ultimately we’ll get to where we want to. Obviously we want to play. Oh man, we want to play. We want to play bad. And I think that’s a consensus for the guys around the league. We want it to be, obviously, as safe as possible. But the biggest thing is we miss the game.”
[RELATED: LeBron, Giannis, CP3, Other Stars United In Desire To Resume Season]
Noting that the common refrain among players is that they want to play “when it’s safe,” Nichols asked Paul what exactly that might look like, since no coronavirus vaccine is expected until 2021 at the earliest. The 35-year-old admitted he’s still not sure exactly what the best way to minimize the risk this summer is.
“I don’t have the answers,” Paul said. “I don’t have all the answers. But I know that people are working tirelessly trying to figure it out.”
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski wrote earlier this week that if the NBA resumes its season, the league won’t want to let one positive coronavirus test shut down play again. That means players will have to be comfortable with some number of positive tests, though it’s not clear how many would qualify as too many — that figures to be one key issue the NBA and NBPA will have to figure out in their negotiations.
LeBron, Curry Among Players Who Will Owe Money From 2020/21 Salaries
Starting this Friday, 25% of NBA players’ pay checks will be withheld for the foreseeable future. The NBA and NBPA reached that agreement last month in order to ensure that players are bearing some of the brunt of the league’s lost revenue due to the coronavirus pandemic — and so that players won’t be required to surrender a significant lump sum in a few months if games are officially canceled and the CBA’s “force majeure” clause is triggered.
However, some players will still have to return money to the league down the road rather than seeing a portion of their pay checks withheld now. While most NBA players are paid in 24 bi-monthly installments, beginning in November, some players negotiated deals that see them receive just 12 pay checks, with the last one issued on May 1. As a result, those players have already received their full salaries for the 2019/20 season and withholding part of their checks starting on May 15 isn’t an option.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN details, LeBron James, Stephen Curry, John Wall, Blake Griffin, and Paul George – all of whom are making $33MM or more this season – are among the players who have already received their ’19/20 salaries in full.
Because those players – and several others – won’t resume receiving pay checks from their respective teams until the fall, they’ll essentially owe the NBA an IOU for each pay date this spring and summer (until the 25% agreement ends), Marks explains.
By the fall, the league should better understand to what extent players’ 2019/20 salaries have to be reduced, and players like James and Curry will have money taken out of their advances for 2020/21 (on October 1) and/or their ’20/21 pay checks (beginning on November 15).
As Marks notes, the amount of money that players ultimately have to give up for the 2019/20 season will depend on how many games can be played this summer if and when the season resumes.
Players could lose approximately 23-26% of their full-season salaries if games don’t resume, according to Marks. On the other hand, in the unlikely event that the NBA is able to play its remaining regular season games and playoff games in full, teams would be responsible for returning players’ full salaries to them.
Adjusting player salaries based on the amount of games that can eventually be played should help the league avoid a scenario in which the salary cap fluctuates significantly over the next couple years based on this year’s lost revenue, since the NBA and its players share roughly a 50-50 split of the league’s revenue.
NBA, NCAA Indefinitely Postpone Early Entrant Withdrawal Date
The NCAA and NBA have indefinitely postponed the early entrant withdrawal date for draft prospects, the NCAA announced in a statement. It was originally scheduled for June 3.
Usually, it’s the date that college underclassmen would need to withdraw their names by in order to retain NCAA eligibility. Typically, it falls 10 days after the draft combine. With the combine postponed indefinitely, the news doesn’t come a major shock.
“This modification is being made with the health and well-being of our student-athletes in mind, along with their ability to make the most informed decisions during this uncertain time, and is based on the recent announcement by the NBA to postpone the 2020 NBA Draft Combine,” NCAA senior VP of basketball Dan Gavitt said in a statement.
The NBA’s own withdrawal deadline falls 10 days before the draft and had been scheduled for June 15. That date, which is generally the one to watch for international prospects, will presumably be pushed back indefinitely as well.
The league still hopes to hold a combine, whether it’s an in-person or virtual event. The NBA has also postponed the draft lottery, but hasn’t yet officially moved back the June 25 draft.
Florida Governor Says State Open For Sports
After Arizona Governor Doug Ducey announced on Tuesday that professional sports (without fans in attendance) will be permitted in his state beginning this weekend, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis made a similar announcement on Wednesday (video link via Andy Slater of Fox Sports 640 South Florida).
“All professional sports are welcome here for practicing and for playing,” DeSantis said during a news conference, per ESPN. “… What I would tell commissioners of leagues is, if you have a team in an area where they just won’t let them operate, we’ll find a place for you here in the state of Florida. Because we think it’s important and we know it can be done safely.”
Given the number of unknowns surrounding the reopening of professional sports leagues and all the work those leagues are doing to understand the risks of resuming play, DeSantis’ assertion that “we know it can be done safely” seems somewhat dubious. Still, the fact that the state of Florida is willing to accommodate professional sports could be good news for commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA.
If and when the league makes its own determination that the 2019/20 season can be safely resumed, games are expected to be played in one or two “bubble” locations. One of the top candidates to host that “bubble” is Walt Disney World near Orlando, so the fact that Florida’s state government is seemingly on board removes one potential roadblock for the NBA.
Kings, Pacers, Heat Among Latest Teams To Reopen Facilities
Teams around the NBA continue to reopen their practice facilities to accommodate voluntary individual workouts for their players. The Kings, Pacers, and Heat are among the latest teams to do so.
As James Ham of NBC Sports California details, Sacramento opened its facility on Monday, and a handful of players have already taken advantage of the opportunity to get some work in.
The same thing happened in Indiana this week, according to J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star. Michael’s source didn’t identify the specific players who have been back at St. Vincent Center, but said some players have returned to the facility, even as many staffers still aren’t cleared to enter the building.
As for the Heat, they reopened their facility at AmericanAirlines Arena on Wednesday, writes Ira Winderman of The South Florida Sun-Sentinel. All but three of Miami’s players are still in the South Beach area, per Winderman, so a number of those players figure to make use of the building.
The Cavaliers, Trail Blazers, Nuggets, Jazz, Hawks, and Raptors are among the teams that have also opened their respective facilities. Raptors forward Malcolm Miller confirmed today that he was the first player back at the club’s facility in Toronto earlier this week (Twitter link via Blake Murphy of The Athletic).
As the list of teams with reopened facilities grows, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Tuesday night that the league believes 22 of its 30 teams will have their building opened back up by next Monday (May 18). However, situations remain fluid.
For instance, the Wizards had reportedly targeted this Friday to reopen their practice facility. That target date is now up in the air, since the stay-at-home order in Washington, D.C. has now been extended through June 8, tweets Fred Katz of The Athletic.
Players who have been given the green light to participate in individual workouts at their teams’ facilities face restrictive guidelines. They can only work out for an hour at a time, with no more than four total players in the building. They also must undergo temperature checks before entering the facility and are required to wear a mask when not engaged in physical activity.