John Wall Expected To Remain Sidelined If Season Resumes
Wizards point guard John Wall, who continues to recover from an Achilles tear suffered in 2019, had been ruled out for the 2019/20 season prior to the NBA’s postponement.
Now that there’s a possibility of the NBA resuming its season as late as June or July, Wall will have extra time to get game-ready, but we still shouldn’t expect to see him back on the court before 2020/21, according to Candace Buckner of The Washington Post. As Buckner explains, the original timeline that the Wizards and Wall had set remains unchanged.
“We’ve said all along that we can’t wait until John plays next season, and I think that will still be our attitude and our stance,” Wizards general manager Tommy Sheppard recently said, per Buckner. “We’re very anxious to see John Wall in uniform next year. I don’t think any of this changes that.”
While the Wizards still expect Wall to be ready to go for the ’20/21 season, whenever it begins, the league’s coronavirus-related layoff may actually hinder his rehab process rather than help it. As Buckner points out, with all NBA training facilities closed, Wall no longer has the opportunity to participate in more intense workouts with teammates, Wizards staffers, and Capital City Go-Go players.
According to Buckner, Wall does have a basketball court and gym at his house, so he’ll be able to stay active during the hiatus, but he won’t be able to recreate the “day-to-day routine” he had with the Wizards. The disruption to that routine will contribute to keeping him on the sidelines this summer if and when the season resumes.
Steve Ballmer To Purchase Forum, Build New Clippers Arena
Clippers owner Steve Ballmer has agreed in principle to purchase the Forum in Inglewood, California, which is a necessary step for the franchise to build a new arena in the area, as Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com writes.
The newly-formed CAPSS LLC will acquire the Forum from The Madison Square Garden Company – and executive chairman James Dolan – for $400MM in cash. The Forum will remain a music venue, but Ballmer’s purchase allows him to clear the existing litigation that was preventing an arena from being built nearby.
“This is an unprecedented time, but we believe in our collective future,” Ballmer said in the news release. “We are committed to our investment in the City of Inglewood, which will be good for the community, the Clippers, and our fans.”
The Clippers, who have shared the Staples Center with the Lakers since 1999, intend to build a state-of-the-art, 18,000-seat arena in Inglewood, notes Youngmisuk. Public hearings to approve construction of the building are expected to happen later this year.
The franchise anticipates creating an estimated 7,500 “high-paying construction jobs” and 1,500 permanent jobs, Youngmisuk added. The team announced that it has a $100MM package of community benefits on the way.
Sixers Reverse Course On Reducing Employees’ Salaries
Sixers ownership has reversed course on a plan to reduce certain employees’ salaries, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
Full-time 76ers employees who earn at least $50K annually were informed on Monday that their salaries would be temporarily reduced by up to 20% as the NBA remains on hiatus, as Marc Stein of The New York Times details. Those employees were told that the new measures would apply to pay checks from April 15 through June 30, with health benefits and 401(k) plans unaffected, says Stein.
Sixers majority owner Josh Harris, whose Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment also owns the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, confirmed those plans in a statement today, but indicated they won’t be moving forward.
“Our commitment has been to do our best to keep all of our employees working through this very difficult situation. As part of an effort to do that we asked salaried employees to take a temporary 20% pay cut while preserving everyone’s full benefits — and keeping our 1,500 hourly workers paid throughout the regular season,” Harris said. “After listening to our staff and players, it’s clear that was the wrong decision. We have reversed it and will be paying these employees their full salaries.”
The measures, which have now been nixed, wouldn’t have affected any players. They also wouldn’t have applied to employees on contracts, including members of the coaching staff or certain front office executives, Stein notes. Only “at-will” employees would have been required to accept the salary reductions, Wojnarowski adds (via Twitter).
However, according to Stein, some additional members of the organization had been asked to participate in the rollbacks as well — Sixers GM Elton Brand was among those who had agreed to take a temporary pay cut. Wojnarowski tweets that coaches and executives whose salaries couldn’t be unilaterally cut were initially given until Thursday to agree to a salary reduction of 20%. Per Woj, many were reluctant to give back that money, particularly since their employment situations beyond this summer are uncertain.
As Wojnarowski tweets, other team owners were keeping an eye on the situation in Philadelphia. Those owners were weighing their own desire to save money against the potential PR backlash that such a move would generate. Presumably, based on the negative PR the 76ers faced and the quick reversal that followed, no other teams will immediately enact similar plans.
Sixers part-owner Michael Rubin actually contributed to that PR backlash that helped push the club to change its plans — Shams Charania of Stadium (video link) reports that Rubin wasn’t believed to be part of the decision to reduce employees’ salaries and was said to be “upset” and “outraged” by it.
Meanwhile, before the 76ers’ change of heart, star center Joel Embiid announced that he’s pledging $500K to COVID-19 medical relief efforts in the community and that he was committed to helping Sixers employees who would suffer financial hardship in light of the team’s salary reductions (Twitter link via Ramona Shelburne of ESPN). With the Sixers no longer planning to reduce employees’ salary, Embiid’s financial commitment beyond that $500K for coronavirus purposes no longer appears necessary.
Tyrese Haliburton Entering 2020 NBA Draft
Another potential top-10 pick has confirmed he’s entering his name in the 2020 NBA draft, with Iowa State’s Tyrese Haliburton declaring his intent to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony and Adrian Wojnarowski.
Haliburton, a 6’5″ point guard, averaged just 6.8 PPG and 3.6 APG as a freshman in 2018/19. However, he enjoyed a breakout sophomore year in 2019/20, recording 15.2 PPG, 6.5 APG, 5.9 RPG, and 2.5 SPG on .504/.419/.822 shooting in 22 games (36.7 MPG).
Currently, Haliburton ranks seventh overall on ESPN’s big board, including second among point guards, behind only LaMelo Ball. In his scouting report, ESPN draft guru Mike Schmitz praises Haliburton’s shooting touch and basketball IQ, while cautioning that the youngster’s shot creation could use some work and his light frame makes him inclined to avoid contact.
Haliburton, who had his sophomore season cut short due to a fractured wrist, impressed NBA scouts last summer when he helped lead Team USA to a gold medal at the FIBA U-19 World Cup, Givony and Wojnarowski observe.
Our running list of early entrants for the 2020 draft can be found right here.
Tokyo Olympics Officially Postponed To 2021
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics have officially been postponed to 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the International Olympic Committee and the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee announced this morning in a joint statement.
The exact dates for the rescheduled event haven’t yet been determined. Today’s announcement indicated that the Olympics will happen at “a date beyond 2020 but not later than summer 2021.” Given that these are the Summer Games, pushing them back by about a full year seems like the most probable outcome. They were previously scheduled to begin on July 24, 2020.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said on Tuesday that he had asked IOC president Thomas Bach for a one-year delay and he agreed “100%,” per Motoko Rich, Matt Futterman, and Tariq Panja of The New York Times. The formal announcement comes less than 24 hours after IOC member Dick Pound said in an interview that the Tokyo Games would be postponed.
As noted in the New York Times report and in a story by Nancy Armour and Tom Schad of USA Today, postponing the 2020 Olympics will be a massive undertaking with a series of logistical challenges, including adjusting TV broadcasting deals, working around world championship events in certain sports, and dealing with venue and hotel availability.
It remains to be seen how the postponement will affect the basketball portion of the Olympics. It’s safe to say that the qualifying tournaments scheduled to take place this June to determine the last four teams in the men’s tournament will also be pushed back. But with the new dates undetermined and the calendars for the 2019/20 and 2020/21 NBA seasons also up in the air, there’s no guarantee that NBA players will be free to participate in those qualifying tournaments — or even in the Olympics themselves.
NBA Season Could Stretch Into September
The NBA season could be extended into September in order to determine a winner, rather than cancelling it, several ESPN analysts suggest.
While there’s been talk the league could play into August, this is the first time we’ve heard of potentially playing to the end of summer or even the start of fall.
Appearing on Outside the Lines, Ramona Shelburne declares the league will do all it can to have a team hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy (Video link).
“This is a general sense among owners and players that no matter what they want to salvage the season, if that’s in July, if that’s in August, if that’s in September, so be it,” she said. “I don’t think anyone wants to start a new season without crowning a champion from this season.”
Former NBA player Jalen Rose said players could get ready physically to resume the season fairly quickly and doesn’t see competition with other sports as an issue (video link).
“The NBA could start in mid-June, mid-July, the NBA could start in August,” he said on ESPN’s morning show Get Up. “This idea that you can’t play basketball in September because you don’t want to compete with the NFL is absurd.”
Brian Windhorst echoed Rose’s comments on the same program.
“I think they’ll do whatever it takes, whatever it is on the calendar,” he said. “I don’t think I would rule out September basketball at all.”
Pound: IOC To Postpone 2020 Olympics
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics won’t be held as scheduled, International Olympic Committee member Dick Pound tells Christine Brennan of USA Today. According to Pound, the coronavirus pandemic will cause the Games to be postponed, likely until 2021, with many of the details expected to be worked out in the coming weeks.
“On the basis of the information the IOC has, postponement has been decided,” Pound told USA Today. “The parameters going forward have not been determined, but the Games are not going to start on July 24, that much I know.”
The IOC has yet to make any official announcements regarding the 2020 Olympics, having suggested over the weekend for the first time that a postponement was being considered. Pound tells Brennan that he believes formal announcements are coming soon.
“It will come in stages,” he said. “We will postpone this and begin to deal with all the ramifications of moving this, which are immense.”
The Canadian and Australian Olympic Committees have issued statements suggesting they won’t participate in the 2020 Olympics unless they’re postponed, and Brennan notes that Germany, Brazil, Norway, and other countries have publicly urged the IOC to delay the Games.
Assuming the IOC does officially push back the 2020 Olympics, it’s unclear exactly how the basketball portion of the event might be affected. Eight of 12 teams in the men’s basketball tournament have been decided, with four spots still up for grabs. Qualifying tournaments for those last four spots were scheduled to be held in June, but they’ll presumably be postponed as well.
Depending on when the rescheduled qualifiers and Olympics take place and how the NBA ultimately handles its own postponed season, it’s possible the two calendars will overlap, limiting NBA players’ ability to participate in the Games.
FSU’s Devin Vassell Entering 2020 NBA Draft
Florida State shooting guard Devin Vassell has announced he’s entering the 2020 NBA draft, publishing an Instagram post that confirms his decision.
“It is with a heart full of gratitude that I am entering my name in the 2020 NBA draft,” Vassell wrote. “I’ll never forget the amazing ride of these last two years, and I’m excited to see what the future holds.”
While Vassell could technically test the draft waters and retain his college eligibility before making a final decision later in the pre-draft process, the wording of his message makes it sound as if he’ll be going pro, forgoing his remaining two years of eligibility.
Vassell had a breakout season as a sophomore, averaging 12.7 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.4 SPG, and 1.0 BPG with a .490/.415/.738 shooting line in 30 games (28.8 MPG). He has established himself as a potential mid-first-round pick — Sam Vecenie of The Athletic had the guard at No. 14 in his latest mock draft, while ESPN’s draft experts list him at No. 19 on their big board.
Our full list of early entrants for the 2020 draft can be found right here.
Canada, Australia Won’t Participate In Olympics Without Postponement
MARCH 23: The Australian National Committee has told its athletes to prepare for the Olympics to be postponed by a year, indicating in its announcement that an Australian Team can’t be assembled for 2020. Unlike Canada, Australia is one of eight teams that has already qualified for the basketball tournament at the Tokyo Olympics.
MARCH 22: The Canadian Olympic Committee will not send its athletes, including the basketball team, to the Tokyo Olympics unless the event is postponed, the CBC News tweets. The Summer Olympics are scheduled to begin on July 24.
In a statement, the committee urges the International Olympic Committee and World Health Organization to postpone the Games for one year. The committee also pledges its full support to help the IOC navigate the complexities created by such a postponement.
Team Canada’s basketball team is coached by Raptors coach Nick Nurse and includes numerous NBA players. Canada isn’t yet guaranteed a spot in the Tokyo Olympics, but was scheduled to host and compete in a qualifying tournament this June.
The IOC has stated that “cancellation is not on the agenda,” but the organization suggests delaying the 2020 Games is on the table. However, its president Thomas Bach says that it’s too early to make a final decision about the date of the Olympic Games in Tokyo.
Earlier this week, USA Track and Field called for the Summer Olympics to be postponed.
Pelicans Ready To Match Any Offer To Brandon Ingram
The Pelicans plan to match any offer for restricted free agent Brandon Ingram, multiple sources tell Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. He shares that item as part of a response to a reader’s question on whether the Cavaliers will try to clear cap room for the offseason.
Ingram, who is coming off his first All-Star appearance, is a strong candidate for Most Improved Player. His scoring average has risen from 18.3 to 24.3 PPG and his numbers are up virtually across the board. He also seems to have overcome the Deep Venous Thrombosis issue that forced him to have season-ending surgery last March.
Health concerns factored into the Pelicans’ decision to not give Ingram a rookie scale extension in October, but he has proven his value in his first season in New Orleans. He will be among the top names this offseason in a relatively weak free agent class and should attract plenty of attention from the few teams with cap space.