Duke’s Tre Jones To Enter NBA Draft
Duke sophomore point guard and ACC Player of the Year Tre Jones will enter the NBA draft, he told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. We relayed yesterday that Jones was expected to enter the draft, with Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski all but confirmed the guard’s decision before it was made official.
“Obviously, Tre Jones we know is going to go, whenever he announces,” Krzyzewski said on The 247Sports College Basketball Show podcast.
Jones will join a recent glut of talent from Duke to join the NBA — Zion Williamson, RJ Barrett and Cam Reddish all made the jump last season.
Prior to the COVID-19 outbreak shuttering professional sports, Jones was in the midst of a strong collegiate season. Ranked No. 33 overall and No. 12 among point guard prospects on ESPN’s Best Available list, Jones averaged 16.2 PPG, 6.4 APG and 1.8 SPG in 29 games for the Blue Devils.
Payment Of Players Uncertain Beyond April 1
The NBA has not committed to paying players in full beyond April 1 during the suspension of play, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
The next checks are scheduled to be issued on April 1. The following payment would be due on April 15 and a league memo sent to teams on Friday said it would provide “additional guidance” on the April 15 checks.
“Force Majeure” language in the Collective Bargaining Agreement allows for a percentage of contracts to be withheld in extreme circumstances.
The NBA and the Players Association have discussed the issue, Wojnarowski adds in another tweet. The NBA can withhold 1/92.6th of a player’s salary per cancelled game — about 1% of his annual salary.
Isaac Okoro To Enter 2020 NBA Draft
Auburn freshman forward Isaac Okoro will declare for the 2020 NBA draft, head coach Bruce Pearl told reporters in a conference call on Friday, per Tom Green of AL.com.
Although Okoro is expected to test the draft waters, retaining his college eligibility and leaving the door open for a return to Auburn, it would be a shock if he doesn’t ultimately decide to keep his name in this year’s draft pool. He’s a surefire lottery pick who currently ranks fourth overall on ESPN’s big board.
ESPN draft gurus Mike Schmitz and Jonathan Givony (Insider link) explained two weeks ago why Okoro’s stock has risen so significantly over the course of the 2019/20 season and why he looks like a top-10 pick – or top-five – pick now after not being included on the duo’s first 2020 mock draft last June.
In 28 games for Auburn as a freshman, Okoro averaged 12.9 PPG, 4.4 RPG, and 2.0 APG with a .514/.290/.672 shooting line. While his overall numbers were modest, Okoro has room to grow offensively and emerged as one of the NCAA’s most impactful defenders, per Schmitz. The 19-year-old earned SEC All-Defense, SEC All-Freshman, and Second Team All-SEC honors in his first and potentially only college season.
He’s the second projected lottery pick to declare for the 2020 draft today, joining Georgia guard Anthony Edwards.
How 2020 NBA Draft May Be Impacted By Hiatus
While it seems likely that the June 25 draft will be pushed back, especially if the NBA wants to resume its 2019/20 season following the current hiatus, a team executive tells Jonathan Givony of ESPN that there hasn’t been any guidance so far from the NBA on what the league’s evolving schedule will mean for the draft.
It’s possible more information could come during the league’s next conference call with the Board of Governors, but for now the NBA is more focused on its “core revenue-driving business,” sources tell Givony, making the draft less of a priority.
“The draft is the last thing on their list,” the executive told ESPN. “We saw it in the Collective Bargaining Agreement negotiations in 2016. They never even got to (the draft). Revenue drivers will come first, and then we’ll see what happens with the draft after all that gets figured out. It might be a while.”
Although the NBA hasn’t provided any concrete updates on whether scouting events like the draft combine will actually happen or whether the draft itself will be postponed, front office executives, draft prospects, college coaches, and agents are all preparing for a delayed draft and a “heavily reduced” pre-draft process, Givony writes.
[RELATED: Potential No. 1 pick Anthony Edwards declaring for draft]
As we’ve noted in previous stories, a limited ability to travel for workouts and meetings will likely force teams to rely heavily on video scouting, with face-to-face meetings perhaps replaced by video conferences. Although clubs would likely be willing to spend money to charter flights and set up face-to-face meetings or light workouts with prospects they’re targeting, that may not be possible — plus, NBA owners may instruct front office to keep expenses to a minimum, given the current situation, per Givony.
The unusual pre-draft process would have a ripple effect that impacts college programs and NBA teams alike. The NCAA’s deadline for prospects who are “testing the waters” to withdraw from draft consideration (June 3) could be changed if everything else is pushed back, leaving college coaches uncertain about which players are returning to their programs.
Additionally, without medical testing taking place at the combine, it’s unclear how teams will gain access to those records. One NBA team president speculated to Givony that without a clear-cut procedure for how medical tests will happen, it could open the door for agents to steer clients to specific teams.
“If a team wants to keep those medicals out of the hands of 29 other organizations, they might try and lock down that player with a promise that they’ll draft them,” the executive said. “It wouldn’t surprise me if agents decided to go out and do their own medicals, and then dispersed them to the teams of their choosing to try and guide players to specific situations.”
It will be fascinating to see how the process plays out, particularly during a draft year in which there’s already uncertainty surrounding a handful of potential lottery picks. Some NBA executives who spoke to Givony believed that teams might make more informed decisions without all the “distractions” that pre-draft events in May and June bring. Others believe the most well-run organizations will have an advantage as a result of the changes.
“Losing conference tournaments, March Madness, and workouts means that bad teams won’t be able to play catch up after being asleep at the wheel for most of the season, and that’s where having an experienced staff who has been out working all year will play huge dividends,” an assistant GM told ESPN. “If you don’t have accurate measurement data on all the players in the draft at this stage, you’re (probably) not going to get them anymore from individual workouts or the combine.”
Anthony Edwards Declaring For 2020 NBA Draft
Freshman Georgia guard and potential top pick Anthony Edwards is entering the 2020 NBA draft class, he tells Evan Daniels of 247Sports. Edwards – who has signed with Octagon agent Omar Wilkes for representation, according to Daniels – said that he believes he should be the No. 1 selection this year.
“I think I should go number one, no doubt,” Edwards told 247Sports. “That’s the only place I think I should go.”
While it remains to be seen whether the NBA team that gets the No. 1 pick will agree with Edwards’ assessment, the 6’5″ guard is widely viewed by draft experts as the top player on the board. Edwards currently ranks first on ESPN’s big board, and topped the most recent mock draft published by Sam Vecenie of The Athletic.
“I think he has to be a realistic option for No. 1,” an NBA scout told Daniels. “He has size and strength for position with ability to make shots and create for others. He’s shown glimpses defensively and can impact both sides of the ball. The potential is there to be a future superstar.”
In his scouting report on Edwards, ESPN’s Mike Schmitz praised the 18-year-old’s explosiveness, defensive potential, and ability to create shots, while noting that his decision-making is “a work in progress,” he can be undisciplined on defense, and he’s a streaky perimeter shooter.
In his first and only college season, Edwards averaged 19.1 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 2.8 APG, and 1.3 SPG in 32 games (33.0 MPG). He knocked down just 29.4% of his three-point attempts, despite averaging 7.7 attempts per game.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Two Lakers Players Test Positive For Coronavirus
8:14pm: JaVale McGee has tested negative, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. The veteran center has asthma and battled pneumonia last season.
6:58pm: The Lakers plan to test a small group of coaches and staffers who had close contact with the players, according to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne. Both of the players with positive tests are currently asymptomatic, in quarantine and under the care of a team physician, according to the team’s Twitter feed (Twitter link).
6:25pm: A pair of Lakers players have tested positive for the coronavirus, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
The number could grow as the team could test other players who were not tested on Wednesday morning, Charania adds.
The amount of players and personnel testing positive for COVID-19 throughout the league continues to rise at an alarming rate.
The news regarding the Lakers players broke just minutes after the Sixers revealed that three members of their organization – not necessarily players – tested positive.
With the addition of the Lakers duo, nine NBA players are known to have tested positive for COVID-19 so far: Jazz stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, Pistons big man Christian Wood, former MVP Kevin Durant, and three other unidentified Nets players and the Lakers pair. Adding the trio from the Sixers and a member of the Nuggets’ organization who has also tested positive, the total number of NBA players and personnel with the coronavirus has jumped to 13.
[UPDATE: Marcus Smart tests positive for coronavirus]
In their last four games before the stoppage of play, the Lakers played Philadelphia, Milwaukee, the Clippers and Brooklyn.
Marcus Smart Tests Positive For Coronavirus
7:04pm: Smart said he was tested five days ago and received the result on Thursday night, he tweets. He currently has no symptoms, feels “great” and is thankful he has self-quarantined since the test.
6:52pm: A Celtics player has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a team press release (Twitter link). Guard Marcus Smart has announced he is the player who tested positive, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.
According to the statement, “The Boston Celtics learned today that a player has tested positive for COVID-19. Testing was initiated because of exposure to a known positive case. The Celtics player, who is not exhibiting symptoms, has been in isolation for several days and will continue to do so while being monitored by team medical staff.
The team is awaiting further testing results and will communicate them as appropriate. Taking steps to maintain the health and safety of everyone in our organization and across the NBA remains our top priority, and we will continue to work closely with health officials and the league in addressing this situation.”
This bring the total of NBA players and personnel who have tested positive to 14. That group includes at least 10 players: The Jazz duo of Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, Pistons big man Christian Wood, former MVP Kevin Durant and three other unidentified Nets players, two unnamed Lakers players and Smart. In addition, three members of the Sixers organization and a member of the Nuggets organization have tested positive.
During the month of March, Boston faced Brooklyn, Cleveland, Utah, Oklahoma City and Indiana.
Three Members Of Sixers’ Organization Test Positive For Coronavirus
Three members of the Sixers’ organization have tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a team press release (hat tip to The Athletic’s David Aldridge).
Upon recommendation, certain individuals from the organization — including players, coaches and some basketball operations staff members — were tested for COVID-19. The tests were secured and processed privately after consultation with medical experts and the league. All others that were tested turned up negative for the virus.
The latest positive tests adds to the growing fear over COVID-19 within the league and its teams. Seven NBA players are known to have tested positive for COVID-19 so far: Jazz stars Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert, Pistons big man Christian Wood, former MVP Kevin Durant, and three other unidentified Nets players. Earlier on Thursday, it was revealed that a member of the Nuggets’ organization had also tested positive.
Philadelphia returned from a lengthy West Coast trip just prior to the suspension of the season. The Sixers faced the Lakers, Clippers, Kings and Warriors, though there are no known COVID-19 positives among those organizations. They played a home game against the Pistons and Wood last Wednesday, the night that the league decided to halt play over concerns regarding the coronavirus.
BIG3 Aims To Hold Quarantined Tournament In April
The BIG3 is working on plans to launch a “quarantined, reality show-style” three-on-three tournament in April, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.
Ice Cube and entertainment executive Jeff Kwatinetz – the league’s founders – have had discussions with TV networks about possibility broadcasting the preseason tournament, which they hope would help fill a void in the sporting world.
As Haynes explains, the idea would be to have approximately 16 to 22 players who test negative for COVID-19 be quarantined together in a large home in Los Angeles. A basketball facility would be built on site, and any player who breaks quarantine at any time during the tournament would be disqualified and removed.
The format would involve seven rounds of games, with teams being reshuffled throughout the tournament and players being eliminated when they accumulate three losses. In addition to the games, the players’ daily lives would also be filmed and broadcast “for added drama and storylines,” per Haynes.
“As long as we can protect the players, which we will do through proper testing and quarantine, Ice Cube and I feel we can give fans some safe, entertaining brand of basketball to get everyone through this pandemic,” Kwatinetz told Haynes.
Even if the BIG3 is able to move forward with its tournament as planned, it’s not yet known which players would participate, but Haynes says that former NBA players like Joe Johnson, Zach Randolph, and Greg Oden are among the possible candidates.
NBA Closing Team Facilities Starting Friday
The NBA is temporarily shutting down all 30 teams’ training facilities to staff and players as of Friday in an effort to further mitigate the coronavirus situation, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).
Teams were informed of that change in policy by the league in a memo on Thursday, Charania adds (via Twitter).
At the start of this week, the NBA extended its ban on group practices indefinitely but indicated that team facilities could remain open and players could conduct individual workouts there, as long as they maintained a safe distance from one another.
However, in recent days, a number of teams had closed their facilities of their own accord. As much as clubs wanted players to have a place to get work in, they were “uneasy” about the contact even in that limited environment, says ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter).
The edict from the NBA ensures that all 30 teams are on equal footing as the league hunkers down for a lengthy layoff.