ACC, Big Ten, Big East Among Conferences To Cancel Tournaments
A slew of college basketball tournaments that were scheduled to take place this weekend have been postponed or canceled. The ACC, Big Ten, and SEC, and Big 12 were among the major conferences to shut down their respective tournaments before games began. The Big East announced at halftime of this afternoon’s Creighton/St. John’s contest that its tournament would also be canceled.
Here are the other conference tournaments which were nixed today, accompanied by links to the official announcements:
The Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC) is essentially the only Division I conference that has yet to formally announce the cancellation of its tournament, and it may just be a matter of time before that announcement comes.
It was less than 24 hours ago that the NCAA announced it would hold its 2020 March Madness tournament without fans in attendance. Now it seems increasingly unlikely that the event will take place at all.
Schools with major basketball programs, such as Duke and Kansas, have announced increased coronavirus measures restricting athletic events, while the ACC announced that it has suspended “all athletic-related activities,” including “participation in NCAA championships.” The Big Ten is likely headed in that direction too, according to Jeff Goodman of Stadium (Twitter link).
The potential cancellation of the remaining college basketball schedule will affect NBA teams’ preparations for the 2020 draft, as John Hollinger and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic write. However, this month’s tournament is just one of many pre-draft scouting opportunities that could be impacted.
As The Athletic’s duo explains, there’s still no word on whether events like the Nike Hoop Summit (early April), the Portsmouth Invitational (mid-April), and the combine (mid-to-late May) will go forward as planned. Of course, given the possibility that the NBA’s season will resume and run later than usual, we don’t even know for sure that the draft will happen in late June.
The Jordan Brand Classic, a high school All-Star game that features many of the nation’s most highly-recruited seniors, has been canceled, according to an announcement today.
Mark Cuban Hopeful Season Will Eventually Resume
Appearing this morning on ESPN’s Get Up (video link), Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said that the NBA remains hopeful that the 2019/20 season can resume at some point, rather than being cancelled altogether.
“Hopefully, this virus runs its course over the next 60 days or so, and at that point we can start making decisions about does the NBA play games, what our schedule looks like, how we would progress from there,” Cuban said, noting that the situation is fluid.
Asked by ESPN’s Rachel Nichols whether his speculative 60-day timeline meant that the league would be prepared to have the playoffs end in August rather than June, Cuban replied, “Absolutely.” However, he cautioned that the NBA may not pick up right where it left off by playing its full schedule.
“I can easily see us playing the last seven-to-10 games of the regular season to get everybody back on course and then going right into the playoffs and going into July, if not August,” he said.
One team executive who spoke to Howard Beck of Bleacher Report put the odds of the season resuming at 90%, but didn’t have an estimate for when that might happen. Another team official speculated to Beck that the league could resume play in mid-April and go “straight to the playoffs.”
While the speculation from Cuban and other team officials may reflect discussions and brainstorming sessions the NBA has had with its owners and executives, it’s far too early to draw any concrete conclusions about the plan going forward. The league will have to be patient and see how the coronavirus situation plays out around the country in the coming days and weeks.
Donovan Mitchell Tests Positive For Coronavirus
A second Jazz All-Star has been diagnosed with COVID-19, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that guard Donovan Mitchell tested positive for the coronavirus.
Jazz players and team personnel were quarantined in their locker room on Wednesday night following Rudy Gobert‘s positive coronavirus test and the postponement of their game with the Thunder. Coronavirus tests were conducted on the club’s staff and players, including Mitchell, at that time before they were permitted to leave the Chesapeake Energy Arena.
According to Wojnarowski, Jazz players have privately said that Gobert had been “careless in the locker room” this week, “touching other players and their belongings.” We don’t know that Gobert contracted the virus before Mitchell, but it’s still not a good look for the Jazz center, who also made light of the coronavirus crisis on Monday by going out of his way to touch every microphone and recorder in front of home following a session with the media.
Fortunately though, the coronavirus wasn’t spread widely across the Jazz locker room. Mitchell was the only one of 58 Jazz players and personnel who were tested on Wednesday night to be diagnosed with the virus, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). The remaining tests came back negative. The Jazz confirmed as much this morning in a press release.
While the Jazz are the first team known to have affected players, they may not be the only club impacted by the outbreak, since they’ve played several other clubs within the last two weeks. Reports on Wednesday night indicated that players from teams that have played the Jazz in the last 10 days were advised to self-quarantine. That list of clubs includes the Cavaliers, Knicks, Celtics, Pistons, and Raptors.
The Raptors, who played the Jazz most recently (Monday), had members of their traveling party, including players, tested for COVID-19 on Wednesday night and announced today that they’re awaiting results. All of Toronto’s players, coaches, and traveling staff have been instructed to go into self-isolation for 14 days, according to the team.
The Wizards, who faced Utah on February 29 and the Knicks on March 10, have advised players and staff members to self-quarantine for the next three or four days out of “an abundance of caution,” the team announced today.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Latest On NBA’s Coronavirus Response
In the wake of Rudy Gobert‘s positive coronavirus test, the NBA has announced that its season will be suspended indefinitely, as we detailed earlier tonight.
While it remains to be seen exactly how long that suspension will last, one person who spoke to Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press said the NBA expects the league to be shut down for at least two weeks. That source cautioned that the situation is very fluid.
As Dan Feldman of NBC Sports passes along, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said in a TV appearance tonight that there’s a feeling around the NBA that the season will eventually be resumed. It’s “clearly going to be a truncated schedule” though, according to Woj.
No games will take place while the suspension is ongoing, but Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said tonight that the NBA has told teams they can continue to practice, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). Players have been told they shouldn’t have any visitors from out of town, MacMahon adds.
Here’s more on how the coronavirus situation has shaken up the NBA:
- After Gobert was tested for COVID-19 on Wednesday, Jazz and Thunder officials worked together to make sure no Oklahoma City players had any contact or exposure to Utah players, tweets Wojnarowski. According to ESPN’s Royce Young (Twitter links), Thunder players were tested tonight for fever, but not for the coronavirus. Jazz players are still expected to be tested tonight, however — the team is currently quarantined in OKC, per Woj (Twitter link).
- According to reports from Steve Bulpett of The Boston Herald (Twitter link) and ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, players from teams that have played the Jazz in the last 10 days have been advised to self-quarantine. That list of clubs includes the Cavaliers, Knicks, Celtics, Pistons, and Raptors.
- Knicks players aren’t being tested yet, according to Steve Popper of Newsday (Twitter link). Blake Murphy of The Athletic tweets that Raptors players are getting tested. Cavaliers coaches and players haven’t yet heard about potential testing, writes Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
NBA Suspending Season Indefinitely
The NBA has announced that it will be suspending the 2019/20 regular season indefinitely after the conclusion of tonight’s games. According to the league’s announcement, it will use the hiatus to “determine next steps for moving forward in regard to the coronavirus pandemic.”
A Jazz player has tested positive for coronavirus (COVID-19), the NBA confirmed in its statement, adding that the test result was reported shortly before the tipoff of tonight’s Utah/Oklahoma City game, which was ultimately postponed. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the affected player is Rudy Gobert.
The NBA’s Board of Governors had a conference call earlier today to discuss ways to handle the pandemic. Several teams were open to the idea of postponing all contests while many were in favor of playing without fans in the arena. The Warriors had planned to host the first game without fans on Thursday night at the Chase Center, but that game – like the rest, starting tomorrow – will no longer be played as scheduled.
In today’s discussions, the Knicks were the only team that wanted to keep the status quo with regard to fans being in the stadium amidst the coronavirus outbreak, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com tweets. The franchise wanted things to remain the same until a government or public mandate dictated a change.
According to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports Chicago, there was talk earlier today around the NBA that if any player tested positive, all teams that played against the team with the infected player would have to be quarantined for two weeks. While 14 days has been the general rule for recent coronavirus cases, no official timeline has been set by the NBA.
In the short term, teams that have been in contact with Gobert and the Jazz in recent days will likely attempt to test their players as soon as possible. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Jazz and Thunder players were quarantined in the Chesapeake Energy Arena following tonight’s postponement.
For more on the story, check out our full report on Gobert’s positive test.
Rudy Gobert Tests Positive For Coronavirus
Jazz center Rudy Gobert has tested positive for coronavirus, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
The NBA has confirmed in a press release that a Jazz player tested positive for COVID-19, though the league didn’t specifically name Gobert as that player. The test result was reported just before tip-off of tonight’s game between Utah and Oklahoma City, which was postponed.
The affected player – presumed to be Gobert – wasn’t in the arena at that time, according to the league’s statement. Gobert was never at the Chesapeake Energy Arena tonight, ESPN’s Royce Young confirms (Twitter link).
As a result of the coronavirus crisis, the NBA will suspend the season indefinitely following the conclusion of tonight’s games.
According to reports from Charania and Young (Twitter links), even though Gobert was initially ruled out for tonight’s game with an illness, he felt strong enough to play. The league wanted confirmation that he didn’t have coronavirus before he could be cleared to play, so he was tested before the game.
Once it was determined that Gobert had tested positive, the game was immediately postponed and players and staff returned to their respective locker rooms. According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter), Jazz and Thunder players are currently being quarantined in the arena.
While it’s not clear exactly when Gobert contracted the virus, he’ll face criticism for making light of the situation on Monday by going out of his way to touch every microphone and recorder in front of him following his shootaround availability (Twitter link via Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune).
Depending on how long Gobert – or others – have had the virus, the ripple effect across the NBA could be massive. As Sam Amick of The Athletic notes (via Twitter), Utah has played the Raptors, Pistons, Celtics, and Knicks in the past eight days, so players from those teams seem like good bets to be tested as soon as possible.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Thunder-Jazz Game Postponed
The Thunder–Jazz game that was set to play tonight has been postponed. According to Maddie Lee of the Oklahoman (Twitter link), the game was moved “due to unforeseen circumstances.”
According to ESPN’s Royce Young (video link), the teams were seconds away from tipping off when the Thunder’s head medical staffer sprinted on the floor to talk to referees. Players and staff were subsequently sent back to their respective locker rooms.
Rudy Gobert and Emmanuel Mudiay had both been ruled out of tonight’s game with illnesses. According to the Thunder’s broadcast, because there were illnesses among players prior to the game, the teams were waiting on NBA approval to proceed with the contest (Twitter link via Nate Duncan).
Stadium personnel were seen wiping down both the Jazz’ and Thunder’s bench areas following the postponement, according to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter links).
Coronavirus Updates: Warriors, Cavs, Wizards, Next Steps
As we relayed earlier today, the Warriors‘ Thursday contest vs. Brooklyn is on track to become the first NBA game played without fans in attendance as a result of the coronavirus epidemic.
Discussing the situation today with reporters, Warriors president and COO Rick Welts acknowledged that it will be a costly adjustment for the franchise. As Nick Friedell of ESPN tweets, Welts said not playing Thursday’s game will result in a “multi-million dollar loss” for the Warriors, adding that the number would increase to the “tens of millions” if the team continues to play behind closed doors following its road trip.
Although the lost revenue for one Warriors game won’t have a massive impact on the basketball related income (BRI) for the NBA as a whole, it will become a more significant issue if more teams are forced to play games without fans, which seems likely.
Welts and GM Bob Myers confirmed today that the league’s BRI will be affected and that it could have an impact on the salary cap going forward, though it remains to be seen to what degree that impact will be felt (video link via Anthony Slater of The Athletic). Between this situation and the NBA’s controversy with China, the cap may not increase next season by nearly as much as initially expected.
Here are more news items and notes related to the coronavirus outbreak:
- The NBA has considered the possibility of pushing back its calendar in response to the coronavirus crisis, according to Sam Amick of The Athletic. Sources tell Amick that the NBA has been asking teams to provide its arena schedule through July. Currently, the season is expected to end no later than June 21 (if the Finals go seven games).
- The NBA and its players’ union spoke on Wednesday to discuss ways to continue the season without cancelling games, per ESPN’s Zach Lowe and Adrian Wojnarowski. It appears increasingly likely that teams around the league will be required to play in empty arenas, with the NBA bracing for losses “in the hundreds of millions of dollars,” sources tell ESPN.
- After initially recommending against mass gatherings, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine said today that the state intends to issue an order saying that no spectators will be allowed at major sporting events, tweets Aaron Portzline of The Athletic. That will affect the Cavaliers, though they’re not scheduled to return home until March 24.
- After the D.C. Department of Health advised against holding non-essential gatherings of 1,000+ people, the Wizards‘ ownership group issued a statement saying that they plan to move forward with allowing fans to attend home games for now. So far, teams have been reluctant to do anything drastic unless they’re faced with a full-fledged ban from local government or an edict from the league.
- Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link) hears that at least half of the NBA’s teams have pulled their advance scouts off the road due to coronavirus concerns.
- In case you missed it, the NCAA announced this afternoon that this year’s men’s and women’s tournaments will be closed to fans.
NCAA To Hold Tournament Without Fans In Attendance
With March Madness around the corner, the NCAA’s COVID-19 advisory panel has recommended against opening up sporting events to the public, per a press release. As a result, the 2020 NCAA men’s and women’s tournaments will be held without fans in attendance, NCAA president Mark Emmert announced.
“We do believe sport events can take place with only essential personnel and limited family attendance, and this protects our players, employees, and fans,” the NCAA said in its statement.
“While I understand how disappointing this is for all fans of our sports, my decision is based on the current understanding of how COVID-19 is progressing in the United States,” Emmert said. “This decision is in the best interest of public health.”
The changing circumstances surrounding the NCAA tournament may not have a major adverse impact on NBA teams, who have had all season to scout and form opinions on the players expected to be part of the 2020 draft class. However, it will make for an unusual and surreal event, with students and hardcore supporters no longer packing arenas to cheer for their schools.
The NCAA has yet to determine whether media will be allowed into arenas for the tournament, according to Jeff Goodman of Stadium (Twitter link).
Ben Simmons To Be Re-Evaluated In Three Weeks
All-Star point guard Ben Simmons is making progress in his rehab from a lower back injury and will be re-evaluated in three weeks, according to a press release from the 76ers,
Simmons was diagnosed with a nerve impingement in his back just over two weeks ago after going through a series of X-rays and MRIs.
The star point guard missed the team’s Feb. 20 contest against the Nets, then tried to play a couple of days later against the Bucks. However, he aggravated the injury further, only playing five minutes before being taken out. A report last week suggested Philadelphia is hoping to get Simmons back before the start of the postseason.
This season, Simmons is averaging 16.9 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 8.3 assists in 54 games. In his absence, the 76ers have struggled on both ends of the floor, losing recently to the Warriors, 118-114, to wrap up their four-game Western Conference road trip.
The Sixers have had second-year point guard Shake Milton, Raul Neto, and Alec Burks share the ball-handling duties in Simmons’ absence.