Just last week there seemed to be no momentum and no timeline for the NBA season to resume. The NBA was in wait-and-see mode, exploring a million options. Yet, just as quickly as the NBA shut down, it seems there’s momentum reopen the league for business.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver told Board of Governors today that he is aiming for a 2-to-4 week timetable on the decision about whether to resume season, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 13, 2020
ESPN Sources: Attendees left Board of Governors call w/ Adam Silver today feeling positive about momentum toward an NBA return to play this season. Discussion included how league/players will need to get comfortable w/ some positive tests for virus not shutting down a resumption
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 13, 2020
Now, a 2-4 week timetable is still a wait-and-see of sorts, but it does seem to put some pressure on the league to either move forward and resume play, or give up on this season and beginning figuring out what happens beyond this year. There appears to be a push from players to resume as well:
Yahoo Sources: NBA superstars LeBron James, Chris Paul, Damian Lillard, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard and Stephen Curry held private conference call on Monday and established united front in favor of resuming season. https://t.co/FZJfgP6WDu pic.twitter.com/6AZOWe0AXo
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) May 12, 2020
All of this could be coming from the impending drop in player salaries, as more money gets withheld in escrow in anticipation of a decrease in the salary cap. With millions of dollars at stake not just for teams but also for players, the players may face hard decisions around returning to play, even if it means risking infection.
Brian Windhorst joined Scott Van Pelt on Sportscenter Tuesday night, and shared some very direct insights. I’m not usually Windhorst’s biggest fan, but I thought he was excellent.
Appreciated @WindhorstESPN stopping by to react to the news of the day in the Association. pic.twitter.com/5wpuEuJdrF
— Stanford Steve (@StanfordSteve82) May 13, 2020
The biggest thing Windhorst emphasized is that this is all still very fluid, and seems to be changing day to day. He also notes that this will come down to a matter of risk tolerance, and how willing players and coaches and staff members are going to be to take those risks.
But even if the league decides to come back, we’d still be weeks away from a return. The league would presumably allow a training camp before games resume, and teams would need to figure out if any adjustments needed to made. Would players with immune system challenges return? Or players with spouses or kids who deal with such challenges? What about coaches and staff? As the Ringer’s Jason Concepcion pointed out, several head coaches around the league are of an age where they would be considered at-risk.
Mike Dantoni: 69 yrs old
Popovich: 71
Dwane Casey: 63
Alvin Gentry: 65
Terry Stotts: 62 https://t.co/JXAkp8Ff9o— jason concepcion (@netw3rk) May 13, 2020
As of right now we still don’t know what the league might do, but it seems they are beginning to push towards reopening in some form. If they do, we can only hope they figure out a way to do it as safely as possible.
Question for the group…
You’re an average NBA player, making 6mil/year. Your team is a lower playoff seed. You have one year left on your contract after this year. You have a wife and two small kids.
The NBA says; “We are opening July 1st. Two weeks of the regular season, then the playoffs. You may opt out and not participate on any level. You will receive your pandemic-adjusted salary this year like everyone else, but you must stay away from team activities. The league will be finding replacements to take your spot for the remainder of the year, and your contract is still good for next year.”
Do you play or do you go home?
Tough to say. So much goes into individual situations (health, financial and otherwise). Especially coaching staffs being an older demographic, that’s where things get dicey. Most people will recover, but Von Miller (NFL) caught it and said he was genuinely frightened by his symptoms 5 days into it. It all has to do with risk tolerance.
Make the call TKG. Now or never….
This is the part that doesn’t get discussed enough – the league seems pretty cavalier about being able to quarantine/test/isolate so the league doesn’t need to be shut down. But contracting this disease is a scary deal, and the league is asking players to participate in a sport that is almost designed to spread the virus.
If I see (for example) Yogi Ferrell as an average NBA player, it’s a tough question. He has a limited window to earn (by NBA standards) a limited income. He might be inclined to isolate himself from his family for the remainder of the season plus a 14 day quarantine once its over.
Now, I imagine that the math would be entirely different for Vince Carter, for example.
I would play, but I don’t necessarily think that’s the smart thing to do. I just know that I would eventually fall to the internal pressure of letting my team down if I didn’t.
I would definitely separate myself from my family until it was safe for me to return, though.
Oh, if they were offering we normal humans the chance to play, I…….uh…………
Reminds me of the schoolyard conversations of my youth:
“Would you get punched in the face by Mike Tyson for $1 Million?”
I can see Hollywood making a movie someday soon about a G-League player who sacrifices his life for his poor family or loved one who needs an operation by playing in the NBA during a plague. An underdog “Rocky” type story, or “Rock Star”, where a normal person gets a crack at a small moment in the spotlight.
I don’t think an average NBA player can realistically turn down any offer to play basketball on an NBA salary. For the most part, these guys are going to make the vast, vast majority of their lifetime income before they are 30 and then have to live off of it for the rest of their lives. At the star/superstar tier, I suspect there will be several high profile players (particularly older ones) thinking “nah…” but below that level the financial stakes start to continually ratchet up as you go down the salary structure. At the bottom of NBA rosters the Justin James’ of the world are looking at the stark difference between playing a few more years at $1M+ per in the NBA or, like, $100K in Europe or Australia (or even playing basketball professionally, period)
It’ll probably be safer to play outside of the U.S.
….unless they decide to play games on a cruise ship.
I think you have to decide for yourself the personal risk. Risking my life to play a game is something I’ve already thought a great deal about in my own life. More in regards to getting hurt at a young age. We’ve seen players keep trying over and over to rehab. Probably because of the love of the game. Thinking Bill Walton here. How many surgeries to play .. 20 foot? It seem irrational.
I fear more harming others than myself in the pandemic regard. I’ve retired and I’ve lived my life. I did not choose to play when I was hurt. I have more empathy for others than myself. That isn’t for all, or any one player. I think I would not play if it could harm others. Spreading a virus, or whatever.
If the Kings wind up playing basketball in June, do I owe the front office and Luke Walton an apology?
Perfect.
Whoa! Purpled comments!!!
With regards to the photo for this article, I read that Wilson will be replacing Spalding as the official game ball starting in 2021-2022.
Hmmmm, perhaps the social distancing aspect in the film Castaway inspired the change?
Via Sports Illustrated: Report: Wilson to Produce NBA Game Balls Starting in 2021-22 Season
https://www.si.com/nba/2020/05/13/nba-wilson-spalding-ball-replacement
I wonder if the player will accept the “feel” of a new ball. I know the article says they will use the same material, but I can’t help but wonder of it doesn’t go over too well. Remember those new balls they used a few years back and the players nixed that thing quick.
Ah yes, the famous synthetic ball that only lasted a few months…
Do you think they will finish the season with the remaining games or do a play in tournament for the teams on the cusp? I would actually prefer the later. It would be fun to watch a single game elimination tournament to see who gets the 8th seed. Either way, it will be nice to actually watch some basketball.
No surprise there’s no Kings on that list considering there’s definitely 75 players (or more) that I would name before ever getting to Mitch or C-Webb (or Peja, for that matter.)
However, my list certainly wouldn’t have Paul Pierce, Pau Gasol, Anthony Davis, and probably not Tracy McGrady, either. I have some issues with placement, as well. for example, I just don’t believe LeBron’s better than Kobe at this point. Maybe better athletically, but Kobe was a better winner, statistically speaking. Mourning over Mutombo would be a fun debate as well.
Typical ESPN subjective rankings, tho. And to say that the description blurbs under each players stats are more bland than milk toast would be an insult to milk toast.
Comparing players at different positions is difficult enough, throw in different eras and it is just about impossible. I guess all you can do is compare the overall impact they had on their teams and the league in general. I also had a lot of issues with players/placement. They seem to be all over the place on how they formulated the rankings. I didn’t even see some of these players play, so I can’t say one way or another on them. Fun discussion though.
I’d love to hear Karl Anthony-Town’s perspective on this.
Yes!
And please no one bother to ask Rudy Gobert….or at least don’t put a microphone in front of him when you ask.
Gobert (and Mitchell) more than likely have immunity at this point so they should be more than happy to play.
Same.
I don’t know if this had been discussed or not..
As Adam Silver planed to play the remaining game in Legas (for all teams)………..
So, why cannot we apply the same for playoff game (maybe for next year)…which I mean is “The BEST 16 teams in the league get into playoff, ignoring the so called eastern/western conference”.. which is more fair, and would be much easier for us to get into the playoff…although it would be difficult for all fans to attending the game in Vegas….
And we could end the playoff drought….
If you’re going to do that you’d have to balance the schedule more. Which I’d be all for.
That Bailey tweet is just ridiculous. As if being a healthy person automatically = asymptomatic.
Gimme sports with round balls or gimme……well…nothing.
The down side is that news is indicating we are only now opening up horse racing. We get new baseball from Korea & the best of sports including basketball on ESPN. I was really excited about the March Madness of yester-year. 😉
Even more down, the best of basketball hasn’t been including Kings, as it doesn’t hit the success demographics. Perhaps NBA League pass is showing this years Kings and other teams. Comcast NBC Sports has some repeat Kings basketball of this year. We are left with a deserted Sactown Royalty and a new site like this which is an oasis. I’ll take it and I’ll put up silly cat pictures and like the rest try and enjoy with just having fun. We’ve got to wait for news to bring the excitement along the way.
It is interesting to see what the new site authors will come up with. I look forward to real basketball news. Not hype of opening gyms up for max of 4 players. Playoffs .. Is it going to happen.. That is fun stuff and hope for the year.
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