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NBPA President Chris Paul: “We Want To Play Bad”

May 15th, 2020 at 3:27pm CST by Luke Adams

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.”

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.

Northwest Notes: Culver, Grant, CP3, Blazers

May 14th, 2020 at 9:12pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Timberwolves rookie wing Jarrett Culver had an uneven first season in Minnesota, but flashed exciting athletic promise, writes Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Trading up from the No. 11 pick to the No. 6 pick in the 2019 NBA draft to select Culver was the first big move Wolves president of basketball operations Gerson Rossas made in his new role.

Culver averaged 9.2 PPG and 3.4 RPG while connecting on 40.4% of his field goals and just 46.2% of his free throw attempts. He began to produce more robustly as the calendar turned to 2020. The Wolves sport a 19-45 record for the suspended 2019/20 season, which places them far from playoff contention at the No. 14 seed in the West.

There’s more out of the Northwest Division:

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Nuggets forward Jerami Grant seemed destined to opt out of the final season of his three-year, $27MM contract, per The Athletic’s Nick Kosmider. With the NBA’s 2020/21 salary cap now in question, Grant will probably stay in Denver, whether or not he picks up that option. Grant averaged an encouraging 11.6 PPG on 47.1% shooting from the field and 40% shooting from deep to go along with 3.5 RPG in just 26.2 MPG for the 43-22 Nuggets. Grant’s performance left much to be desired from an advanced statistics perspective, per Kosmider, who appraises Grant’s long-term fit with the squad.
On the cusp of turning 35, Thunder point guard Chris Paul turned back the clock with his play in 2019/20, according to Erik Horne of The Athletic. He made his first All-Star appearance since 2016 in his first season in OKC. Paul is averaging 17.7 PPG, 6.8 APG and 4.9 RPG and has played in 63 of the Thunder’s 64 games. The team is currently 40-24, good for the No. 5 seed in the West.
A year removed from a Western Conference Finals berth, a reconfigured Trail Blazers roster struggled to stay afloat at the bottom of the West’s playoff picture in 2019/20. Though Portland’s front office is confident in key players Damian Lillard, CJ McCollum, Jusuf Nurkic, Zach Collins and Rodney Hood, The Athletic’s Jason Quick and John Hollinger examine where the team can improve moving forward. Portland’s 29-37 record positioned the team 3.5 games behind the West’s No. 8 seed, the 32-33 Grizzlies, when league play paused in March.

Knicks Notes: Anthony, Head Coach, Free Agency

May 13th, 2020 at 12:28pm CST by Luke Adams

As they prepare for the 2020 NBA draft, the Knicks have “extensively” scouted North Carolina point guard Cole Anthony, a source tells Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Anthony, who currently ranks 11th on ESPN’s big board, could be an option for New York if the team doesn’t move up in the draft lottery. Currently, the Knicks are most likely to land at No. 7 or 8.

Begley cautions that just because the Knicks are doing a ton of homework on Anthony, that doesn’t mean they’ll draft him or even that they’re targeting him. After all, the club is also said to be keeping a close eye on RJ Hampton and is likely monitoring several other lottery prospects too.

Still, the Knicks’ potential interest in Anthony is worth keeping in mind. A report back in February – shortly after the team reached agreed to hire new president of basketball operations Leon Rose – suggested the Knicks intended to target a scoring point guard in the draft. And Anthony, who grew up in New York, has talked about having interest in joining the franchise.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

In a mailbag for SNY.tv, Ian Begley discusses RJ Barrett‘s future, the Knicks’ draft plans, possible offseason trade targets, and more. Responding to one question about the head coaching situation, Begley says that he knows Tom Thibodeau is a strong candidate and that he expects Mike Miller to get an interview, but he’s not certain yet about any other specific candidates.
Mike Vorkunov and Danny Leroux of The Athletic explore which players might be good options for the Knicks in free agency and discuss whether pursuing a Chris Paul trade would make sense for the organization. Leroux isn’t in favor of going after Paul, pointing to a few veteran point guards on the free agent market who would come at a more reasonable cost, albeit without CP3’s upside.
In case you missed it over the weekend, we previewed the Knicks’ salary cap situation for the 2020/21 league year.

NBA Players Committee Begins Parsing Comeback Plans

May 12th, 2020 at 8:28pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The National Basketball Players Association has sent a memo to agents stating that there’s a sense that both the players and the league want to finish the 2019/20 season, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets.

NBPA president Chris Paul is joined by Russell Westbrook, Jayson Tatum, Kyle Lowry, and Dwight Powell on a committee that is working with the league on potential plans.

Paul reportedly held a call with many of the NBA’s superstars on Monday — including LeBron James, Stephen Curry, and Kawhi Leonard — discussing the coronavirus ramifications and the potential to resume the season. Those star players were unified in their desire to play out the 2019/20 campaign.

The NBPA polled players via text, asking them how they felt about completing the season. One player told Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times that he believes that the percentage is “70-30” of players who want to finish out the campaign.

“But 30% is a big number,” the player said. “And what do you say to somebody who says, ‘You know what, I just don’t feel safe?’ It’s hard to argue that. But there are reasons to argue that because I know the NBA would be one of the safest places to be at. That thing would be tight, clean, protocol, all that.”

Las Vegas and Orlando continue to be tossed around as options to hold clusters of games in order to reduce the risk of COVID-19 spreading through travel. However, the league hasn’t made any firm decisions yet.

“We have been approached by multiple properties regarding potential options for hosting NBA games, including MGM,” NBA spokesman Mike Bass said. “We have not engaged in any substantive discussions.”

LeBron, Giannis, Curry, Other Stars United In Desire To Resume Season

May 12th, 2020 at 4:35pm CST by Luke Adams

NBPA president Chris Paul arranged a private conference call with a number of the league’s superstars on Monday to discuss the coronavirus ramifications and the potential resumption of the 2019/20 season, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports.

By the end of the conversation, per Haynes, those players were united in their desire to resume the season once the NBA ensures the necessary safety measures are in place and gets the green light. According to Haynes, LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Stephen Curry, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Damian Lillard, and Russell Westbrook were among the players on the call.

As Haynes explains, the group’s decision is expected to carry significant weight at a time when not all of the NBA’s players are necessarily on board with the idea of completing the 2019/20 season this summer.

Sources tell Yahoo Sports that many players on teams who are all but eliminated from playoff contention would prefer to just have the top eight clubs in each conference finish the season. The fact that stars outside the playoff picture, such as Curry and Lillard, are in favor of resuming play is significant.

According to Haynes, there was also some concern among players after Friday’s call that the NBA wouldn’t be able to guarantee player safety, with a coronavirus vaccine not expected to be available until 2021 at the earliest. Commissioner Adam Silver assured players that the league will do all it can to create the safest possible conditions, and it sounds like the stars on Monday’s call are satisfied with that promise.

Haynes notes that there are some players out of the playoff picture who are worried about a canceled season negatively impacting the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. That’s an issue we’ve touched upon in recent days, with Adrian Wojnarowski, Bob Myers, and Mark Cuban among those who have suggested that lottery teams will have to prioritize the “greater good” of the league, since the NBA and its players would benefit financially over the long term from playing as many games as it safely can this year and next.

As we relayed earlier this afternoon, the NBPA has reportedly begun reaching out to individual players to get their feedback on whether or not they want the season to resume.

Hiatus Notes: NBPA, Playoffs, Warriors, Fans

May 12th, 2020 at 3:46pm CST by Luke Adams

The National Basketball Players Association has begun to poll its members on whether or not they want to resume the 2019/20 season, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. As Woj explains, the NBPA’s regional representatives are among the union officials asking players a “yes or no” question about their desire to return to play amid the coronavirus pandemic. The union has assured players that their individual responses will be kept confidential.

While it may seem like a given that players on contending teams will want to resume the season, there’s certainly no guarantee that players on all 30 clubs feel the same way. Even among players who have a chance to win a title in ’19/20, there could be differences of opinion based on potential safety and health concerns.

With Major League Baseball working on its own plan for a potential return to play, pitcher Sean Doolittle published a Twitter thread on Monday outlining concerns that he and other players would have as they consider suiting up for the season. Doolittle’s thread goes more in-depth and lays out more specific concerns than those we’ve heard publicly from basketball players, but I’d imagine there are many around the NBA who share some of his reservations.

For what it’s worth, the NBPA said in a statement to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link) that the union “is not engaging in and has not authorized any formal poll of its players.” As such, it sounds like the outreach being described by Wojnarowski is informal.

Here’s more on the coronavirus situation and its impact on the NBA:

A source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post that one scenario the NBA has discussed as it explores the resumption of the 2019/20 season would see the eighth seed in each conference up for grabs, with the current eighth through 12th seeds participating in a play-in tournament. As Berman explains, it would provide an incentive for a handful of teams who are currently out of the postseason picture, while not requiring the clubs at the very bottom of the standings to return and participate. Of course, it’s just one of many ideas the league has explored.
The Warriors still don’t expect they’ll be one of the teams playing games if and when the NBA resumes its season, but that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t want to be involved, writes Anthony Slater of The Athletic. According to Slater, one Warriors coach suggested that playing a handful of regular season games in the summer could essentially function as a “replacement summer league” for Golden State.
The NBA and NBPA are forming a “working group” and will have a call on Tuesday to discuss potential return-to-play scenarios, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic. Charania tweets that Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Jayson Tatum, Kyle Lowry, and Dwight Powell will be among the players on the call.
In an interesting piece for The Athletic, Bill Shea explores how the pandemic will impact the way fans attend sporting events, once they’re allowed to reenter arenas and stadiums.

Knicks Notes: M. Jackson, Paul, Aller, Robinson

May 10th, 2020 at 11:02am CST by Arthur Hill

Former Warriors head coach Mark Jackson admits he dreams of getting another NBA coaching opportunity, but added that he won’t be upset if it doesn’t happen, writes Ian Begley of SNY.tv. During an appearance this week on ESPN’s First Take, Jackson talked about his experiences in Golden State and shared his opinions on other head coaches, including Steve Kerr and Tom Thibodeau.

Jackson, who grew up in New York City and played for the Knicks, was a candidate to take over the team before David Fizdale was hired two years ago. Begley isn’t certain how strongly he would be considered if the Knicks decide to replace interim coach Mike Miller, but adds that Jackson still has supporters in the organization. Jackson is reportedly being considered by the Nets as well and has a strong relationship with Rich Kleiman, Kevin Durant‘s business partner and manager.

Begley also notes that Jackson wanted to hire his current broadcast partner, Jeff Van Gundy, who is also under consideration to become the Knicks coach, as his top assistant with the Warriors.

There’s more from New York:

The financial fallout from the NBA’s hiatus may make it easier for the Knicks to trade for a star such as Thunder guard Chris Paul, suggests Marc Berman of The New York Post. Paul was the favorite client of new president of basketball operations Leon Rose when he was an agent, Berman points out, and his huge contract might make him available. Paul remains an elite point guard at age 35, but is owed $41.4MM next season and $44.2MM in 2020/21. With the salary cap expected to fall, the luxury tax will be a greater concern than ever and sources tell Berman that some teams will be eager to move their larger contracts.
Newly-hired VP of strategy Brock Aller spent more than a month consulting with associates before deciding to leave the Cavaliers for the Knicks, according to Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com. Cleveland general manager Koby Altman wanted Aller to stay with the organization where he spent the past 15 years, but Aller decided the chance to be part of a historic turnaround in New York was too good to pass up.
Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic takes an in-depth look at center Mitchell Robinson to determine how much he can improve after two years in the league.

Three-Week Minimum Anticipated For Training Camp

May 8th, 2020 at 8:44pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Commissioner Adam Silver believes a three-to-six week ramp-up period would be needed in order to resume the season, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic.

Silver was asked about the length of training camp during a conference call with players on Friday. A minimum of three weeks has been discussed around the league, Silver replied, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

With Silver indicating that no decision regarding the resumption of the season needed to made this month, that would suggest that play would resume no earlier than July.

The league is taking baby steps toward getting players back into training facilities. The NBA has given the go-ahead for teams to allow players back into their usual facilities under heavy restrictions. Only the Cavaliers and the Trail Blazers were able or willing to unlock their facilities on Friday, displaying the cautious approach many franchises and players have adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic, Marc Stein of the New York Times reports.

Larry Nance Jr., Kevin Love, Cedi Osman and Ante Zizic showed up at the Cavaliers’ practice facility. Nance spent approximately 90 minutes taking shots and doing weight work, while the others spend their time at separate baskets. All the players were subject to temperature checks before being allowed in the facility.

“They did a really good job of making sure we all felt great about being there,” Nance told Stein. “They could make it at 4 in the morning and I would be there.”

Other players around the league don’t share Nance’s enthusiasm. During the conference call with Silver, Thunder guard and Players Association president Chris Paul expressed the concerns of some players that they felt pressure to work out at their teams’ facilities, Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets. Silver reiterated that the workouts are optional and advised Paul to follow up with the league if any players had issues with their respective teams during the reopening of the facilities.

New York Notes: Lin, Knicks, CP3, Nets

April 30th, 2020 at 12:01pm CST by Luke Adams

Although “Linsanity” represented one of the most memorable runs in recent Knicks history, Jeremy Lin‘s time in New York was ultimately short-lived. The point guard only appeared in 35 games for the franchise, departing in restricted free agency following his breakout 2011/12 season.

Revisiting his departure in a conversation this week with MSG Network broadcaster Mike Breen, Lin said he wanted to remain with the Knicks in 2012. New York encouraged him to find an offer sheet in restricted free agency, and he hoped the team would match it, as Marc Berman of The New York Post details.

“I was only offered one contract,” Lin told Breen. “We couldn’t get anything from any other team. And so, I had to go find a contract from somebody. And I remember when Houston gave the offer, I said to (my agent), ‘Can you tell Houston to lower the offer? This is too much. Can you tell someone to lower the offer?’ Because I wanted to go back to New York and I wanted New York to match.

“The time there, with the fans, everything. It was so special. I was like, ‘I need to go back to New York,'” Lin continued. “That’s where my heart is. So, I call my agent and said, ‘Hey, find a way to get out of Houston. Give me a less good contract so that New York will match it,’ and he said, ‘We can’t, this is Houston’s final offer and we’ve been talking to them for a week, two weeks, three weeks, this is it.'”

As Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic notes (via Twitter), reporting at the time suggested that Lin was initially planning to sign a four-year, $28MM offer sheet from Houston, which the Knicks were expected to match. The Rockets adjusted it to make it a three-year, $25MM deal with a $15MM “poison pill” salary in year three. According to Berman, Knicks owner James Dolan was “bitter” about the reworked offer, believing it was Lin’s idea.

Here’s more on the NBA’s two New York teams:

Following up on a series of March reports which suggested the Knicks may have interest in trading for Chris Paul during the offseason, Ian Begley of SNY.tv proposes a pair of hypothetical trade scenarios and explores how they would impact the club’s cap going forward.
According to Alex Schiffer of The Athletic, there are some people within the Nets‘ organization rooting for interim head coach Jacque Vaughn to get the full-time job, though that may be a long shot given the names that have already surfaced as potential options. Michael Lee, Joe Vardon, and Sam Amick join Schiffer to debate the pros and cons of the Nets’ rumored coaching candidates and to suggest other targets for the club to consider.
Our latest roundup of Knicks notes was published on Wednesday night, with our most recent collection of Notes notes posted on Sunday. Be sure to visit the New York and Brooklyn team pages for all the latest updates on the two clubs.

Coronavirus Notes: Paul, Dolan, Arenas, China

April 22nd, 2020 at 8:03pm CST by Arthur Hill

Chris Paul, president of the National Basketball Players Association, admitted to reporters in a teleconference today that nobody can be certain what’s going to happen with the current season, writes Maddie Lee of The Oklahoman (link via USA Today).

“This is a situation where no one knows,” Paul said. “The virus is actually in complete control. I seriously tried to answer things the best I could, but there are things where, it’s not like I’ve got the answers and I’m just not telling you.”

Today marks six weeks since the last NBA game was played, and the league was supposed to be conducting the first round of its playoffs. If the season does resume, Paul estimates players will have to train for two to four weeks to get ready. He expressed confidence that the league will give them the time they need.

“Whatever the amount of time is, just know that players will have the input because we’re the ones playing,” Paul said. “We don’t ever want to put guys in a situation where their injury risk is higher.”

There’s more coronavirus-related news to pass along:

Knicks owner James Dolan has fully recovered from the virus and has registered to donate plasma antibodies to help with research, according to Larry Brooks of The New York Post. Dolan recently tested negative and is reportedly in good health. He had only mild symptoms and continued to work while quarantined.
A professor at MIT tells Michele Steele of ESPN that arenas can eventually be made as safe as public parks. Alex Pentland, head of the human dynamic lab, recommends having fans wear masks and filling only half the available seats, although family members could sit together. He also advises making all aisles one way and having fans in each section enter from a specified gate.
Tania Ganguli of the Los Angeles Times talked to several American players about their experiences with the Chinese Basketball Association. Kyle Fogg said when he returned to China, he had his temperature taken several times by workers in hazmat suits. He and Ray McCallum Jr. were both quarantined to hotel rooms with armed guards posted outside to ensure they didn’t leave. “Everybody back home, they’re like, ‘Oh, we’re quarantined,’” McCallum said. “But I see on the news they’re outside. No.” The CBA remains on hold with hopes of starting play again in July.