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Hiatus Notes: Gobert, Nets, Warriors, Obama

March 15th, 2020 at 9:38pm CST by JD Shaw

Jazz center Rudy Gobert addressed his supporters on Sunday by way of social media, discussing the coronavirus in a video posted to the NBA’s Twitter account.

Gobert, the first NBA player to contract the virus, was criticized by many for taking the illness too lightly last week. He was seen in a viral video intentionally touching microphones that belonged to the media, showing little regard for the severity of the matter.

“I’ve been feeling a little better every single day thanks to the healthcare people of Utah, Oklahoma City, and all the great people around me,” Gobert said.

Gobert wasn’t aware before Wednesday that he had contracted the illness, but his actions reportedly didn’t sit well with Jazz teammates and officials. Gobert recognized his mistakes and recently donated $500K to support employee relief funds at Vivint Smart Home Arena, along with coronavirus-related services in Utah, Oklahoma City, and France.

“I just want to make sure to remind you guys to keep washing your hands frequently with soap and water,” Gobert said. “Try to avoid touching your face, your nose, your eyes, and of course try to avoid making any unnecessary contact with people. It’s all about protecting yourself and the people around you.

“I wish I would’ve taken this thing more seriously, and I hope everyone else will do so — because we can do it together. Take care and stay safe.”

Here are some other notes related to the NBA’s hiatus:

  • The Nets were expected to be tested for coronavirus over the weekend, as relayed by Maggie Gray of WFAN (Twitter link). In addition, Brooklyn released a statement last week that specified Barclays Center and the team’s practice facility would be thoroughly cleaned.
  • The Warriors’ ownership, players and coaches have combined to contribute $1MM to disaster relief funds for employees of the Chase Center, the team announced on social media (Twitter link). “The men and women who work our games at Chase Center are critical in providing an incredible game-night experience for our fans, including of course, the popcorn vendors,” Stephen Curry said. “As players, we wanted to do something, along with our ownership and coaches, to help ease the pain during this time.”
  • Former president Barack Obama was among many to praise the NBA players who have donated money during this difficult time, writing the following on social media: “A shout out to Kevin [Love], Giannis [Antetokounmpo], Zion [Williamson], Blake [Griffin], Steph and all the players, owners and organizations who are setting a good example during a challenging time. A reminder that we’re a community, and that each of us has an obligation to look out for each other.”
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Jazz Notes: Mitchell, Gobert, Coronavirus Tests

March 14th, 2020 at 9:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Stories have been circulating about a possible rift between Jazz teammates Donovan Mitchell and Rudy Gobert after both players tested positive for coronavirus earlier this week. A source confirms to Andy Larsen of The Salt Lake Tribune that Mitchell is “frustrated” with Gobert’s irresponsible actions regarding the virus, but the organization believes the situation can be repaired.

Gobert has admitted to being “careless” in the days before a test confirmed that he had contracted COVID-19. However, even though Gobert was diagnosed first, Larsen points out that because symptoms of the virus aren’t always apparent right away, it’s possible that Gobert caught it from Mitchell or that both contracted it from someone else.

Larsen cites a report from ESPN’s Zach Lowe on his Lowe Post podcast expressing similar confidence that any hard feelings between the two players can be resolved. “My feeling from the Jazz and talking to people there is that I think once everyone takes a deep breath, that this will be okay,” said Lowe, adding that he saw several other players over the past two weeks who weren’t taking the virus seriously.

There’s more tonight from Utah:

  • Mitchell tweeted a video update on his condition today, thanking fans for their support and telling them that he’s doing well. “Just taking the proper precautions,” he said. “I’ve been told by the health authorities that I’ve got to stay in isolation. So I’m solo in here, playing video games all day. Can’t wait to get out there on the floor and play in front of the best fans in the world. I really miss playing in front of you guys.”
  • No special treatment was given to the Jazz when they received 58 coronavirus testing kits Wednesday night, an official from the Oklahoma State Department of Health tells Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. The kits were available and the choice to test everyone with a connection to the team was “a public health decision” based on their contact with Gobert.
  • Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune writes about the experience of being quarantined in the wake of Gobert’s positive test. Walden was present at Monday’s media session and sent out a light-hearted tweet after Gobert touched every microphone and digital recorder in front of him.
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Rudy Gobert Donates $500K To Arena Workers, Coronavirus-Related Services

March 14th, 2020 at 3:16pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

All-Star Jazz center Rudy Gobert, the first NBA player to be diagnosed with the novel coronavirus COVID-19, has donated $500K to various groups impacted by the virus, per a team press release first relayed by ESPN’s Tim Bontemps (Twitter link).

Those groups include the 800-plus part-time employees at the club’s Vivint Smart Home Arena, in addition to coronavirus-related health service relief in Utah, Oklahoma City (where Gobert was diagnosed with the ailment) and social health care services in France, Gobert’s homeland.

“I know there are countless ways that people have been impacted,” Gobert said in the statement released by the Jazz. “These donations are a small token that reflect my appreciation and support for all those impacted and are the first of many steps I will take to try and make a positive difference.”

Per the press release, $200K of the gift will be donated to the part-time employees. Gobert will supply 100,000 Euros to the French health care system. $100K apiece will be allocated to families impacted in Utah and Oklahoma City.

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Western Notes: Mitchell, Kerr, Anthony, Suns

March 13th, 2020 at 9:59pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Donovan Mitchell is “extremely frustrated” with Jazz teammate Rudy Gobert after testing positive for the coronavirus, league sources told Sports Illustrated’s Chris Mannix. Gobert has apologized for his careless actions earlier in the week, prior to being the first NBA player to test positive. The team has a solid young core but how Mitchell responds when play resumes could make or break their relationship, Mannix continues. The Jazz were rising up the Western Conference standings but if this leads to locker room issues, it could have a major impact on the franchise’s playoff expectations, Mannix adds.

We have more from the Western Conference:

  • Warriors coach Steve Kerr is upset at himself for not taking the coronavirus more seriously earlier this week and believes social distancing is now paramount, Anthony Slater of The Athletic reports. “I was coaching in a basketball game with 15,000 fans like four nights ago. So I feel like a fool,” Kerr said. “But this goes back to our human condition of denial and vulnerability. But we’ve crossed that threshold now and it’s important that everybody understands what they can do.”
  • Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony said on teammate CJ McCollum‘s podcast that he was “embarrassed” that he was a free agent for so long until Portland signed him, according to Casey Holdahl of the team’s website. “I started questioning myself why. Why? What happened? What did I do? Did I do something wrong? Was it me? Am I good? Can I still play? It was like all of these thoughts started to come in and that stuck with me for about four, five months.”
  • The Suns could have all their injured players back in action if and when the season resumes, Duane Rankin of the Arizona Republic relays. That group includes forward Kelly Oubre Jr., who underwent knee surgery earlier this month, and Frank Kaminsky III, who missed the last 32 games due to a knee injury. “You try to make a positive out of a negative,” GM James Jones said. “It could end up being a really good thing for us and if that’s the case, I know our guys will be excited. I know our coaches, myself, I’ll be excited to have our team full strength or close to it, contending and playing in some meaningful games.”
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Jazz Notes: Gobert, Coronavirus, Self-Quarantine

March 13th, 2020 at 10:18am CST by Luke Adams

The NBA won’t be fining or suspending Jazz center Rudy Gobert for his actions leading up to his positive test for the coronavirus, reports Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports (via Twitter).

Gobert, who tested positive on Wednesday, made light of the coronavirus situation on Monday, when he made a point to touch all of the microphones and recorders in front of him following his shootaround availability.

According to a report from ESPN, Gobert also exhibited “a cavalier attitude toward the virus in the locker room, touching teammates and their belongings.” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski added in a TV appearance that there’s “a lot of frustration” with Gobert in the Jazz locker room (hat tip to NBC Sports).

The All-Star center published an Instagram post on Thursday expressing embarrassment and apologizing for taking any actions that may have endangered those around him.

Here’s more on the Jazz:

  • Although Gobert has faced plenty of criticism this week, Bruce Arthur of The Toronto Star argues that the Jazz center can be viewed as an “accidental hero,” since his actions and his positive diagnosis provided the NBA and North America at large with a prominent case study for why the virus should be taken seriously.
  • A pair of Jazz beat writers – Eric Walden of The Salt Lake Tribune and Tony Jones of The Athletic – shared their accounts of what became a wild night in Oklahoma City on Wednesday. Both reporters became part of the story due to their proximity to affected players Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, as they were among those tested for COVID-19 late on Wednesday in OKC. They both tested negative.
  • As we relayed on Thursday, 58 members of Utah’s traveling party were tested for coronavirus on Wednesday, including Walden and Jones. Of those 58, only Mitchell tested positive (Gobert’s test was conducted earlier). Still, the players who tested negative have been instructed to self-quarantine for 14 days, as the team announced in a press release.
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Rudy Gobert Apologizes To “People I May Have Endangered”

March 12th, 2020 at 3:18pm CST by Luke Adams

Rudy Gobert, who became the first NBA player to test positive for the coronavirus on Wednesday, has published an Instagram post confirming the diagnosis.

Within the post, Gobert apologized for his carelessness in potentially endangering those around him. The All-Star Jazz center mockingly touched all the microphones and recorders in front of him following a Monday media session. According to a report from ESPN, Jazz players were also privately saying that Gobert exhibited “a cavalier attitude toward the virus in the locker room, touching teammates and their belongings.”

“I have gone through so many emotions since learning of my diagnosis,” Gobert wrote. “Mostly fear, anxiety, and embarrassment. The first and most important thing is I would like to publicly apologize to the people that I may have endangered. At the time, I had no idea I was even infected. I was careless and make no excuse.

“I hope my story serves as a warning and causes everyone to take this seriously,” he continued. “I will do whatever I can to support using my experience as way to educate others and prevent the spread of this virus.”

Sources told Shams Charania and Tony Jones of The Athletic that Gobert has been around people who recently traveled to the U.S. from France, but there’s “no clear determination” on how or when he contracted COVID-19. His teammate Donovan Mitchell also tested positive for the virus, as we detailed earlier today.

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League Office “Slammed” With Questions About Next Steps

March 12th, 2020 at 8:22am CST by Luke Adams

After announcing that the 2019/20 season has been suspended indefinitely, the NBA’s league office has been “slammed” with procedural and “bigger-picture” questions from team owners and executives, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link).

As Wojnarowski reports, the NBA has told its teams to be patient and sit tight for now — more guidance will be provided soon, likely as early as Thursday. In the meantime, despite the fact that clubs are reportedly still permitted to hold practices, many teams around the league plan to close their facilities today and give players a couple days away, Woj notes.

The Jazz, whose starting center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday, have been among the teams most significantly affected by the crisis. As ESPN’s Royce Young details, Utah’s players and staff had to remain at Oklahoma City’s Chesapeake Energy Arena for hours after the postponement of last night’s game vs. the Thunder, undergoing tests for coronavirus. The results of those tests should be known soon, which will help the NBA determine how to move forward, tweets Chris Mannix of SI.com.

After finally leaving the arena late last night, the Jazz spent the night in the OKC area, exploring the possibility of chartering buses to get back to Salt Lake City, since there were “issues” with putting everyone on a Delta charter flight, per ESPN. According to Young (Twitter link), the organization is expected to finalize travel plans after getting the results of their tests. It’s possible they’ll fly back to Utah on two separate charter flights — one for those who tested positive and one for those who didn’t.

Here are more updates on the situation as the first day of the league’s hiatus begins:

  • Sources tell Shams Charania and Tony Jones of The Athletic that Gobert has been around people who recently traveled to the U.S. from France, but there’s “no clear determination” on how he contracted COVID-19.
  • ESPN’s Brian Windhorst and Tim Bontemps break down what we do and don’t know about the NBA’s suspension of play, including whether players will be paid during the stoppage and how it may affect the salary cap going forward. Meanwhile, Brian Lewis of The New York Post provides six questions the league must answer.
  • By suspending its season, the NBA made the only decision it could, according to Chris Mannix of SI.com, who writes that the league shouldn’t consider a return until the virus has been “contained nationally.”
  • The Pelicans/Kings game on Wednesday night was initially expected to be played even after the NBA’s suspension announcement, but it was eventually postponed due to concerns related to referee Courtney Kirkland, who worked Utah’s game on Monday. Sam Amick, Will Guillory, and Jason Jones of The Athletic share some behind-the-scenes details on a surreal night in Sacramento.
  • Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, who said on Wednesday night that the franchise would develop a plan to help arena employees with lost income during the hiatus, said that the situation “isn’t about basketball,” as Tim MacMahon of ESPN relays. “This isn’t about when do we start, do we start? Or how do we start? This is a pandemic, a global pandemic where people’s lives are at stake,” Cuban said. “I’m a lot more worried about my kids and my mom who is 82 years old — in talking to her and telling her to stay in the house — than when we play in our next game.”
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Rudy Gobert Tests Positive For Coronavirus

March 11th, 2020 at 8:30pm CST by Luke Adams

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.

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Fournier Could Be On The Move

December 23rd, 2019 at 5:17pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Magic swingman Evan Fournier is the player most likely to be moved before the trade deadline, according to an ESPN Insider report from Bobby Marks.

While there’s no indication Fournier is being shopped, a straw poll of NBA executives believe that the Magic will need to start exploring their trade options on the veteran, who is likely to leave $17.2MM on the table and opt out this summer. Orlando is currently battling for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Fournier is enjoying a career year, averaging 19.6 PPG and shooting 42.3% from long range.

Here are more nuggets from the ESPN report:

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NBA Super-Max Candidates To Watch In 2019/20

November 8th, 2019 at 8:56am CST by Luke Adams

The Designated Veteran Extension, as we explain our glossary entry on the subject, is a relatively new addition to the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement. It allows players with 7-9 years of experience, who would normally qualify for a maximum starting salary of 30% of the cap, to qualify for a “super-max” contract that starts at 35% of the cap, a level normally reserved players with 10+ years of experience.

A player who has seven or eight years of NBA service with one or two years left on his contract becomes eligible for a Designated Veteran Extension if he meets the required performance criteria and hasn’t been traded since his first four years in the league. A Designated Veteran contract can also be signed by a player who is technically a free agent if he has eight or nine years of service and meets the required criteria.

The performance criteria is as follows (only one of the following must be true):

  • The player was named to an All-NBA team and/or was named the NBA Defensive Player of the Year in the most recent season, or in two of the last three seasons.
  • The player was named the NBA MVP in any of the three most recent seasons.

With those criteria in mind, it’s worth keeping an eye on the players who could qualify for a super-max veteran contract with their play this season. Let’s dive in and examine a few of those guys…

Players who already qualify for a super-max contract:

Antetokounmpo met the performance criteria for the super-max when he won last season’s MVP award. Gobert did so by winning the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2018 and then being named to the All-NBA team in 2019 — his second consecutive DPOY award in ’19 merely put an emphatic stamp on his eligibility.

However, neither Antetokounmpo nor Gobert can actually sign a Designated Veteran Extension yet, since they must have seven years of NBA experience under their belts.

Each player is in his seventh season now, but years of experience aren’t officially added until the very end of the league year. In other words, the Bucks and Jazz stars will have to wait until next July to officially sign super-max extensions.

We know the Bucks will put that offer on the table for Giannis, but we’re not sure yet whether he’ll sign it. It also remains to be seen if the Jazz will make the same offer to Gobert. Based on the NBA’s latest cap projection for 2021/22 ($125MM), each player would be eligible for $253.75MM over five years.

Players who could qualify for a super-max contract by meeting the criteria in 2019/20:

Technically, any player who earns an All-NBA spot in 2019/20 and meets the contract criteria can qualify for a super-max, but the two players listed above are probably the only legitimately viable candidates. Thunder center Steven Adams, for instance, would become eligible for a super-max extension by earning an All-NBA spot, but that’s probably not happening.

Even Drummond might be a long shot, but if he can maintain the numbers he has posted in his first nine games (21.9 PPG, 18.6 RPG, 2.2 BPG), he’ll be in the conversation. So far, he’s outplaying last year’s All-NBA First Team center Nikola Jokic, who is off to a slow start.

Embiid, last season’s All-NBA Second Team center, looks like a safer All-NBA bet as long he stays healthy. He earned his spot in 2018/19 despite playing just 64 games, so if he can match or exceed that number this season with similar production, look for him to become super-max eligible.

Drummond is in his eighth NBA season, while Embiid is only in his sixth. So if Drummond were to earn All-NBA honors this season, he’d become eligible to immediately sign a super-max contract. Declining his player option and signing a five-year Designated Veteran contract would put Drummond in line for a deal worth $235.48MM based on the league’s latest cap projection for 2020/21 ($116MM). Though of course, there’s no guarantee the Pistons would be willing to go quite that high.

As for Embiid, if he makes an All-NBA team this season, he’ll be in a similar situation to the one Giannis and Gobert are in now — super-max eligible based on his performance criteria, but not yet on his contract criteria. He’d have to wait until the 2021 offseason to sign that extension. I expect the Sixers will be ready to do a super-max deal if he keeps playing at this level and doesn’t suffer any more major injuries.

It’s also worth mentioning Jokic and Karl-Anthony Towns in this group. They’ll only have five years of NBA experience apiece after this season, so they wouldn’t be able to sign super-max extensions until the 2022 offseason. Technically though, one of them could meet the required performance criteria as early as this spring by winning the MVP award.

Players who can no longer qualify for a super-max contract:

There are many other players who could be added to this list, but these are the three who would otherwise be strong candidates to qualify the super-max if they hadn’t already become ineligible based on one of the required criteria.

In Beal’s case, he opted to sign a standard veteran extension this fall rather than wait to see if he’d make an All-NBA team this season and become eligible for the super-max. By the time he’ll be able to opt out of his new deal in the summer of 2022, he’ll have 10 years of experience under his belt, meaning he’ll automatically qualify for the 35% max.

Davis and Oladipo, meanwhile, were traded while playing out their rookie scale contract extensions, making them ineligible for a super-max. Davis would have been able to sign such a deal this past offseason if he had remained with the Pelicans.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

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