Lacy J. Banks of the Chicago Sun-Times reports:
Despite the NBA lockout, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame ceremonies will go on as scheduled.
‘‘We have been declared a ‘safe zone’ in terms of current players interacting with NBA team managers,” Hall of Fame president and CEO John Doleva said in an interview Thursday. ‘‘We’re a separate entity from the NBA anyway. Our program is to always honor basketball at every level and the individuals who make it great.
‘‘So we have not been told there will be any restrictions about [management] and current players interacting or any seating restrictions at our reunion banquet, our pre-enshrinement cocktail and the enshrinement ceremony itself. NBA-TV cameras will be free to interview people, including current players.”
Doleva added that former Bulls assistant coach Tex Winter, severely hampered after a stroke in 2009, has said he will attend.
The three-day ceremonies in Springfield, Mass., will start Aug. 11.
