Category: NBA Teams

NBA teams blog

Chemistry developed quickly between Lonzo Ball and Zion Williamson

Pelicans star rookie Zion Williamson’s career debut was delayed due to injury, but once he got started, buckets came quickly. So did rebounds. And dunks. Especially alley-oops, many coming from passes thrown by point guard Lonzo Ball. The two players developed quick chemistry and are fun to watch play together. Here’s the New Orleans Times-Picayune on it:

Ball and Williamson are a threat to connect at any time. It doesn’t matter how early it is in the shot clock or how far away they are from each other. During the Pelicans’ 120-107 win over the Timberwolves on March 8, their final game before play paused indefinitely, Ball found Williamson for a three-quarters court and a half-court alley-oop in a span of a little more than one minute.

In the 19 games Ball and Williamson have played together, these home run plays have become routine. Ball has already found Williamson for a basket 12 times from behind half court. They are like a backyard football duo who’ve made an agreement to go long whenever possible.

“It’s crazy,” Williamson said after a Feb. 28 win over Cleveland. “Right before the game, I looked at Lonzo and said, ‘I’m just letting you know I’m running. If you throw it, I’m going to catch it.’ He took that literally. He started bombing them.”

Chemistry between Lonzo and Zion will be a fun thing to watch when NBA action eventually resumes.

Kings launch program to connect with community during coronavirus

One by one, organizations across the NBA, sports, and the world in general are adapting to our present reality: dealing with coronavirus. Teams have to protect their players and staff, and once they have a handle on that, they’re able to look around and see what they can do for others. Here’s the Sacramento Bee reporting on the Kings:

The Kings are launching a program entitled “In This Together,” a wide-ranging effort to engage and connect with the community during the coronavirus crisis through online activations, health awareness, physical and educational activities, business support and more.

The initiative is part of a league-wide campaign to help the global NBA community through difficult and unprecedented times as the world wrestles with a global pandemic. The NBA, which hasn’t played a game since its first player contracted the coronavirus on March 11, has encouraged teams to develop programs in four categories: Know the Facts, Acts of Caring, Expand Your Community and NBA Together Live.

We’ll keep sharing stuff like this with you, but starting this week will resume also putting up pure basketball content as well. We’ll be posting an exclusive player interview with you later today.

Knicks owner James Dolan tests positive for coronavirus

Knicks owner James Dolan has tested positive for coronavirus. But the good news is, his symptoms are minor, and hopefully he should be fine.

Here’s New York Newsday reporting:

Madison Square Garden executive chairman and chief executive officer James Dolan has tested positive for the coronavirus, joining 10 NBA players and a number of staffers from other teams who have been disclosed to have the fast-spreading virus.

The Knicks announced the news late Saturday night in a tweet, noting: “He has been in self-isolation and is experiencing little to no symptoms. He continues to oversee business operations.” …

No Knicks player has been reported to have tested positive for the virus. The Nets tested all players at a private facility and four players were revealed to have tested positive, including Kevin Durant.

And the New York Post:

According to a source, Dolan is self-isolating with his family in the Hamptons and his test came back earlier this week. The Knicks said he “continues to oversee business operations.”

Dolan, who owns the Knicks and Rangers, is 64 years old. He did not attend the Knicks’ final road trip to Washington and Atlanta, but sat baseline at the Garden for their final home game on March 8 against the Pistons. Detroit’s Christian Wood became one of 10 players to test positive.

We wish Dolan a speedy recovery. Fortunately, it sounds like he’ll be just fine.

Former Knicks coach says team needs a point guard who can shoot from deep

Who better to share some Knicks analysis than their recent former head coach?

Here’s the New York Post reporting the words of David Fizdale:

David Fizdale said he believes the Knicks need a point guard who can shoot from deep to help center Mitchell Robinson’s growth…

Point guards Frank Ntilikina (32 percent), Dennis Smith Jr. (29.6 percent) and Elfrid Payton (20.3 percent) are each shooting erratically from 3.

“Just looking at the roster where they’re at — I love Elfrid, Frank and Dennis Smith Jr. — but all of them have something in common in that they’re not consistent 3-point shooters coming off the pick-and-roll,” the former Knicks coach told ESPN Radio. “And if you have a super talent like Mitchell — and I think Mitchell can end up being one of the best centers over the next 10 years — you have to have a guy coming off that pick and if you have to fight over that pick-and-roll. … If you do that, all of a sudden Mitchell Robinson looks totally different. And his production goes up big time.”

The current NBA season is on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic.

But through games played so far, the Knicks are 21-45, which places them 12th in the Eastern conference. They’re 27th in the league in three-point shooting percentage. Which makes it tough to open things up near the basket.

Pistons forward Christian Wood almost fully recovered from coronavirus

The bad news is, this is another coronavirus item. The good news is, it’s about a player’s near-full recovery. Here’s the Detroit News reporting:

The Pistons cleared the first wave of COVID-19 testing on Wednesday, with only one positive test.

Christian Wood, one of the first NBA players to test positive for coronavirus, is almost fully recovered. In order to be cleared, a person needs two negative tests, spaced at least 24 hours apart. Wood passed the initial test Wednesday and will take the second test on Thursday, a league source told The Detroit News.

The Pistons also tested 16 other members of their traveling party of more than 50 people, which included players, coaches, front office members and support staff. That group traveled to road games against the New York Knicks and Philadelphia 76ers on March 8 and 11, respectively.

Here’s to more good news coming soon, we hope.

Pistons scout Maury Hanks hospitalized due to coronavirus

The coronavirus bad news continues, and has now put a Pistons scout in the hospital. Here’s the Detroit Free Press reporting:

A Detroit Pistons scout has been hospitalized with COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, a person with knowledge of the situation told the Free Press early Thursday.

“One of our scouts, who works out of his home office in another state, has been hospitalized with COVID-19 in that state,” the source said. “We do not have any information as to the potential vector of exposure.”

The source spoke on condition of anonymity because of health privacy rules. East Tennessee State basketball coach Steve Forbes tweeted Wednesday that the scout’s name is Maury Hanks, a college scout in the Pistons organization since 2014.

We wish all the best to Hanks.

Will the Heat and Jae Crowder stick together?

Here’s the Miami Herald reporting on the Heat (41-24) and forward Jae Crowder, who has been playing for the Grizzlies before being traded to Miami:

Considering the uncertainty surrounding the NBA’s coronavirus shutdown, it’s possible that forward Jae Crowder has played his final game in a Miami Heat uniform.

The league is still hopeful it will be able to resume the season at some point, but there’s the fear that this season could be completely lost. With Crowder set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, that leaves his future with the organization in question.

However, this is certain: Crowder hopes the Heat keeps him past this season.

“I’m just very happy to be a part of this organization because I’ve always envisioned that, but I never knew if it could come true,” said Crowder, who has averaged 11.9 points while shooting 39.3 percent on threes, 5.8 rebounds, two assists and 1.5 steals in 13 games since he was traded to the Heat in February. “But I always wanted to play for this city.”

Crowder brings defense and energy, and there’s every reason the team would want to bring him back.

Hopefully we get more basketball, whether regular season or playoffs, in the 2019-20 season. But for now, everything is on hold.

Clippers owner Steve Ballmer will buy the LA Forum and build new arena near it

Big moves that Clippers ownership have focused on for a while now have taken a major step forward. Here’s the OC Register:

The owners of the Los Angeles Clippers will buy The Forum concert venue in Inglewood for $400 million as part of a settlement agreement with Madison Square Garden Co..

The agreement ends years of legal battles that threatened the feasibility of a proposed $1.2 billion Clippers arena in the city that soon will be home to an adjacent $5 billion NFL stadium for the Los Angeles Rams and Chargers. That 18,000-seat arena just south of the new NFL stadium will still move forward.

Here is info straight from the Clippers:

CAPSS LLC has reached an agreement with The Madison Square Garden Company (NYSE: MSG) to purchase The Forum in Inglewood, which will continue to operate as one of the premier live-music venues in the United States. The formation of CAPSS LLC and the acquisition of the Forum were driven by L.A. Clippers Chairman Steve Ballmer and L.A. Clippers Vice Chairman Dennis Wong.

By reaching an agreement with MSG, CAPSS LLC will acquire the Inglewood venue, simultaneously resolving litigation surrounding plans for the new NBA arena. As part of the agreement, all of MSG’s current Forum employees will be extended employment offers by the new owner.

This transaction, which remains subject to Hart-Scott-Rodino and other customary closing conditions, is expected to close during the second calendar quarter of 2020. CAPSS LLC is purchasing The Forum for $400 million in cash.

The new Clippers arena project would be a privately financed, state-of-the-art, 18,000-seat basketball arena, team headquarters complex and community center located on West Century Boulevard between South Prairie Avenue and South Yukon Avenue. The project is currently undergoing an environmental review by the City of Inglewood. Public hearings to approve the project are expected to be held later this summer.

“This is an unprecedented time, but we believe in our collective future,” said Ballmer. “We are committed to our investment in the City of Inglewood, which will be good for the community, the Clippers, and our fans.”

Having The Forum and the new Clippers arena under the same ownership will allow for coordinated programming between the two venues, improving traffic congestion around basketball games and concerts.

More from the Register:

Madison Square Garden Co., which bought The Forum for $23.5 million in 2012 and invested $100 million in renovations, has waged an all-out war to try to stop the Clippers from coming to the city. MSG sued Inglewood and its mayor, James T. Butts Jr., in 2018, alleging he tricked the company’s executives into giving up their rights to the land needed for the proposed arena.

The Forum’s owners claimed their fight was not about stopping the competition and instead was an attempt to protect Inglewood residents from a project that would “inflict severe traffic congestion, pollution and many other harms” on the city.

And, the Los Angeles Times reporting:

The deal is expected to close during the 2020 second quarter. The new ownership group has no plans to tear down the Forum, which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2014, and will keep it operating as a concert venue…

The Clippers’ billion-dollar arena would sit less than two miles away from the Forum on West Century Boulevard, and be part of a larger Inglewood Basketball and Entertainment Complex that would house team offices, a practice facility and public outdoor spaces.

Stan Van Gundy discusses Nets and Knicks coaching jobs

Here’s the New York Post reporting what veteran coach Stan Van Gundy has to say about coaching opportunities with the two teams:

Both the Knicks and the Nets have head coaching vacancies. And between the two open spots, Stan Van Gundy – a big-name coach on the market – says the more attractive gig is the one in Brooklyn.

And it’s not even close.

“Of the two the Nets are the better job. There’s no question about that right now,” Van Gundy said on ESPN Radio. “The organization has been more stable. They’ve won more games. They have more talent.”

The Knicks will be spending this offseason figuring out which young players to hang onto, while chasing free agents. The Nets already have a crop of stars, and must figure out what the supporting cast should look like.

UPDATE: No salary reductions for Sixers at-will employees

UPDATE: STATEMENT FROM JOSH HARRIS, FOUNDER OF HARRIS BLITZER SPORTS & ENTERTAINMENT

“Our commitment has been to do our best to keep all of our employees working through this very difficult situation. As part of an effort to do that we asked salaried employees to take a temporary 20% pay cut while preserving everyone’s full benefits — and keeping our 1500 hourly workers paid throughout the regular season. After listening to our staff and players, it’s clear that was the wrong decision. We have reversed it and will be paying these employees their full salaries. This is an extraordinary time in our world – unlike any most of us have ever lived through before – and ordinary business decisions are not enough to meet the moment. To our staff and fans, I apologize for getting this wrong.”

ORIGINAL POST BELOW. THE UPDATE IS ABOVE

Sports leagues are on hold. It’s an adjustment for the entire leagues, including individual teams, and of course the people they employ.

Here’s Philly Voice with an update:

At-will employees making over $50,000 for the Sixers and Devils have been asked to take salary reductions of up to 20 percent as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak, a team source confirmed to PhillyVoice on Monday evening. Marc Stein of The New York Times was the first to report the news.

Those employees include employees in marketing, sales, communications, and a variety of different members of business and sports operations for both franchises, a team source told PhillyVoice. The change will apply to the period through the end of the Sixers’ fiscal year on June 30th.

The Sixers will not have layoffs and there will not be any changes to health insurance or 401k as a result of the move, a team source told PhillyVoice, which was part of the internal discussion about such a move being made.

The fallout from coronavirus continues.