Tag: coronavirus

Karl-Anthony Towns’ mother Jacqueline passes away due to complications from COVID-19

The Minnesota Timberwolves today issued the following statement regarding the passing of Karl-Anthony Towns’ mother Jacqueline Towns:

“The Timberwolves organization is incredibly saddened to hear of the passing of Jacqueline Towns due to complications from COVID-19. In the four-plus years we were fortunate to know Jackie, she became part of our family. Her passion for life and for her family was palpable. As Karl’s number one fan, Jackie provided constant and positive energy for him and was beloved by our entire organization and staff at Target Center as she supported her son and the Timberwolves. The League, teams, and players have come together in their support of Jackie and Karl and we are grateful for our NBA family. We would like to thank all the doctors, nurses and medical personnel who cared for Jackie during her illness and all of Karl’s fans who sent their support this past month. Our deepest condolences go out to Karl and his family during this difficult time.”

From the St. Paul Pioneer Press:

Karl-Anthony Towns first revealed his mom’s battle with the virus in late March via an Instagram video in an effort to spread awareness about the potential severity of the virus and the need for everyone to take proper safety measure to minimize its impact.

In the days after Jackie and Karl Towns Sr., Towns’ father, first had symptoms of the virus, Towns watched as his mother’s condition continued to get worse. Her cough worsened and her fever was constant.

“She was deteriorating in front of our eyes,” he said.

In that video, Towns shared that his mother was on a ventilator and in a medically-induced coma.

No flight back to France for Knicks guard Frank Ntilikina

Here’s the New York Post reporting on a Knicks guard who might like to return home to France during the coronavirus pandeic but can’t do that right now:

The coronavirus pandemic shutdown hasn’t stopped Knicks point guard Frank Ntilikina from attempting to stay in shape, but it required some purchases.

Ntilikina, unable to fly back to his home country of France under the NBA’s guidelines banning international travel, said some players have done group workouts via video apps. That is catching on around the NBA as gyms are shuttered and players are having difficulty getting up shots.

“It was tough the first days so I decided to get some weights,’’ Ntilikina said as he took fan questions on the Knicks website Tuesday night. “Get bands, get a bench, jump rope. All the tools you can really have and help you inside the house to stay in shape. We have a program with our teammates. We stay connected. We’re all trying to stay ready.’’

Ntilikina flew back to Dallas, where his new agent Bouna Ndiaye stays. He spent a lot of last summer in Dallas.

Ntilikina started 26 of the 56 games played in 2019-20, averaging 6.3 points and 3.0 assists per game. His shooting remains an issue: 39.3% FG and 32.1% from three-point range.

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

The latest on the Pelicans

Here’s the New Orleans Times-Picayune with some words on the Pelicans:

With the NBA at a standstill and no end in sight, David Griffin, the Pelicans executive vice president of basketball operations, tuned in to watch football Monday night.

ESPN was re-airing the Saints’ 23-3 win over the Falcons from 2006, which was New Orleans’ first game at the Superdome following Hurricane Katrina. To Griffin, the game was a reminder of how important sports can be during difficult moments.

“We do have a role in spiritual rebirth here,” Griffin said Tuesday in an interview on NBA TV. “Ironically, we’re talking the day after ESPN re-aired the 2006 Falcons at Saints game that reopened the Dome. I think from that standpoint, it very much was a rebirth for this city. Football brought something this city desperately needed. It was something of a return to normalcy.”

When the NBA returns, Griffin said he is hopeful the Pelicans can do something similar. The league has been shut down since March 12 because of the coronavirus. There is still no timetable for a return.

The Pelicans were a modest 28-36 when NBA play was put on hold in mid March, but there’s every reason for the team to be optimistic about the future of their core of exciting young talent.

Heat coach Erik Spoelstra speaks on being home during shutdown

Here’s the South Florida Sun Sentinel on how Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra is managing these days:

Had the NBA not been shut down after the Heat’s March 11 loss to the Charlotte Hornets at AmericanAirlines Arena, the Heat would be in the midst of a four-game, eight-day trip. Instead, Spoelstra is home with [wife] Nikki, [two-year-old child Santiago Ray] and four-month-old Dante.

“It’s been an incredible blessing to be around our family much more often,” Spoelstra, 49, said. “We’re able to spend our meals together. I wake up every single morning and not be in a rush to do anything. I can be at breakfast. I’m barbecuing every single night. I’ve never been a barbecue guy. I’ve always been a takeout, order-out guy, but now I’m cooking meals for this family. I’ve had a lot of peace of mind doing that every afternoon…

“Look, my kids are young kids under the age of two. They have no idea what’s going on. They just think this is a big party in the backyard every single day. So, it is unique, and we do want our team to be thinking of others and to feel the real empathy and giving nature during this time. That also can help deal with some potential anxiety or stress that somebody may be going through with this, to focus on helping other people.”

We’re all just trying to make the best of this global coronavirus situation. Which for most of us will involve just staying home for the time being.

Blazers guard Damian Lillard staying in shape with home gym

Here’s an update on Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard, via NBC Sports Northwest:

“I haven’t been able to get into the training facility,” Lillard said. “At the moment, they don’t want us in the practice facility. They don’t want us training with any of our coaches or anything like that. They also don’t want us training at a third-party gym or with a third-party trainer, so it’s basically like if you don’t have a gym at home, you can’t train. So fortunately for me, I have a gym at home, so I’ve been able to kind of continue and get work done.”

The only players allowed to enter the Trail Blazers practice facility at the moment are the players who are still rehabbing from injuries, including Zach Collins, Jusuf Nurkic and Rodney Hood…

Lillard has thought about the players around the league who aren’t able to continue to train and workout in a home gym.

“People who don’t have that and at some point are going to be expected to come back as a professional athlete and perform on call, that makes it tough,” Lillard added.

It’s no surprise, of course, that Lillard has a gym at home. Most NBA players do. And for the near future, home is where they’ll be staying safe and healthy while waiting this whole thing out as the world deals with the coronavirus saga.

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.

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.

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.