Shutdown raises hard questions for Kings
The coronavirus pandemic is making a huge and unprecedented impact on the world of sports with events being postponed and canceled across the country, including here in Sacramento.
The NBA moved swiftly Wednesday to suspend its season after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert and teammate Donovan Mitchell tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19. Many more players, coaches, executives, officials, team staffers, fans and members of the media could have been exposed.
“We’re at the point now that this has been declared a pandemic,” NBA Commissioner Adam Silver told TNT’s “Inside the NBA” on Thursday. “It’s virtually impossible to contain it and it’s going to become widespread . ... The NBA community is not immune, and so it’s going to spread throughout our community as well.”
The coronavirus shutdown raises countless questions for the NBA. Many of them can’t be answered right now, but the league and its teams have begun to plot a tentative path forward into what one source described as “uncharted waters.”
Here’s what we know, and what we don’t know.
How did this happen? — It was only a matter of time before someone in the NBA community contracted the virus. The first just happened to be Gobert, the guy who made light of outbreak concerns by touching the media’s microphones and recorders two days before he tested positive, something he apologized for Thursday.
What happened next came in rapid-fire fashion.
A doctor sprinted onto the court in Oklahoma City to warn officials moments before tipoff. A reporter tweeted Gobert had contracted the virus. The New Orleans Pelicans refused to take the floor to play the Sacramento Kings on ESPN, knowing referee Courtney Kirkland officiated one of Gobert’s games Monday.
That was a flashpoint that showed everyone in the league how vulnerable they are and how widespread their level of exposure might be, a point that was emphasized when Mitchell tested positive as well.
After postponing Utah’s game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the NBA postponed the Kings game against the Pelicans, too. In a span of about 90 minutes, the massive wheels that move the NBA machine every night came screeching to a halt.
Why was it necessary? — Silver penned a “letter to NBA fans” late Thursday night, a portion of which addressed the league’s thinking and concerns.
“We made this decision to safeguard the health and well-being of fans, players, everyone connected to our game and the general public,” Silver said. “This hiatus will last at least 30 days and we intend to resume the season, if and when it becomes safe for all concerned.
“... This remains a complicated and rapidly evolving situation that reminds us that we are all part of a broader society with a responsibility to look out for one another. That is what the NBA will continue to do.”
How long will the stoppage last? — Silver addressed this on TNT after holding a conference call with owners Thursday afternoon. He said games will be postponed for a minimum of 30 days, but there’s no way of knowing if the NBA would be able to resume its schedule at that point.
“What we determined today is that this hiatus will be, most likely, at least 30 days, and we don’t know enough to be more specific on that, but we wanted to give direction to our players and teams and to our fans that this is going to be, roughly, at least a month.”
Will the NBA playoffs still happen? — That’s one of those questions we can’t answer with any certainty, but it seems clear the NBA still hopes to play an 82game schedule with a full postseason, even if they have to stretch the league calendar well into the summer.
“Even if we’re out for a month, even if we’re out for six weeks, we can still restart the season,” Silver said. “It might mean that the (NBA) Finals take place in July — late July — (but) my feeling was it was way premature to suggest we had lost the season.
“This literally changes hour by hour in terms of what we know. It was really a moment for us to step back, take a breath, ensure that everyone in the NBA community was safe and healthy and doing everything they needed to do to care for their families and then give us some time to deliberate and figure out if there’s a way that we can resume playing at some point.”
Silver said “if” there’s a way. At this point, there’s no way to know.
What does this mean to the Kings’ playoff hopes? — The Kings are in a three-way tie with the Pelicans and Portland Trail Blazers for ninth in the Western Conference, 3 1/2 games behind the Memphis Grizzlies in the race for the eighth seed.
If the NBA can “restart” the season, as Silver suggested, the Kings still have 18 games to overtake those teams. They seemed to have a real chance of doing exactly that to end their 13-year playoff drought after going 13-7 over their past 20 games, but who knows what players and teams will look like when this stoppage ends?
What will NBA teams do in the meantime? — A lot of that is still being sorted out, but reports suggest there will be serious restrictions on teams’ movements and activities. The Athletic’s Shams Charania reported the NBA has informed all 30 teams of policies effective now through March 16, including:
— All players must remain in their team’s market;
— Players should remain home as long as possible;
— No group workouts or practices will be permitted;
— Team trainers and physicians must speak to each player at least once a day.
Teams that played against the Jazz in the past 10 days are reportedly being asked to take additional precautions. The Cleveland Cavaliers, New York Knicks, Boston Celtics, Detroit Pistons and Toronto Raptors have been asked to self-quarantine, according to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst.
“The safety of our players, staff, fans and the media who cover our team is paramount,” the Raptors said in a statement Thursday. “While we are disappointed the NBA season has been suspended because of the COVID-19 global pandemic, we completely support the league’s decision.”
Will fans be refunded? — Yes, eventually, if the season is not resumed, but the NBA hopes all games will be played at some point. The league said tickets already purchased for a postponed game will be honored when the game is rescheduled. If games are not played — or played in an empty arena — teams will work with fans on a credit for a future game or a refund.
The Kings provided additional instructions for ticket holders at kings.com:
— If you are a season-ticket member, plan holder or group leader, you should contact your account manager for assistance;
— If you are a member of a group or suite outing, contact the organizer for credit or refund details;
— If you purchased your tickets via Ticketmaster or Kings.com, either log into you’re MY TM ACCOUNT, where you will see a tab that says “Refund,” or call Ticketmaster customer service at 800-6538000.
— If you purchased tickets through any other vendor, reach out to that vendor directly. The Kings are not responsible for
ticket purchases from third-party vendors.
Kings will continue to pay employees during first weeks of NBA shutdown
Players, coaches and executives aren’t the only ones impacted by the NBA’s coronavirus shutdown.
As fans exited Golden 1 Center after the league postponed the Kings’ game against the New Orleans Pelicans and suspended the NBA season Wednesday, hundreds of arena workers met in groups to discuss their own uncertain futures. The confusion and concern was evident in their faces, but the Kings provided some clarity Friday when the team announced it would continue to pay employees through the end of March.
“We are committed to assisting all of our employees through this uncertain time,” the Kings said in a written statement. “All part-time, hourly Kings event team members will be compensated for the shifts they were previously scheduled to work in March.”
The organization’s decision effects about 1,100 employees, including ushers, box office workers and those who work in security, guest services, game-day operations and entertainment.
The announcement came a day after Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban said the Mavericks will continue to pay American Airlines Center employees. Cleveland Cavaliers forward Kevin Love has also agreed to compensate team employees, donating $100,000 to help workers at Quicken Loans Arena.
Also on Friday, Milwaukee Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo said he will donate $100,000 to workers at Fiserv Forum and New Orleans rookie Zion Williamson pledged to cover salaries for the Pelicans’ arena workers for the next 30 days.
“This is a small way for me to express my support and appreciation for these wonderful people who have been so great to me and my teammates and hopefully we can all join together to relieve some of the stress and hardship created by this national health crisis,” Williamson said on Instagram.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Thursday the NBA will suspend its schedule for a minimum of 30 days after Utah Jazz players Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell tested positive for the coronavirus.