San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
HAPPY PELICAN
NBA
The Pelicans’ Zion Williamson should be out of quarantine for their opener.
Zion Williamson will be out of quarantine by the time New Orleans plays in the first official game of the NBA restart at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla.
Whether the Pelicans will play him that night or not remains anyone’s guess.
The NBA said Saturday that Williamson will have to serve a fourday quarantine for leaving the league’s Disney bubble on July 16 to tend to an urgent family matter. He returned to Disney on Friday night and immediately went into quarantine.
That means he likely will be released from quarantine sometime Tuesday, two days before the Pelicans play the first “seeding game” against the Utah Jazz.
A person familiar with the situation said that if all goes well with Williamson’s quarantine, he can return to team activities during a practice scheduled for Tuesday night.
“The most important thing is we hope everything’s OK with him,” Pelicans forward Derrick Favors said Saturday, shortly after the NBA revealed the four-day quarantine determination. “He went away for personal reasons. So, it’s good to see. Whatever it was, hope everything went fine and OK and he’s back with us. And I know everybody’s excited to have him back. I know he’s excited to be back.”
Williamson was tested daily during his absence and continually came back negative for COVID-19, which helped his hopes for a shorter quarantine upon his return to Disney. The league has said quarantine for those who leave the bubble can last as much as 10 days or more if those individuals are not tested daily while they are away.
Thibodeau to coach Knicks
Tom Thibodeau is coming back to the New York Knicks, who are still seeking the success they enjoyed when he was an assistant two decades ago.
The Knicks are finishing a deal to make Thibodeau their coach, a person with knowledge of the details said Saturday.
No contract has been signed but a deal is expected to be announced in the coming week, the person told The Associated Press.
ESPN first reported that the Knicks and Thibodeau were completing a five-year contract.
When they do, the 2011 NBA Coach of the Year in Chicago will become the 13th different person to coach the Knicks since Jeff Van Gundy resigned early in the 2001-02 season.
Clippers not happy with Lou
Los Angeles Clippers guard Lou Williams could be facing an extended stay in quarantine after his excused absence for personal reasons to return home to Atlanta included pictures surfacing of him at a social club Thursday night.
The NBA is “looking into” Williams’ activities, according to two people who were not authorized to speak publicly on the matter.
According to the NBA’S health and safety rules, Williams could be quarantined in his hotel room up to 10 days on the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
Clippers coach Doc Rivers told the media Saturday on a video call that Williams was back in Orlando and that the organization wasn’t happy about pictures of Williams at a strip club.
“I can’t share much with his journey because I wasn’t on that journey with him,” Rivers said. “But he’s back here, I call tell you that much. And obviously those got out and that’s something we obviously didn’t enjoy seeing or liked.”
Williams will have to clear quarantine now that he has returned, and the length of time will depend on whether Williams returns negative tests for every day that he was gone, according to the rules.
Coaches pins
NBA coaches started wearing a large pin during games this weekend, the message reading “Coaches for Racial Justice.”
It’s not uncommon for NBA coaches to wear pins or ribbons to support various causes. This one is different, being roughly the size of a business card and the words written in large, red type — the thinking being that coaches want the words noticed.
“We’re coaches and we’re teachers or maybe even educators,” Orlando Magic coach Steve Clifford,
himself a former special education teacher when he was a high school coach, said Saturday. “But the key is to work with people who understand how we can get things changed and that’s law, that’s policies, procedure.”
NBA coaches, with a committee led by Atlanta coach Lloyd Pierce,
have been working with noted lawyer Bryan Stevenson and his Equal Justice Initiative on how best to use their platform and promote change during the NBA restart. Players have been vocal with their wishes, the NBA had “Black Lives Matter” painted on the game courts and coaches wanted to be involved as much as possible as well.
“I don’t think anybody’s looking to do photo ops,” Clifford said. “I think what we’re trying to do are things that can be positive and sustainable.”
Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said he’s pleased to be part of a mission to send a message.
“And just like you’ve heard the players say, we still want to see justice for Breonna Taylor,“Spoelstra said.
Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman, was fatally shot when police officers burst into her Louisville apartment using a no-knock warrant during a narcotics investigation. The warrant to search her home was in connection with a suspect who did not live there and no drugs were found.
Kuzma shines
That Kyle Kuzma was going to be the star of the scrimmage was apparent early on during Saturday’s midday contest.
Within 30 seconds of replacing Kentavious Caldwell-pope in the lineup, Kuzma sank a 3-pointer. He made all four 3s he attempted in the first quarter.
After the game, coach Frank Vogel was asked if this was the version of Kuzma who might have appeared at the start of this season had he not started from behind, missed all of the Lakers first training camp and their first four games.
“I really believe that,” Vogel said. “I do.”
After a four-month break during which he was healthy, Kuzma was no longer playing catchup and it showed. He scored 25 points to lead the Lakers in their scrimmage win over the Orlando Magic, 119-112, making 10 of 13 shots including 5 of 7 3-pointers.
Anthony Davis was poked in the eye during the first quarter and did not return to the game.