Open Thread and News Updates: Draymond speaks; Golf and local schools close; Gobert; Arena employees

Mar 13, 2020

Here’s a place for us to process the news of the day. At noon, we’ll run something basketball related to help us get a little escape from the plague.

Draymond Speaks

Marcus Thompson @ThompsonScribe

Draymond Green: "It’s one of those things where it doesn’t hit home until it hits home." I caught up with the Warriors star about how he's handling all this. theathletic.com/1673237/2020/0…

More Closings, Golf Edition

PGA TOUR @PGATOUR

It is with regret that we are announcing the cancellation of THE PLAYERS Championship and all events through the Valero Texas Open.

PGA TOUR statement regarding cancellation of THE PLAYERS Championship and upcoming PGA TOUR eventsIt is with regret that we are announcing the cancellation of THE PLAYERS Championship.pgatour.com

More Closings, Local School Edition

SF public schools @SFUnified

SFUSD is closing schools to students for 3 weeks beginning Monday, March 16 through the end of regularly scheduled spring break (ends Fri. 4/3). Staff will be working part of this time to prepare and train on how to educate and support community health - Schools Will Close to Students for 3 WeeksSchools Will Close to Students for 3 Weeksbit.ly

Berkeleyside @berkeleyside

Berkeley Unified to close all schools

Berkeley Unified to close all schoolsBerkeley High will close Friday over concerns of coronavirus spread, and all other schools will follow suit Monday.berkeleyside.com

Probably overdue, but in this messed up society, a lot of families rely on school for basic needs for kids and day care.

The French Infection

Justin Russo @FlyByKnite

Woj going on ESPN and saying there's a rift between Gobert and Mitchell and how the Utah locker room is basically pissed at Gobert is a huge thing. They should be pissed at him. It's nice that he was apologetic but apologizing for being an idiot still means you were an idiot.

Chris Haynes @ChrisBHaynes

The NBA will not be fine or suspend Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert for his actions leading up to testing positive for the coronavirus, league sources tell Yahoo Sports.

Bruce Arthur @bruce_arthur

On Rudy Gobert, the accidental idiot hero, and the days that stopped sports, may have saved lives, and forced reality about the coronavirus onto a continent where some leaders were completely failing at that task:

Accidental hero Rudy Gobert makes North America sit up and take notice of the coronavirusNBA all-star didn’t have any respect for the pandemic until he was diagnosed with the virus. That led to the NBA shutting down and most of the North A...thestar.com

NBA Official Statement

A Letter to NBA Fans

Sam Amick @sam_amick

Exhibit A of the testing problem... The Kings would love to get tests for all their players, except for one thing: Sacramento County, which has approximately 1.5 million people, only has TWENTY (!) tests per day. This is happening nationwide.

Why NBA commissioner Adam Silver is no match for the...Finding Patient Zero was one thing. Getting all the answers about who’s infected and who’s not in time to salvage a season is quite another.theathletic.com

Arena Employees

No word from Lacob, but I imagine something will be coming.

Legion Hoops @LegionHoops

BREAKING: The Cavaliers announce that they will pay their arena staff as if all of the regular season games happened. Amazing gesture.

Joe Tsai @joetsai1999

Hear hear @SDinwiddie_25 we’re working on a plan! https://t.co/bi01FXqS7V

Spencer Dinwiddie @SDinwiddie_25

Gotta take care of the non salary arena staff etc

Sarah K. Spencer @sarah_k_spence

"We're thrilled to do it. We expected to do it." — Hawks owner Tony Ressler The Hawks will take care of their part-time employees amid the NBA's hiatus. For Ressler, it's an easy decision:

Hawks will take care of employees amid NBA hiatus, owner Tony Ressler saysLong before things escalated, Hawks owner Tony Ressler voiced his intentions.ajc.com

Finishing the Season

The Athletic NBA @TheAthleticNBA

Do players still get paid? What happens if the postponement pushes into the summer? Could the league skip right to the playoffs? Answering the biggest questions you have now about what happens next for the NBA. | @johnhollinger 🔓👇 theathletic.com/1673343/?sourc…

Hollinger: What to know about the suspended NBA season and...John Hollinger answers some common questions about the suspended NBA season.theathletic.com

Morten Stig Jensen @msjnba

Via @Forbes/@ForbesSports - If the NBA resumes play for the 2019/2020 season, it could be worth installing new ideas to wrap up the season, such as a Superbowl style one-game Finals. Why? Well, to simplify.. YOLO:

The NBA Should Lean Into Experimentation If Play Resumes This YearIf the NBA resumes play for the 2019/2020 season, it might be worth testing out new formats.forbes.com

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