Houston Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni is one of the NBA’s oldest coaches, and his age demographic could be of concern if the league is able to resume its idled 2019-20 season.
D’Antoni turns 69 years old on Friday, May 8, and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has said that adults over 65 are at a higher risk of severe illness from COVID-19.
ESPN’s Baxter Holmes reported Saturday that one GM pointed to the age of his team’s head coach and others on the staff and said he would feel uneasy about those coaches being present for games. “I don’t want to put them in harm’s way,” the general manager told Holmes.
As teams consider "essential" personnel for potential games, NBA GMs express deep concern about staffers with advanced age and/or underlying issues — even head coaches. "I don't want to put them in harm's way," one NBA GM says. Story: https://t.co/g7meFhB8IE
— Baxter Holmes (@Baxter) May 2, 2020
A second GM told Holmes that both age and underlying health conditions should be considered as teams determine who (outside of players) is able to be inside the fan-less environment for games. The GM said:
Based on all the information that we have today, probably people over 60 with preexisting conditions can’t go, for sure, no matter what their titles are. Whether it’s a father of the star player or whether it’s the general manager of the team, they can’t go there.
It is not clear if D’Antoni has any health conditions beyond his age that would further contribute to his risk profile. If he was not allowed to attend, Houston does have several assistant coaches of a much younger demographic, including Matt Brase, Brett Gunning, and Dan Hartfield.
The season’s potential resumption, and final decisions over who will and won’t be allowed to attend the games, is still weeks away at the earliest. The first step in that direction will be the reopening of team practice facilities to players, which could happen as early as this Friday, May 8.
Head coaches and assistant coaches will not be allowed to participate on that date, according to the NBA’s announced terms, with player activities limited to individual workouts under strict physical distancing protocols.
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