COVID19

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NBA Superstar, Anthony Davis, today announced a partnership with Lineage Logistics (“Lineage”), the world’s largest and most innovative provider of temperature-controlled food logistics, on two community initiatives to support the Los Angeles community in the fight against the Coronavirus pandemic.

Supporting Help Feed the Frontline Fighting COVID 19 - LA

Together, the Anthony Davis Family Foundation and Lineage announced a $250,000 matching donation commitment to support the launch of the “Help Feed the Frontline Fighting COVID 19 - LA” campaign, which was launched by a group of local Los Angeles parents who partnered World Central Kitchen, a nonprofit organization that mobilizes urgently in times of crisis to get meals to people in need.  In partnership with Chef Brooke Williamson of Playa Provisions, the campaign is sourcing food from Los Angeles restaurants and providing healthy, free meals to the brave men and women working at regional hospitals treating those infected by the COVID 19 virus.

The Davis Foundation and Lineage will match every dollar donated up to $250,000, to Feed the Frontlines LA in an effort to reach $500,000 of its $3 million goal. 

Join the movement by donating here in support of local LA businesses and medical workers: https://charity.gofundme.com/o/en/campaign/help-feed-the-frontline-fighting-covid-19

Helping STAPLES Center Team Members Find Additional Employment Opportunities

Mr. Davis and Lineage are also partnering with AEG, the world’s leading sports and live entertainment company and the owner and operator of STAPLES Center, to offer employment opportunities to all STAPLES Center event team members who are unable to work due to the postponement of the NBA and NHL seasons in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through AEG, Lineage is offering STAPLES Center team members additional employment opportunities while STAPLES is not holding events by helping connect them to fill an additional 260 open jobs for which Lineage is hiring in the Los Angeles area. 

“We all need to find ways to support our community during these challenging times. Whether it’s the people we work with, the small businesses trying to stay afloat, or the healthcare workers putting themselves in harm’s way to treat the sick, we’ve got to give our support however we can. I appreciate Lineage Logistics stepping up and partnering with me to help launch these programs and look out for our STAPLES Center team,” said Anthony Davis. 

“The devastation caused by COVID-19 means that Lineage’s services are in extreme demand as we work to keep food on the shelves in communities across the United States,” said Kevin Marchetti, Co-Executive Chairman of the Lineage Board of Directors. “In the face of this crisis, we are proud to be able to provide opportunities for people who are facing income loss to join the Lineage family and help us ensure families have food to eat.”

Help Feed the Frontline Fighting COVID 19 - LA

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Anthony Davis, Lineage Logistics to Aid Los Angeles Community

Mike Trudell

What’s been on the mind of Alex Caruso amidst the COVID-19 hiatus?

AC Fresh dialed in from his home to share how he’s getting through the quarantine days in terms of working out, eating, entertainment and social distancing:

CARUSO ON WORKING OUT AT HOME
I do workouts at home in my garage ... it’s pretty old school. Just a bunch of body weight stuff, some jump rope, and I have a good hill by me that I run up and down.

The physical equipment I have at my house is: four NBA basketballs; a jump rope and a multitude of resistance bands. I’m considering getting some free weights, but you can get done what you need to do with dribbling a basketball and using some resistance. It’s just a different lift. Everybody knows the normal use of weights, getting on a squat rack, or grabbing dumbbells. This is the same thing but just using a band. With the basketball, just maxing out dribbles by pounding the ball with resistance and the muscles react after a whole bunch of reps. The biggest thing about now is that nobody is going to be where they were at when we stopped playing. It’s about staying as close to normal as you can.

What about mixing in push ups and sit ups?
Yeah of course, of course. It’s nothing that I create. I get a text from one of our strength coaches to go through the workout and it’s pretty simple. Body-weight lunges. Pushups. A couple sets of abs, then some type of cardio, which for me is jump rope. It’s pretty efficient, because I’m not a big running fan, which is hard to believe for a basketball player, but I just don’t love the cardio. Jump rope is more of an aerobic workout than just straight running.

CARUSO ON FEEDING HIMSELF
I’m doing my best. The hard thing is, we have such good food at the training facility, I naturally eat very healthy at the gym. Now without that, I’m having to find more meals, either making them or ordering food. Going to the grocery store and finding things is harder right now too, with everybody wiping through there. I’m also not burning as many calories as I typically have at this time of year, so it’s a little easier to maintain – I don’t have to eat as much food. So, just staying hydrated, and staying on as much of a normal diet as possible.

It’s been a split for me in going to the grocery store, of getting pickup or delivery and cooking. Switching that up is going to get me through this period of being inside and the redundancy of daily life. One of my go-to options is True Foods – their rosemary red skin potatoes are phenomenal. And then I just buy simple groceries to get me by; I don’t have a chef like some guys on the team might. Chicken, grilled veggies, rice pilaf, mashed potatoes, stuff like that. My level of skill is average. I’m not making some bomb Italian dish or anything, but I can make food that tastes good and is edible.

CARUSO ON ENTERTAINING HIMSELFWhen we had Caruso on the  Official Lakers Podcast on March 2, he mentioned that the only thing he watched on TV aside from basketball was reruns of “The Office.” We wondered if the COVID-19 situation had him expanding horizons…

It’s funny you mention that. Yesterday, I started a re-watch of “The Office” from episode one. It was time for that. Then I have watched a few movies, and am playing X-BOX, “Call of Duty” and “FIFA,” plus some “Fortnite.” I saw “Spencer Confidential,” which was interesting, and then “Us,” the Jordan Peele movie about duplicates. That was good, with an interesting twist at the end. That was actually before the self-quarantine, so I watched it with two friends, and the one that had seen part of it must have got it confused with another movie, because she said it was not a scary movie at all. And about 30 minutes in, I was like, ‘No, this is 100 percent a thriller, scary type of movie.’ But we finished it and the ending was really good.

For the gaming, it’s always online. I’m playing season mode for FIFA, or the battle royale style for the shooting games. “Call of Duty” just came out, so it’s the crave right now. I’m getting better. I had been playing Fortnite for two years without playing any other shooting games, so I had to re-learn the controls. But the other day, I started to get a little groove. I’d like to claim I’m a little bit above average, even though I’m the humble type. I think I’m decent. I haven’t linked up with Josh (Hart) or Larry (Nance, Jr.) to play against, but I’m giving myself time for that.

CARUSO’S SOCCER SQUAD, AND STARTING 11Caruso is a diehard Manchester City fan, and he and the author of this post – a Manchester United loyalist – have a longstanding feud going. Caruso only plays FIFA with City, and offered his preferred lineup and style:

I play a 4-3-3 attacking style with Ederson in goal, João Cancelo at left back, (Aymeric) LaPorte and either Fernandinho or John Stones at center back, Kyle Walker on the right. Then Fernandinho above the center backs (if he’s not at center back), Kevin De Bruyne at left center attacking mid and Bernardo Silva opposite him, LeRoy Sane on the left wing, Raheem Sterling at right wing and Sergio Aguero up top. Then I have (Ilkay) Gundogan, David Silva, (Riyad) Mahrez and Gabriel Jesus off the bench. The online seasons go from Division 10 up to Division 1. You get promoted and relegated depending on how your season goes; you get 10 games and then go up or down. I’m in D1 right now, but it’s not looking good. I’m 1-2-2, and I need to win three out of my next five. Everybody is home, so I’m getting the best of the best right now!

CARUSO ON SLEEPINGWe wondered how much Caruso was sleeping considering his relatively light daily lode of working out, eating, “The Office” and gaming:

I’m definitely sleeping in a little more. I’m not waking up quite as early I would have had to go to the gym or get to practice or shootaround. I’m probably sleeping 10 hours. Usually I’ll go to bed around midnight at the latest, and then I’ll sleep until 10 a.m.; so that’s part of the give-and-take of living by yourself. You might get lonely but you get some free time.

CARUSO’S BASKETBALL SCHOOL
I watch a lot of old basketball highlights and basketball games. I’m doing this thing where I do basketball education for the last 15 minutes of my stream from my ACFresh21 account. We YouTube an older player that was really good that people don’t give enough credit to. We’ve looked up Shawn Kemp, Deron Williams and Richard Hamilton lately. So I’m playing games with fans, and when I’m about to get off, I’ll just chat it up and watch basketball highlights with people. Basically, what I’d do by myself, but I do it with other people.

CARUSO ON SOCIAL DISTANCING
I think just the rapid escalation of how serious and impactful this whole thing is, that’s what is surprising. Two weeks ago, we were talking about how it was really bad other places, not even thinking about how it could travel over to us and impact our season and get to the point we are now with a suspended season. Obviously there are a lot of emotions for different people, but for me, it’s the surprise and the emptiness of this time of the year, not playing basketball.

I’m doing a pretty good job of staying in my own space and seeing as few people as possible. I talk to my family daily, but I live by myself. There is anything but loneliness. Sure, there’s nobody here in person, but I’m pretty comfortable with that. I’ve lived by myself for the last couple of years; I think I’m naturally introverted, so this is fulfilling that side of my personality. People don’t really ask questions when I’m out running the hill or something; it’s pretty quiet. Everybody goes with it.

The more that time passes, seeing what’s going on and reading into how serious the situation is for people that aren’t in my position – 26, a professional athlete living a healthy life – it’s really alarming to see that things can get bad if we don’t do something about it. I’m trying to do my part and just make sure that I stay out of contact. Even if I – or anybody – don’t have it, it’s making sure not to get it and share it. People are not understanding that it’s serious and they don’t think it’s serious until it affects them. I think the biggest thing is for people to realize it really is a serious ordeal and we need to take a serious approach to it.

CARUSO ON THE LAKERS SEASON AMIDST COVID-19
Probably the most frustrating part is how much this season meant to us as players, coaches, organization and fans. With everything that’s gone on the past several years, and obviously the Kobe situation, everybody was really looking forward to finishing out the season and getting to the playoffs. Now that it’s prolonged, it’s just frustrating. All of us on the team, our favorite thing to do is play basketball, and for that to be momentarily taken away puts things into perspective. It’s kind of an enlightening moment, just to not take it for granted. Whether you’re in your first full season like me, or 17th for LeBron.

As soon as they can get it back started they’re going to try to, and obviously safety is the highest priority. You gotta make sure everybody is healthy. But obviously, as soon as we can get basketball back, that’s what we want to do. For us as the Lakers and fans of us, they want to see us reach the ultimate goal, which is what we’ve talked about since the beginning of the year. We’re still in that mindset, it’s just on a hiatus until we get back to playing. It depends on how long we’re out of the practice facility. I’m optimistic that we’ll be able to get back to the practice facility once everybody is cleared, but we’ll see what happens. Things are changing on the hour, every hour.

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Alex Caruso on Staying in Shape, Binge-Watching and More During Hiatus

Just over a week ago, I was at Staples Center interviewing Danny Green for the Spectrum SportsNet postgame show after the Lakers played Brooklyn on March 10th.

Our next conversation came Wednesday afternoon, March 18th, on the phone, with Danny at his house, and me at mine, due to the spread of COVID-19 and the resulting precautions taken by the NBA that quickly expanded to the rest of the sports world.

Green talked about how he’s handling the situation, his thoughts on a possible return to play, what he’s doing with his time at his house, how he’s trying to stay in shape, what he’s watching on TV and more.

MT: How are you and your family doing amidst the COVID-19 crisis?
Green: We’re here in Los Angeles. I don’t have any kids, so it’s me and my girlfriend, and we’re fine. We’re at the house. Taking the proper and necessary steps they’re telling us to follow. My family back home (in Long Island, New York) is doing OK. I check in on them, but I haven’t been able to see them. I hope everybody is staying home and trying to stay safe.

MT: I know that we’re all most concerned about the safety and wellness of people across the country and the world, but let’s focus on the NBA family and the Lakers here if we can. How have you been processing the suspension of the season? How has that hit you?
Green: I don’t think it really has yet. It’s still hard to believe. I think it’s still something that I’m hoping is going to end (at some point). I’ve been talking to some people at the NBA, about how it’s an hour-by-hour type deal, and not to (necessarily) believe different (reports) about what’s going to happen. I can’t really believe that the season is going to be over, but as we’re taking precautions and every city is shutting down, it’s becoming more real. So I’m just trying to figure out what I’m going to do with my time. Take care of the body the best I can. Figure out new hobbies. Organize and clean the house. Little stuff that we’ve been putting off and procrastinating since moving in.

MT: Commissioner Silver reiterated on ESPN’s “The Jump” on Wednesday afternoon that it’s his hope that the season will continue in some form or fashion, and laid out different possibilities they’re looking at, including extending the calendar late into the summer, or playing games with fans. Does it give you some hope realizing the NBA is going to do whatever it can to resume the season if possible? 
Green: For sure. I know they’re doing the best they can, that they’re going to do everything possible to get this thing back on track. We all hope for the best and prepare for the worst. I’m hoping that it’s not as late as what some of the statements are saying, but if it is, so be it, we have to adapt and adjust to it.

MT: You guys have put so much into this season to build a 6-game cushion in the loss column out West that all but guaranteed you were going to finish with the No. 1 seed.. Does it feel different not knowing how/if games will resume when you’re in this type of position with a real title chance, as opposed to a team likely going to the lottery?
Green: The biggest thing that most people are thinking about, especially contenders, is we have a really good opportunity here – we built the chemistry – and we could be one of the last teams standing. For that momentum, for that rhythm, for all that to be deterred or re-routed could change things. That kinda sucks. But I think with the cushion we have for first place, I think we feel pretty confident that we could finish out the season with a good seeding. But we just want to be healthy, and keep our rhythm so that we’re the same team when we start back up that we were when things shut down.

MT: I know that you guys were able to go into the UCLA Health Training Center for individual workouts on the court and in the weight room, but that has changed this week across the NBA. What have you been able to do physically to stay in the best shape you can given the circumstances?
Green: We were allowed to work out in the gym (on a 1-on-1 basis with a coach), but that changed with the gym now being shut down. So right now, I have to figure something out in the house. Calisthenics is probably the best bet that we have. And, I live by the beach, so maybe running on the beach. Running around outside by the house.

MT: Right, that’s quite a bit different from being able to work out at the facility when you’re trying to keep some level of your game shape.
Green: Yeah, and they were taking all the precautions when we were going in. If anybody was sick in any way, they’d send you home. But if not, then you were able to go work out as an individual. You’d set up your time with the coaches, or for a lift with the strength and conditioning coaches. So we were doing that. (Tuesday), before the news came out about the Nets, I was just in for a pretty good workout.

MT: For a veteran like you, coming off another Finals run playing well into June and then playing in 61 of 63 games this season, or LeBron James, with all the mileage in his 17 years, what’s the balance of having some time off for your body to recover, and the risk of losing rhythm and everything like that?
Green: We have a lot of vets on our team, so a week or two can be great, just like All-Star break. A nice reset to get your legs back under you, get fresh. But once that extends to three weeks, four weeks or more, that’s where things get tricky. You start losing your rhythm. You can’t simulate playing basketball no matter how much working out you do. There’s no equal amount of training or conditioning individually you can do to simulate a 5-on-5 basketball game. It’s such a different type of staying in shape. So we don’t want to be rusty or out of shape. I’m sure we trust our guys to stay in shape, but things can get a little dicey when it comes to too much rest.

MT: And again, this is all in perspective to the much more important issues going on in the world, but in terms of how you had progressed through the season … stacking the wins up, beating the Bucks and the Clippers most recently, it’s obviously disruptive for that rhythm to be halted.
Green: For sure, and (when/if) we do resume, we’ll probably take some losses, which is fine. We can hope that we don’t take as many in the last 20 games to lose the top seed, but we want to build or chemistry back so that we’re the team that we were when we stopped playing.

MT: Just a hypothetical here, but what if the standings are frozen and things go right to playoffs. How would that work from a physical standpoint, depending on how much time passes? Figure you’d need some kind of warm-up games?
Green: For sure. I don’t think that’d be fair to just have teams dive right into the playoffs. I think we’d need at least five games of the regular season to just get us our flow back. Get our legs back under us, get some kind of rhythm, get our chemistry, get our team back. I don’t know if it’s preseason-type games or scrimmages, but at least five or six games under our belt to get back into team form.

MT: To give fans an idea for what it’s like to just be in the house and want to maintain game shape, how do you try to manage your diet, if at all?
Green: Not really managing a diet, I never have. I mean everybody’s been loading up and buying groceries preparing for a shutdown … canned goods, frozen goods that we can be ready for. And (my girlfriend) does a lot of meal prepping for healthier things, so we’ll hopefully manage there. But for the most part, I’ve never been a guy that’s managed my intake of meals; I’ve always managed my working out and conditioning, regardless of what I eat, as long as I make sure to make the time to work out and stay on top of my body.

MT: So no Serge-Ibaka-type cooking for you?
Green: Man, I don’t even know about Serge’s talent for cooking … he’s very bored. He has his YouTube TV show … but I’m not into the cooking shows and things like that. I do a lot of cleaning and organizing of the house, and I’m also a big TV and movie buff.

MT: OK let’s get into the movie and TV show lists…
Green: My girlfriend hasn’t seen a lot of old classics, so I’ve been watching some of those with her: “Goodfellas”, “Casino” and “Heat.” For TV, we’ve been watching “Snowfall,” 	the new season is coming out soon. The third season of “The Sinner” came out, and the first two seasons were really good, especially the first season. We watched “The Outsider” on HBO, which was good. We got behind on some shows like “Ray Donovan” and “Homeland” (on Showtime) … they don’t have the same shows available in Canada, so we got behind last season.

MT: How about some of the HBO classics like “The Wire,” or “The Sopranos”?
Green: I didn’t finish “The Wire.” I think she’s watched it. “The Sopranos” I haven’t watched either. We’ve been watching more of the newer shows, but we’ll have time to dip back into the classics.

MT: I know you at least watched “Game of Thrones” though…
Green: “Game of Thrones,” of course, yeah, we watched that.

MT: How have you been staying in touch with your teammates? The group chat on text?   
Green: Yeah, we have a group chat. We all check in daily with each other, especially now. It was easier when we’d see each other in passing when we were going in for individual workouts. Guys would be on different places of the court but we’d see each other.

MT: Who’s the most entertaining on the group chat? 
Green: I’d have to say LeBron, JaVale, Duds and Kuz. We have a pretty good group of guys that are active and entertaining within the group chat. There’s some funny stuff, but that’s probably my top four that are the most active.

MT: OK Danny, just to zoom back out, how is what’s happening right now impacting you and those around you? 
Green: It’s impacting everybody, not just us. It’s a big part of our lives because it’s our jobs, our daily habits. To shut down the gym throws a wrench in what our daily habits are, so it’s kind of weird. It’s affecting the whole world because the whole world is used to watching sports, not just us, but all sports, and they’ve come to a full halt. People aren’t sure what to do with themselves. And the whole world has taken a hit financially. The market has been hit. Things have gone south … a lot of work stoppage, a lot of people figuring out what they’re going to do with their jobs, how they’re going to feed their families. Luckily, some jobs are taking steps to continue to pay some people and look out for their employees, but not all jobs are doing that. Everybody is taking a hit financially, and emotionally and entertainment wise, it’s out of the same daily routine. (Just gotta) stay positive.

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Green Calls In

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EL SEGUNDO – Following four Brooklyn Nets players testing positive for COVID-19, because Los Angeles Lakers’ players were exposed to them during our game against the Nets on March 10, our team physicians and public health officials recommended coronavirus testing for the players.

We learned today that two Lakers players have tested positive. Both players are currently asymptomatic, in quarantine and under the care of the team’s physician.

All players and members of the Lakers staff are being asked to continue to observe self-quarantine and shelter at home guidelines, closely monitor their health, consult with their personal physicians and maintain constant communication with the team.

The health and well-being of our players, our organization, our fans, and all those potentially impacted by this situation is paramount. As always, we appreciate the support of our fans, family and friends, and wish everyone affected by this virus a speedy recovery.

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Statement From the Los Angeles Lakers

EL SEGUNDO – Today we were made aware that four players on the Brooklyn Nets have tested positive for COVID-19.

We have been in immediate contact with our players and basketball operations staff members since being made aware of this development.

Given the exposure risks from our game against the Nets on March 10th, we are following the next steps of our COVID-19 procedures and protocol that are established in consultation with various health officials, the NBA and our UCLA Health doctors.

The health and well-being of our players, staff, fans, and society in general, is of paramount importance to us, and will continue to be our focus.

We appreciate the support of our fans, family and friends, and wish everyone affected by this virus a speedy and healthy recovery.

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Lakers Statement

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We miss you guys already, let’s get through this together.

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LOS ANGELES – In response to the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the Los Angeles Lakers, LA Clippers, LA Kings and STAPLES Center have joined together to establish a fund to provide financial support to all hourly event staff employees impacted by the suspension of sporting events at STAPLES Center.  The fund is designed to provide compensation for wages lost by employees scheduled to work at suspended sporting events through the end of the NBA and NHL regular seasons.

Payments from the fund will be distributed to more than 2,800 active hourly event staff which includes ushers, security officers, ticket sellers, ticket takers, parking attendants, merchandise staff, food and beverage employees, housekeeping and operations staff and stage hands, among others.

Recognizing that the coronavirus is not just a health crisis but also an economic one, the organizations have come together in this unprecedented way to help the valued employees who work tirelessly to deliver outstanding guest experiences and teamwork that is the heart of STAPLES Center.

On Wednesday, March 11, we promised that we would keep you updated on our response to the evolving COVID-19/coronavirus situation and the impact on our events, operations, and your work schedule. As you may have seen in our communications to the public yesterday, our events at STAPLES Center have been suspended until further notice.

We understand that these extraordinary events have impacted all of our lives and, as a valuable member of the STAPLES Center team, your health and wellbeing is important to us.  To help you and your family get through these challenging times, we at STAPLES Center, the LA Clippers, LA Kings and Los Angeles Lakers have created a fund that will pay hourly event employees for shifts lost for all sporting events they were scheduled to work (that do not take place) through the end of the NBA and NHL regular seasons.  Our HR department will be providing further information on the distribution of payroll from the fund, as well as scheduling procedures, for events that did not take place, in the coming days.

We also want to remind you that you may be eligible for unemployment insurance and may obtain a determination of your eligibility by visiting www.edd.ca.gov/unemployment; or calling 800-300-5616 (English) or 800-326-8937 (Spanish).  Important information can also be found at https://www.edd.ca.gov/about_edd/coronavirus-2019.htm

Additionally, we wanted to provide you with two workforce resource centers that could provide you with job placement services should you need them. If you live in the County of Los Angeles, please visit https://wdacs.lacounty.gov/programs/workforce-development/.  If you live in the City of Los Angeles, please visit: https://ewddlacity.com/index.php/employment-services/adults-age-24-and-older/worksource-centers.

On behalf of the LA Clippers, LA Kings, the Los Angeles Lakers and STAPLES Center we thank you for your dedication, patience and valuable service.  We look forward to welcoming you back to work as soon as possible.  Should you have any questions regarding the above, please contact STAPLES Center Human Relations.

In keeping with our policy, should you be approached by any members of the media, we ask that you politely decline and direct them to Cara Vanderhook and Michael Roth of our Communications Department.

Thank you again and please stay well and safe!

AEG, LA Clippers, LA Kings and the Los Angeles Lakers organizations

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Lakers, Clippers, Kings and STAPLES Center Create Employee Fund to Benefit Hourly Event Staff

As you know, the NBA temporarily suspended its season in response to the coronavirus pandemic.  This decision was made to safeguard the health and well-being of fans, players, everyone connected to our game and the general public.  As Commissioner Silver advised in his recent letter to all NBA fans, this hiatus will last at least 30 days and we intend to resume the season, if and when it becomes safe for all concerned.

The Lakers and the NBA will continue to coordinate with infectious disease and public health experts along with government officials to determine safe protocols for resuming our games.  As the NBA develops the appropriate course for future games and events, we will keep you informed of any changes as soon as they happen.

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, fans will have the option to receive a credit for a future game or a refund. Notwithstanding, if you have travel or health concerns related to any of the upcoming games your tickets will be refunded at point of purchase.

Fans should return to Lakers.com or check the Lakers social platforms, where ticket and future schedule information will be announced as soon as it is available.  We will also have the latest news, updates, and interactive features to stay connected to the game, along with guidelines on how to keep yourself and your family safe and healthy.

Our team and the city of Los Angeles are committed to looking out for one another and for you, our fans.  This complicated situation transcends basketball and sports.  Together – with all levels of the government, public health officials, infectious disease specialists, and our local community – we must work as a team.

Thank you for your loyalty and patience during these unprecedented times.  We are grateful for your understanding and for being the best fans in sports.