A clearer picture of what the NBA is going to look like this summer is beginning to emerge.
There are still some hurdles to navigate, and there will be until we see how successful the precautions the league is taking are on preventing a COVID outbreak within their bubble, but more and more it’s looking like that July 30 return to the court will be a go.
A coalition of players, led by Kyrie Irving and Avery Bradley, have certainly given the NBA and its players’ association pause for thought.
This group isn’t convinced a return to play this summer is the right thing, given the social landscape. There is a real fear from within that group that the reopening of the NBA season, followed by an extended playoff run, could take away from the strides being made against racial inequality in the wake of the social uprising following the death of George Floyd.
The other side of that argument is that by re-opening, the NBA can enhance the movement.
It seems very likely that there will be players who opt out of the re-start, and those players will not be disciplined but it will cost the individual.
According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, any player who chooses not to play in the resumed 2019-20 season must notify his team by June 24 and compensation would be reduced by 1/92.6 for each game missed.
The NBA, to its credit, is not treating this group as if they are troublemakers or something to be tolerated and then dismissed. They are hearing these opinions and replying with promised action.
Whether that is enough for the players in question remains to be seen, but as it stands now, the league is moving ahead with their return to play.
Here is a breakdown of how they will go about that:
— In order to begin with a clean slate, testing for all NBA personnel headed to Orlando will begin June 23. Each player and essential staff member — each team will take 34 members into the bubble — will take a PCR and antibody test. PCR testing will be repeated every other day, and antibody testing will be repeated if there is a positive test. An individual who returns a positive PCR test result must self-isolate and refrain from training for at least two weeks.
— Teams will conduct their own pre-bubble training camps beginning next week. For the Raptors, that means an away-from-home camp. There have been reports already that Toronto’s pre-bubble camp will occur in Naples, Fla., and that is the expected site, although there are still a few questions to be answered before the team is willing to make that official.
— Teams will begin arriving at Walt Disney World and enter the bubble July 9-11 with the expectation being the highest-seeded teams will arrive last as they are the teams expected to be in the bubble the longest.
— The teams have already been designated their hotels based on seeding. The Raptors will be at the Gran Destino along with the Bucks, Lakers, Clippers, Celtics, Nuggets, Jazz, and Heat.
The Thunder, 76ers, Rockets, Pacers, Mavericks, Nets, Grizzlies and Magic will be at the Grand Floridian.
The Blazers, Kings, Pelicans, Spurs, Suns and Wizards will be at the Yacht Club.
— Once in the bubble, NBA personnel can leave, but will be subject to specific re-entry protocol. The exceptions to that are team-directed medical care off-campus, birth of a child, severe illness, death in family, or family wedding and only with prior league approval for such extenuating circumstance.
— If an individual chooses to leave the bubble without prior league approval they are subject to a 10-14 day self-quarantine period upon return, a reduction in compensation for games missed, and enhanced testing (deep nasal swab). They may also be subject to a fine, suspension and/or removal from the campus entirely.
— Each team can bring an additional two staff members following every round of the playoffs.
— While the seeding games do not begin until July 30, each team will have the chance to play three scrimmage games against teams residing in the same hotel in advance of those seeding games. Those games will take place July 22-29.
— The seeding games will take place July 30-Aug 14.
— The play-in tournaments take place Aug 15-16.
— Playoffs begin Aug 17.
— Family and guests of the players can begin arriving Aug. 30.
— Conference semifinals take place Aug. 31-Sept 13.
— Conference finals are Sept 15-Sept 28.
— The NBA final would be Sept 30-Oct 13.
Copyright Postmedia Network Inc., 2020
