It’s the first sign of a return to business for the NBA, but a return to the court remains distant.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the league has agreed to allow teams in those states that have loosened restrictions — Georgia, Oklahoma, Tennessee and South Carolina, with Texas expected to loosen its own on Monday — to open practice gyms to their players on a limited basis and consistent with the policies in each specific city.
Teams can open these facilities on a voluntary basis, and for individual work only.
Obviously, Toronto remains very much restricted. Unlike the U.S., where that country’s leader is pushing individual states to reopen and get back to business, here in Canada the approach has been very much more tempered.
According to the ESPN report, the league intends to work with teams on arrangements for their players.
What that means in regards to the Raptors is anyone’s guess at this point.
Management did not respond to texts last night.
Raptors players are spread all over North America, with a majority having returned to their off-season homes.
The team returned to Toronto from Salt Lake City, Utah, on March 10 following a game against the Jazz.
A night after their return, the league suspended the schedule upon learning that Rudy Gobert of the Jazz had tested positive for COVID-19.
The entire team and travelling party were tested in the next few days and only after a two-week self-isolation period were the players allowed to return to their off-season homes.
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