It’s not a matter of if, but when.
That’s the message that the NBA appeared to send to its teams on Saturday when, on the precipice of the commencement of its 2020-21 season, it sent out a 134-page COVID-19 safety protocol guide to its teams outlining the procedures and regulations dictating the terms of COVID-19 absences (and returns).
ESPN’s Tim Bontemps reported on the contents of the guide, including specific information with respect to how teams will respond to positive tests among its personnel, including players.
One of the most interesting details is the fact that a positive COVID-19 test will result in a player being away from his team for a minimum of 12 days.
Similarly interesting is the fact that the league goes out of its way to mention that “independent cases” or that an “expected number” of COVID-19 cases will not result in a suspension of play or a cancellation of the season.
…any player who is determined to have a new positive case from testing — whether they have symptoms or not — will not be allowed to participate in any exercise training for at least 10 days from either the positive test or the resolution of symptoms, if they have any.
Once a player has waited that minimum of 10 days, they then must spend two days working out by themselves… So any player who tests positive will have to miss a minimum of 12 days before they can return to play.
Players who test positive will also be put into “isolation housing,” which will be paid for by their team. This, as Bontemps explains, requires the league revising one of the collective bargaining agreement’s circumvention rules whereby teams are prohibited from providing players housing.
Typically, teams are unable to pay for housing for their players, as it is seen as a way to circumvent the league’s salary cap. However, in this unique situation, the league has waived that to allow for teams to be able to pay for isolation housing for any players who test positive.
With training camps set to convene this week and the preseason beginning on Dec. 11, the NBA is pushing forward with its plans to begin its 2020-21 season, despite the fact that the coronavirus cases have been increasing at an alarming rate in many of the markets in which the league operates.
Similarly to Major League Baseball and the National Football League, though, the NBA has decided that the show must go on. As a result, the league has done its best to prepare its teams for the inevitable fact that at least some players will contract the disease.