Saturday brought a rare piece of good news for those hoping that the NBA will eventually be able to complete its 2019-20 season, if you’re into reading tea leaves.
According to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the league will allow teams in markets where local governments have rolled back stay at home orders to reopen their training facilities beginning on May 1. The news comes in the wake of Georgia easing its own stay at home orders, including allowing public gyms to reopen.
Although the news doesn’t necessarily mean that the league will resume play, at a minimum, the league is obviously determining the circumstances under which it can sanction players utilizing facilities for basketball activities. In any potential scenario where games would be played, that would be a necessary first step.
In recent weeks, Chris Paul and others affiliated with the league have mentioned the fact that many of the league’s more than 400 players didn’t have access to courts and workout facilities. Members of the training staff community are advocating for four weeks of training time before the resumption of meaningful games, mainly because many of the league’s players won’t be in “game condition” after more than a month layoff.
This could be the beginning of finding some solutions.
According to the report, one of the league’s priorities was figuring out a way its players could at least work out on their own, and the concern level among league executives raised with the prospect of some states reopening while the league’s self-imposed closure remained in effect.
The NBA is reopening team practice facilities beginning on Friday for players in states and municipalities that are loosening stay-at-home restrictions amid the coronavirus pandemic, sources told ESPN.
Players can return to team facilities in states such as Georgia for voluntary individual workouts as soon as next week, which allows for NBA organizations to start allowing players to return to training in a professional, safe environment.
Despite the partial reopening, teams will still be prohibited from hosting team workouts or organized activities. The report also specifically states that the action doesn’t reflect that any timeline has been established for a potential return to play.
The NBA’s decision to reopen facilities based on the loosening of local governmental policies isn’t reflective of a new timetable for a resumption of play this season, sources said. Commissioner Adam Silver and owners still believe they need more time for a clearer picture on whether, when or how they could possibly resume the season, sources said.
While we may still be somewhat far from normalcy, expanded availability of tests and now, the reopening of some facilities, at least represents a step in the right direction.
For teams located in markets that remain under stay at home orders, the league will reportedly work with those teams and their players to find a safe solution to allow the players to get back to training — somewhere if not in the training facilities.