Big calls to make in Disney bubble NBA

BEN Simmons, Patty Mills and Thon Maker could be heading to Disney World, though Joe Ingles and Matthew Dellavedova may not return to the NBA court.

Orlando’s Walt Disney World Resort has emerged as the clear frontrunner to host the league if the season resumes.

The COVID-19 pandemic shut the NBA down on March 11.

The Athletic reported yesterday NBA teams could be fully training in mid-June and playing games in Orlando by mid-July.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver had floated the possibility of dual sites — Orlando and Las Vegas — where teams could play in a “bubble” to protect players, team staff and officials from the coronavirus.

Orlando, spurred on by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis who last week called on “all professional sports” to practise and play in his state, is favourite to be the sole site.

“What I would tell commissioners of leagues is: ‘If you have a team in an area where they just won’t let them operate, we’ll find a place for you here in the state of Florida’,” DeSantis said.

Ingles, a key member of the Utah Jazz who sit in fourth place in the Western Conference, has said he is prepared to “walk away, fly to Australia and never play another game in my life and be very content with it” to protect his family from the virus. His wife, Renae, is expecting their third child and four-year-old son Jacob has autism and a weakened immune system.

Dellavedova’s Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Larry Nance Jr has raised doubts about whether the tough Australian guard will play.

Dellavedova and wife Anna welcomed son Anders into the world last November. “If I were him, no I’m not subjecting myself to that,” Nance Jr told reporters.