Some players have concerns with return plan
While the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association continue to negotiate the terms of next month’s return, dozens of players have raised questions about the plan’s format, schedule, health and safety protocols, and its timing within the context of nationwide protests after the death of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis.
In an internal memo sent Friday to teams, the NBA indicated that plans for the resumption of the 2019-20 season remain on track, with all players instructed to return to their markets by June 22 and games set to begin at a single-site campus on July 30 in Orlando, Fla., one day earlier than initially proposed. But the league and its players have yet to reach agreement on a health and safety protocol, with union members airing grievances and asking questions Wednesday during a virtual meeting.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced plans June 4 for a 22-team return, with the NBPA’s executive committee voting to approve the framework a day later. A group of stars, including LeBron James, have remained united in favor of a return throughout the league’s three-month shutdown, and an informal poll of NBPA members in mid-May reflected broad support. The NBPA’s executive committee, led by Oklahoma City point guard Chris Paul, rather than the full union body, voted to proceed with the Orlando plan.
Dissenting voices consistently have raised fundamental questions since the Orlando plan first emerged. Given the scope of the novel coronavirus pandemic, which has claimed at least 112,000 lives in the United States, some have asked if it is even worth returning? How, exactly, will the NBA ensure the safety of its players? How restrictive will life be within the campus? Will families be allowed to visit?
Concern mounted for some players last week when the NBA and NBPA set its timetable for a return before providing a clear picture of day-to-day life on the campus to all players.
“I’m still up in the air a little bit,” Portland Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony told TNT earlier this week, when asked if he would play in Orlando. “We don’t have all the details. We don’t know a lot of information. Until we have that, it’s hard to commit to it 100 percent.”