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Spoelstra says all 17 players will travel to Disney bubble
Erik Spoelstra has the math down on the player side of the equation. He said Wednesday that all 17 players under contract will be part of the Miami Heat’s traveling party for the resumption of the season later this month at Disney World.
It’s rounding out the traveling party that had the Heat coach conferring with Heat President Pat Riley at Wednesday’s decision deadline, with the NBA placing a limit of 35, including players, amid the new coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s an agonizing process,” Spoelstra said during a video conference call, of such limitations amid the league’s quarantine approach. “I think we all have to have a great deal of empathy and compassion for staff members who really have a big-time role that won’t be able to go.
“I just hate this term of ‘essential’ staff, and ‘non-essential’ staff.”
Skimping on players, Spoelstra said, was not a consideration,
with not only the 15 players under standard contract eligible for the resumption at the Wide World of Sports complex, but also the Heat two two-way players.
“We’re bringing all 17 guys for a reason, because we think everyone is healthy and ready,” he said. “We think our depth is going to be one of our biggest strengths. We can really go three deep at every position.”
Included in that depth is forward Derrick Jones Jr., the only known Heat player to have tested positive for COVID-19.
“He’s working out individually,” Spoelstra said. “He’s not here at our workout facility. Derrick is quarantining. He’s working out, doing Zoom workouts.”
The Heat are scheduled to depart for Orlando by bus on July 8, with league medical protocol requiring Jones to test negative twice before rejoining the traveling party. Heat testing remains ongoing.
“The realization that we’re a week out,” Spoelstra said of a departure that will leave his team in relative isolation for at least six weeks, possibly longer, depending on the playoff fate after the eight games that
will conclude the regular season. “That hit home a little bit more so today for me, personally.”
Spoelstra said it is a time like no other, and for far more than the basketball implications.
“I think we all are experiencing a level of anxiety and angst and stress about being away from our families for an extended period of time,” he said.
“There’s a level of risk everybody needs to manage. But we are comfortable this is really well thought out.”
The NBA has been idle since March 11.
The Heat will resume play Aug. 1, all games coming in the absence of fans. Spoelstra said the current individual workouts and the team drills that will commence at Disney come with championship focus.
“Competition matters,” he said. “We are going to approach that appropriately. We have a very competitive group. We are not going to go up there just to go through the motions.”
Among other topics addressed by Spoelstra:
■ Of working Meyers Leonard and Tyler Herro, with encouraging signs to this stage, he noted, “I think we had a pretty stable rotation when the season shut down.”
■ Of traveling amid the pandemic, “We’re taking every precaution that we possibly can.”
■ Of workouts being voluntary prior to Wednesday, “I think our guys have done a commendable job, in such extreme circumstances, staying physically fit.”
■ Of the Heat’s home success and road woes heading into a neutral site, “I think that’s something we were getting better with.” He added, “We’re in Florida, maybe I’ll just tell our guys we’re playing at home every day.”
■ He concluded by noting that the team has met to discuss systemic racism and will make that an ongoing priority, as will be a push to get out the vote.