Report: NBA to allow limited activity to resume on May 1
NBA players will be allowed to return to team training facilities starting Friday, provided that their local governments do not have a stay-at-home order prohibiting such movement still in place as part of the response to the coronavirus pandemic.
The Warriors won’t be among the teams cleared to return with California under an indefinite stay-athome order. San Francisco’s order goes through May 3, but that is expected to be extended by city officials.
“We will abide by whatever guidelines the city of SF has in place,” a Warriors spokesperson said in an email Saturday.
Any workouts that take place would be voluntary and be limited to individual sessions only, according to a person familiar with the league’s decision. The person spoke to The Associated Press on Saturday on condition of anonymity because the directives from the league were not released publicly.
Group practices would not be allowed yet, and teams will not yet be permitted to organize in-person workouts.
But as certain states and municipalities began loosening restrictions on personal movement, the NBA decided it was time to let players return to their practice courts — if only on a limited basis. Georgia and Oklahoma are among the states that have allowed some businesses to reopen and some cities in Florida are expected to loosen their stay-at-home policies in the coming days, even though health officials are warning that such moves are being made too quickly.
For those teams in cities where stay-at-home orders still make such a return impossible, the NBA said it would work to find “alternative arrangements,” the person with knowledge of the matter said.
This move does not mean that a resumption of games is imminent. Still, the decision to let teams back into facilities is a significant step.
ESPN first reported details of the NBA’S decision. According to the report, the NBA is telling teams under stay-at-home orders that it will help find alternative sites for their players.
Many players have said they haven’t even had access to a basket since the league ordered teams to close their practice facilities on March 19. Jimmy Butler sent baskets to his Miami Heat teammates earlier this month, but some other players around the league said they haven’t even touched a basketball during the shutdown.
If they’re so inclined, that can now change. There remains no indicator about when a full-fledged return to organized team workouts will resume, however.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver has said on several occasions that the league does not anticipate being able to decide until sometime in May — at the earliest — if a resumption of the season is possible.
The NBA suspended the season March 11.