6:35pm: Group workouts and organized team activities will still be prohibited, Wojnarowski adds in a full story. In areas where longer stay-at-home orders are in place, the league will try to help teams find other arrangements so their players can train.
5:17pm: The NBA will let some teams reopen their practice facilities to players beginning Friday, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The permission will only apply in cities and states where governments have relaxed their stay-at-home orders, Woj adds.
The league ordered all 30 teams to shut down their facilities effective March 20 in an effort to stem the spread of the coronavirus. Several teams had announced voluntary closures before that mandate was issued.
Georgia was one of the first states to begin relaxing restrictions, with some businesses reopening yesterday. Several players were asking their teams if they should find a way to get to the state to work out, according to Wojnarowski, but teams want to make sure their athletes are in safe, clean and controlled environments (Twitter link).
Wojnarowski cautions that the NBA’s decision doesn’t mean plans are in place to restart the season, but the league wants players to be able to safely return to their team’s gyms (Twitter link). A source tells ESPN that commissioner Adam Silver and the owners believe they need more time to determine whether the season can be salvaged.
A few writers examine how the decision will affect the teams they cover:
- The Hawks haven’t heard anything official from the league, according to Chris Kirschner of The Athletic (Twitter link), and there’s no plan in place to begin using the team facility again.
- May 8 is the earliest date the Hornets could reopen, tweets Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link). North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has issued a stay-at-home order for the state through then, with plans to begin phasing it out.
- Michigan is under a stay-at-home order until at least May 15, so the Pistons have nearly three weeks before they can reopen, adds Rod Beard of The Detroit News (Twitter link).
doesn’t the NBA prohibit teams from having an advantage over other teams
Every team will have the same 30 days or whatever to get ready for a season if there is one. With this plan they’re still not allowed to work out in groups.
Yea until the 2nd wave hits… smh
The flu also hits every year killing much more people than this virus, but we don’t stop our lives for it, right?
Yea just like the normal flu, everyone can just get their vaccine and go back to work and school just like is normally required from schools and employers… wait.
The flu doesn’t kill 50,000 people in 2 months. Just stop it.
203,000 deaths / 2,918,000 cases = 6.9% mortality rate. Regular seasonal flu = 0.1% so 69x the seasonal flu’s mortality rate. If you go walking down the path on the left you have a 69x likelier chance of dying, than if you go down the path on the right. You would obviously go left based on your statement right?
Good English there El Don, it’s killing many more people, not much.
Also, while the Flu kills a higher percentage of the people who contract it, Coronavirus has the ability to infect tremendously more people, ultimately leading to more death.
32,000 Americans died from the Flu during the 2018-19 season, 54,000 have died from Coronavirus in less than two months.
Greg I think you did the same thing yourself by using ,”tremendously more people.” LOL. It’s about the same as “much more people”
Grammer scuffle!
It’s great when people point out errors that mean nothing and then go do the same themselves.