Restart Notes: “Smart Rings,” Tampering, Staff, COVID-19

The Oura “smart ring” could play an important role in keeping players safe in the Orlando “bubble” environment, writes Samantha Previte of The New York Post. The rings were mentioned in the 100-page restart plan that the NBA unveiled earlier this week.

All players and staff members will be given the option to wear the diagnostic rings, which have sensors that keep track of heart rate, respiration rate, body temperature and other important health statistics. The data is put into an algorithm to predict the onset of COVID-19. Wearing the rings is optional, and participants won’t have access to their own data. It will be sent to the University of Michigan to create an illness risk index.

The NBA also plans to use smart technology to compile data on bubble residents’ temperatures, blood oxygen saturation levels, locations and pairwise proximity, Previte adds. Everyone staying at the Walt Disney World resort will receive smart thermometers, pulse oximeters, Disney MagicBands and proximity alarms. The MagicBands can be used for contact tracing, and players will be required to wear them when they aren’t on the court.

There’s more information about the league’s restart:

• Tampering is among many concerns the NBA faces as it prepares to bring 22 teams into one location, observes Ethan Strauss of The Athletic. Players are likely to form new bonds as they are stuck in three hotels with a lot of down time between games. Strauss suggests that the eight teams not invited to Orlando could face a disadvantage in future free agency.
• Teams are also upset that the league is requiring them to designate roles for some members of their support staff, rather than giving them flexibility to bring whomever they want, Strauss adds in the same piece. Each team must bring at least one senior executive, athletic trainer, strength and conditioning coach, equipment manager and team security official. The GMs that Strauss interviewed all plan to serve as their team’s senior executive.
• Dr. William D. Parham, director of mental health and wellness for the National Basketball Players Association, believes players will have a strong platform to advocate for social change by returning to action, writes Tom Haberstroh of NBC Sports. “The history of using celebrity to raise social consciousness, conversation and action — there’s precedent behavior for that,” Parham said. “The question this time around, is this going to be different? I personally think it is going to be different.”
• The coronavirus rate in the Orlando area continues to be a concern, tweets Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. Orange County reported a 15.1% rate of positive tests Thursday.