NEW YORK (USA): NBA team facilities are set to reopen for individual player workouts on Friday, but in those areas where state and local governments have eased coronavirus lockdown restrictions.
It’s the first small step on the road to resuming a 2019-20 NBA campaign that was shut down March 12 after Utah’s Rudy Gobert tested positive.
However, the league has unveiled no timetable to return and says it could change its workout plan based on updated virus news.
“We’re excited… to take that first small step toward returning to play. We miss the competition. We miss the camaraderie,” Utah Jazz executive vice president of basketball operations Dennis Lindsey said in a posting on the club website.
“We’re going to ramp up systematically. The biggest goal is to have the confidence of the players and the staff that they can enter our facility safely.”
California lockdown rules will keep the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers from working out at team facilities.
The Utah Jazz don’t plan to open on Friday, Lindsey said.
“That could be within a day or two, but my best guess is it will be after May 8,” Lindsey said.
“We want to make sure the facility meets all the league specifications, the local and state health officials’ protocols, and then we’re going to be even more stringent with those standards and create our own.”
Last week, Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James said he was ready for the NBA to return, refuting a report some agents and team executives want the league to scrap the 2019-20 season.
CNBC reported that unnamed player agents and club executives say team owners worry about liability issues due to health concerns and a lack of revenue from playing in an empty arena for a television audience.
James, a four-time NBA Most Valuable Player and three-time NBA champion, disputed the report, saying he and his Laker teammates are prepared to finish the season when officials deem conditions are safe to do so.
“Saw some reports about execs and agents wanting to cancel season??? That’s absolutely not true,” James tweeted.
