NBA training facilities may open in states where governors and mayors have opened the local economy after a coronavirus shutdown, according to several reports.
That the league is hot to resume play is not a secret–Commissioner Adam Silver has said he wants his to be the first sport to resume play after the coronavirus shutdown affecting the entire sports industry–and allowing training facilities to open would be a big first step in resuming action down the road, even if it’s the playoffs held in a single site, say, Las Vegas. The Friday opening of NBA training facilities would take place only in cities where governors and mayors have approved a limited opening, such as Florida, Georgia and Oklahoma.
The opening, however, will be limited to individual players in training and no organized group practices. From AP:
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….
In the NHL, suspended at about the same point of the season as the NBA, Deputy Commissioner Bill Daly said league officials “haven’t made any decisions yet.” Daly said only the NHL owes players and teams guidance before April 30 and will consider its next steps in that context.
