The NBA is doing everything it can to combat the spread of coronavirus. Their latest move is to shut down team facilities.
According to multiple reports, the NBA is making another aggressive move to combat coronavirus. This time, they’re telling teams to shut down training facilities to players and staff. Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium was the first to report this.
Teams were informed today in a memo about facilities closing –with players being encouraged to take aggressive measures to continue to avoid contact with others and remain home as much as possible. https://t.co/3OedPb4qFt
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 19, 2020
The NBA is still in a state of flux due to the outbreak of coronavirus that has paralyzed the sports world. This is just the latest move by the league office in the face of a pandemic. First, the league was moving towards playing games without fans.
But Rudy Gobert‘s positive test set off a chain of events that led to the league beginning a hiatus. Gobert was the first player to test positive for coronavirus, but there are now seven confirmed cases in the NBA.
Gobert and his Utah Jazz teammate Donovan Mitchell were the first, but they were followed by Detroit Pistons big man Christian Wood. Earlier this week, four Brooklyn Nets—including Kevin Durant—tested positive for coronavirus.
At this point, “hiatus” might not be the right word to use because there’s no official return date for the 2019-20 season. During an appearance on ESPN, Silver discussed what would need to happen for the league to begin playing games.
Adam Silver lists the criteria needed to resume NBA play after the Coronavirus shutdown: pic.twitter.com/lwPjQaR8zX
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) March 18, 2020
“I’m looking at three different things here,” Silver said. “One is, of course, when can we restart and operate as we’ve known it — 19,000 fans. And that’s one set of criteria.
“Option two is should we consider starting without fans and what would that mean? Because presumably if you had a group of players and staff around them and you could test them and follow some protocol, doctors and health officials may say it’s safe to play. So that’s the second set of circumstances.
“And then a third option that we’re looking at now…One of the things we’ve been talking about is are there conditions in which a group of players could compete and maybe it’s for a giant fundraiser or just the collective good of the people.”
Silver lays out three scenarios in which the NBA could begin playing again, but this isn’t all that inspiring. But again, this is an unprecedented situation and it’s impossible to know how to handle it.
This story seems to change by the hour.
