The NBA training in sights
While the 2019/2020 NBA season is still waiting for a conclusion, hoping not to be simply cancelled like certain sports tournaments all over the world (French and Dutch football league, Indian Wells Masters 1000 in tennis, Chinese volleyball league…), its actors keep on considering the possibility of a resumption. This week (Friday), among the fifteen eligible franchises, whose eligibility actually depends on local authorities and measures implemented locally to tackle the pandemic, three decided to make their training facilities available for players who are wishing to practice away from home. Players are free to use them or not.
The three franchises that chose to open the centers are the Denver Nuggets of Canadian point guard Jamal Murray, the Portland Trail Blazers of Damian Lillard and one team in the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers of Kevin Love and former Piston center Andre Drummond. Adam Silver, commissioner of the NBA, planned to call some players in those teams in order to have their feedback on that special day and how safe they felt.
If everyone in the NBA, especially its players (like LeBron James recently claimed), hopes for a return of the best league in the world, it is a little more complicated in practice, and one can easily understand why. Several other franchises had obtained the approval of local authorities to allow their players to have access to their usual training center, but most of them preferred postponing, such as the Orlando Magic or the Miami Heat in Florida.
The Utah Jazz, where everything started with French center Rudy Gobert, also had the possibility to go back to training but the players of coach Quin Snyder will stay home at least for the next few days. A return in training facilities will not accelerate things regarding the resumption of the season, but this is still a beginning.
By Guillaume Mahot
