Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey wears some of the effects of stopping the NBA all over his face. With the kind of beard you’d expect to see on someone thrown away on a remote island and talking to a volleyball, Morey has his anxieties about what’s coming for the league.
The teams will head to Orlando, Florida, to restart the NBA over three days from Tuesday before training camps can begin in preparation for the reopening on July 30th.
Positive tests for COVID-19 continue to record. Some teams have closed their practice facilities. And for people like Morey, who don’t know for sure if the 69-year-old Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni will be allowed to participate, it’s a critical moment.
However, all in all, the bearded executive has confidence. That’s why he’ll be on one of those planes.
“I think it would be pretty bad to ask players to do something I’m not doing,” he said during a Zoom call on Monday. “I’m sure we have the best plan in a difficult situation. Does this make the situation perfect? No. But I think a lot of work has been devoted to this.
“It’s as safe as possible.”
There are different levels of confidence in the NBA bubble, but most of all agree that the league can do the best in all conditions. NBA sources have insisted that the plan, although comprehensive, is not cemented and that the league is ready to adapt if necessary.
Between June 23 and 29, 25 players tested positive for coronavirus. Another 10 staff members tested positive. Seven of the 22 teams headed to Orlando, including the Clippers, closed their practice facilities after learning positive tests.
“I think there is new information every day and you have to make the best decision based on that information. As I speak to you right now, I think we are on the right track, on the right track,” said Morey. “But I think there is new information every day. We will see what will happen in the future. If anyone is sure of something right now, I think they are making a mistake. “
According to the league’s health and safety guidelines, within the 48 hours preceding the departure of a team in Orlando, he is required to hold a virtual education and training seminar conducted by a team doctor or an infectious disease expert .
Teams will travel by rented plane or bus. All passengers must have tested negative during league tests. If they returned a positive test, passengers must have met the league’s criteria to rejoin their teams. If a passenger exhibits COVID-19 symptoms or lives with someone who has or has recently had the virus or symptoms, they will not be allowed to travel with their teams.
Passengers will be asked to wash their hands before and after the security check process and will be checked for temperature and symptoms before boarding. You will also be asked to wear masks for the trip.
On the plane, passengers will be scattered with as many empty seats and rows as possible between them. Food and drinks will all be prepackaged, if available. Hand sanitizers and wipes will be readily available.
After landing, two buses and a luggage truck will await a team, with drivers wearing masks. When the team arrives on campus, everyone must wash or disinfect their hands.
After check-in, everyone must quarantine their hotel rooms for up to 48 hours (or until each traveler passes two coronavirus tests over 24 hours apart).
“Just stretch and watch Netflix,” said New Orleans pelican guard Lonzo Ball about the quarantine. “There’s really not much else you can do: try getting my show in.”
Bringing healthy players to the bubble – and keeping them that way – is the top priority for the coming weeks. The teams will move on to the next phase of training, complete team practices, which can begin on Thursday.
“I believe in the plan developed by the NBA. I think everyone – this has influenced everyone in the world – is anxious about the horrible results that have happened in the United States and around the world, “said Morey.” I think everyone is going through it. Everyone has to weigh the risk that they are deciding to deal with the positive side of what we will have to do to continue living our lives. It is a difficult balance. “
That trust is not shared by everyone.
All-Star pilgrim Brandon Ingram didn’t stress too much about what’s going on around him. He comes from a city that has faced many challenges and that’s not too much to manage, he said.
“As for the players who are proving positive, I tell everyone, I feel like I’m from Kinston [N.C.]. I feel I am immune to many things and I am not really worried about this virus, “said Ingram.
This does not mean that he believes it will be smooth sailing. Asked if he thinks the league can take off this season, Ingram said …
“I’m not so sure,” he said. “It seems that everything is going through Orlando. But as you said, new cases are coming, different things are happening. I am not very confident. But they took us to Orlando [on Wednesday], then we’ll see. “
