There is a significant number of NBA players who are "disappointed that everyone wasn’t given the opportunity to vote on whether to restart the 2019-20 season," according to sources cited by Chris Haynes of YAHOO SPORTS. Sources said that the complaint, "privately expressed by multiple players, is that every player’s voice wasn’t heard for this critical and potentially life-changing vote." The unease about "relocating to a quarantined campus during the COVID-19 pandemic was already viewed as hazardous and unnecessary to many players." But because of the George Floyd tragedy and the powerful movement for racial justice, sources said that some players believe it is "bad optics for a league comprised predominantly of black men to be sequestered in one location for up to three months merely to entertain the masses and ease the league’s economic burden." Sources also said that several players have been "reluctant to express their views in fear of opposing the superstars who are adamant about playing if proper safety measures are in place" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 6/12).
PLAN TO PLAY: ESPN.com's Wojnarowski & Marks noted the NBA's 22-team Orlando restart schedule will see 14 teams "eliminated within 53 days of arriving -- and only four teams will remain after 67 days." The NBA is "planning to begin camps July 9-11." Sources said that teams will "briefly quarantine before beginning formal training camps before regular-season games resume July 30." Sources indicated that the six teams eliminated after eight regular-season games and a possible play-in tournament for the No. 8 seed "would leave Orlando within 35 to 40 days." Sources added that the NBA "expects the conference finals will end within a maximum of 82 days, leaving the two NBA finalists." Wojnarowski & Marks reported the league "expects the NBA Finals could start by Sept. 30." Sources said that several roster rules that the NBA and NBPA have agreed on are "expected to govern the league's resumption at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex." Wojnarowski & Marks reported playoff rosters will "consist of 15 players, including 13 active and two inactive." Once the playoffs start, teams can "replace any player who tests positive for the coronavirus with a substitute player." This new player "would be subject to a minimum seven-day quarantine period" (ESPN.com, 6/11).
