There is concern for allowing teams to practice at their facilities, then go home to their familiesNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
The eight teams not involved in the NBA's Orlando restart "were pushing for mandatory Organized Team Activities to make up for missing out," but the league and its players association "won't allow any of it to be mandatory," according to sources cited by Marc Berman of the N.Y. POST. Sources said that some teams "lobbied to have a one-site summer-league tournament with the eight teams, but the massive COVID-19 protocols in Orlando are too complex to implement for random teams." The "concern is having the eight teams practice at their facilities, then allowing players to go home to their families." That is "contrary to the rules followed by the 22 teams in the Orlando bubble scheduled to start July 7." Sources said that the league "hasn't ruled out informal group-setting team workouts, based on state social-distancing laws, but only voluntarily and with strict guidelines" (N.Y. POST, 6/30).
TALKIN 'BOUT PRACTICE: In Charlotte, Rick Bonnell noted Hornets coach James Borrego "argued passionately earlier this month that the eight teams not in Orlando should at least be allowed to practice in June to lessen a major competitive disadvantage." NBA teams "aren't typically allowed to practice as a group in the offseason, other than a brief run-up to summer league that doesn't generally include veterans." These "extreme circumstances -- a nine-month layoff, the first three months of which the players weren't allowed in practice facilities -- has those eight teams seeking remedies" (CHARLOTTE OBSERVER, 6/27).
