Some eye-opening NBA news dropped this week when it was reported that the league is closing in on a second bubble that would allow the eight teams not invited to the Orlando restart to shake off the cobwebs and play games against each other.
We understand that certain players are itching to get back on the hardwood, but considering the heath risks this project seems entirely unnecessary, and we seriously hope that all eight teams vehemently pass on participating.
The NBA is closing in on signing off on a second “bubble” in Chicago for the eight teams that were not invited to play in Orlando, enabling mini-training camps and subsequent games against other clubs with a target date of September, sources tell ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 2, 2020
What’s extremely discouraging? The fact that seven of the eight teams involved were on a conference call on Thursday to discuss the plan, which would be based in Chicago. Only the New York Knicks failed to have a representative present. Whether that’s because the franchise is totally against the idea or were merely living up to their inept billing isn’t totally clear.
Just this week, the NBA announced that nine more players tested positive for the coronavirus, which increased its total number of cases to 25 of 351 players, or seven percent. There’s already a number of players on championship favorites — Avery Bradley of the Los Angeles Lakers, for example — opting to sit out the restart due to concerns over playing amid the pandemic. Why would players on lottery teams voluntarily put themselves and their families at risk for a few meaningless scrimmages?
We get where the NBA is coming from, but these eight teams should definitely not sign off on this project. When we say we don’t need to see the Golden State Warriors take on the Cleveland Cavaliers one or two more times this season, we mean that literally any other content would suffice.
