Charlotte Hornets take a first step back toward normal, by opening practice gym
The Charlotte Hornets will reopen their practice gym Tuesday, as the NBA works toward restarting the season later this summer.
The gym, inside Spectrum Center, is the only part of the training facility opened to Hornets players, for individual, voluntary workouts. Other areas — such as the weight room, locker rooms and medical facilities — will remain closed, according to the Hornets’ announcement Monday.
The NBA suspended its season March 11, in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus. On March 19, the NBA told teams to close their training facilities and asked players not to use alternative gyms and basketball courts to stay in condition.
In early May, the NBA told teams they had the option to start reopening facilities, so long as that conforms to local laws and with conditions -- such as no more than four players in the facility at a time and other infection-control and social-distancing protocols.
Masks, health screenings
Each player can work individually with a Hornets coach, according to the team’s statement Monday. Staff working with players will wear masks and gloves. Players will wear masks inside Spectrum Center, except when working out. Temperature and health screenings will be conducted for anyone entering the building.
The Hornets and Brooklyn Nets opening training facilities Tuesday will mean 21 of 30 franchises have returned to some level of player activity. The NBA is progressing toward restarting the season later this summer; it is in talks with Disney about using the Wide World of Sports campus in the Orlando, Fla., area, as a central location for games.
The model under discussion involves teams relocating temporarily to a single location, where games would be played for television, but without fans, due to the pandemic.
More regular season?
It’s yet to be decided how the NBA would resume — whether any more regular-season games would be played, or if the league would go straight to the start of the playoffs, which would involve only 16 teams. The owners are expected to meet by video-conference later this week.
There is a financial downside to going straight to the playoffs: Teams have played roughly 65 of the scheduled 82 regular-season games. Not getting each team to at least 70 games would fail to meet schedules in TV contracts with various regional sports networks. That could cause additional financial losses in the millions for teams.
Restarting the season for all 30 teams causes different complications; players have had to work out as best they can at home the past two months, and it figures there would be a wide range of conditioning when players get back together.
The league would have a training camp/preseason of at least three weeks before again playing games, but that would still put players at risk of injury after a two-month layoff. A number of teams would have to resume with little or no chance of qualifying for the playoffs. Whether they would risk using top players in that circumstance is an open question.
While the Hornets are opening their training facility, the NFL Carolina Panthers are still holding off on that: While the NFL is allowing facilities to reopen with certain restrictions, the Panthers don’t currently plan to do so until early June.
This story was originally published May 25, 2020 at 1:00 PM.
