Charlotte Hornets finally cleared by NBA, union to have group practices next month
The NBA and players union have agreed to a plan allowing the Charlotte Hornets and the other seven teams not in the restart to practice in groups settings.
Since the NBA season was halted March 11, teams not on Disney’s campus have only been allowed individual-player workouts. The new plan has two phases: From Sept. 14 through Sept. 20, players and staff from each team will go through daily COVID-19 tests while individual workouts continue at team facilities.
From Sept. 21 through Oct. 6, teams will be cleared to hold group activities at team facilities, including skills and conditioning sessions and intrasquad scrimmages. Each of the eight teams will be required to establish campuses in their home cities, including living arrangements for players and staff that separate them from the general population.
According to the NBA’s release Tuesday night, “to participate in group training activities, players and team staff must remain on campus.”
Player participation in these offseason activities will be entirely voluntary. In addition to players under Hornets contract, the team can invite up to five players who were with the G-League Greensboro Swarm last season.
Hornets general manager Mitch Kupchak and coach James Borrego issued statements through the team, reflecting relief they now have opportunity for offseason development. The Hornets pivoted heavily toward a rebuild this season, with six players in their first or second NBA season accounting for nearly half the total playing time.
“We are confident in this agreement between the NBA and the NBPA allowing us to (improve) in as safe and productive manner as possible,” Kupchak said.
Borrego added, “the chance to grow together, work out as a unit and continue to develop is probably what we missed most by not being in Orlando. Now, we get to do that here in Charlotte.”
The league and the union have negotiated for months on a way for the teams not in the restart — nicknamed the “Delete 8” — to avoid going nine months or more with no real practice opportunities. Players have been limited, at the Hornets’ Spectrum Center practice facility, to individual workouts with coaches and weight training.
Kupchak told The Observer on Aug. 14 he believes the teams at Disney gained a season or more worth of development opportunity not available to the Hornets.
“It’s been an almost insurmountable challenge over the last four or five months to continue to get players to come in on a regular basis, and stay motivated and not lose interest under the present conditions,” Kupchak said. “It’s a major blow to our development and progress as a team in transition.
“To think that it may continue for another three or four months really makes me pause and wonder: ‘Are we falling a year behind schedule? A year and a half behind schedule?’ ”
The 2020-21 NBA season won’t start before December. Reports say the NBA could push the start of next season into 2021.
Any offseason group activity for the eight teams not in the restart had to be approved by the players union. Union executive director Michele Roberts expressed misgivings, during a media conference call in late June, about any activities that didn’t replicate the stringent health-and-safety protocols established for the NBA’s restart in the Disney bubble.
“I know there are some players, particularly young players, that seem concerned they’re not getting enough” offseason opportunities, Roberts said.
“... But there’s a standard. It’s a standard that’s got to be met, and if it’s not met, next question as far as I’m concerned.”
Kupchak has said the Hornets have had solid player attendance at the practice facility, despite the limitations on activity.
It’s far from a given that all players will agree to be part of group workouts. For instance, many players becoming free agents in mid-October could be reluctant to participate. Also, some players might not be in Charlotte or might choose not participate over health concerns.
This story was originally published August 18, 2020 at 9:38 PM.
