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Warriors Rumors: GSW Targeting June 1 as 'Most Likely' Date to Open Facility
May 12, 2020
The Golden State Warriors are reportedly targeting June 1 as the date to reopen their team facility in San Francisco.
According to Anthony Slater of The Athletic, June 1 is the "most likely" reopening date, as they aren't expected to press the issue with the city still under a stay-at-home order through May 31. With the NBA's worst record at 15-50, Slater noted that the Warriors "don't have near the urgency of a team like the [Western Conference-leading Los Angeles] Lakers."
Slater added that the Warriors are "waiting for the order, not influencing it." Some teams began reopening their facilities on Friday under strict guidelines because of the coronavirus, including only four players being allowed in the building at once.
Last week, Cleveland.com's Chris Fedor reported on many of the protocols that would be in place ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers opening their facility on Friday.
In addition to the player limit, Fedor reported that those attempting to enter have to have their temperature taken and answer questions about how they're feeling, where they've been and who they've been around. Fedor also wrote that everyone in the facility would have to wear a mask at all times with the exception of players during physical activity.
Those players are required to be socially distant from one another, which eliminates the possibility of any team-related work, but the facilities reopening does allow players to do individual work on the court and in the weight room.
The 2019-20 NBA season has been suspended since March 11, when Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19. Several other NBA players have tested positive since, including Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell, Brooklyn Nets star Kevin Durant, Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart and Detroit Pistons forward Christian Wood.
At the time the season was suspended, there were well over 200 regular-season games to be played. The NBA has yet to announce a concrete plan for the resumption of the season, but it could result in the rest of the regular-season games being scrapped.
If that is the case, the Warriors will have already played their final game of the season unless a radical plan that gives every team a chance to make the playoffs is employed.
After reaching five consecutive NBA Finals, the Warriors fell off in a big way this season. The departure of Durant, Klay Thompson missing the whole year with a knee injury and Stephen Curry missing nearly the entire season with a broken hand all played a role in their drop-off.
Golden State has an eye toward next season, as a healthy core of Curry, Thompson, Draymond Green, Andrew Wiggins and a top pick in the 2020 NBA draft could make the Warriors championship contenders again in short order.