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Heat's Jae Crowder on NBA's Return: 'I Don't Want to Feel Like It's Rushed'
May 14, 2020
Miami Heat forward Jae Crowder wants the NBA to make sure things are as safe as possible if the league returns to finish this season.
Speaking to Richard Jefferson on SportsCenter's Instagram Live (h/t Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun-Sentinel), Crowder said "I don't want to feel like it's rushed" and explained his stance on the possibility of playing games.
"I don't want to feel like we have to rush because people are at home, not doing nothing, they just want to watch us play basketball and watch us work," he said. "But I do want to get back out there."
The NBA has taken small steps recently to potentially get back to playing games later this summer.
On Wednesday, Miami became the 10th NBA team to reopen its facilities for voluntary individual workouts since the regular season was suspended on March 11 amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The league has implemented strict guidelines for the workouts, including having no more than four players in a facility at the same time, everyone must stay 12 feet apart and no two players can shoot at the same basket.
Per ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, a virtual meeting between NBA commissioner Adam Silver and the board of governors left several participants feeling "increasingly positive" about the league resuming this season at some point.
Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium reported Silver told the board of governors he's "aiming for a two-to-four week timeline" to make a decision about whether or not to finish the season.
Crowder and the Heat were the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference with a 41-24 record when play was suspended. They hold an 11-game lead over the Orlando Magic in the Southeast Division.