Report: NBA 'Motivated' to Arrange OTAs for Teams Not Involved in Restart Plan

The NBA will resume its 2019-20 season at Walt Disney World Resort near Orlando, Florida, on July 31, but only the 22 winningest teams will be playing:

"The league is motivated to arrange OTAs for the eight teams to prevent players from showing up at random, uncontrolled summer league pickup-game environments," according to Marc Berman of the New York Post.

"The eight teams who are not playing need parameters and guidelines for offseason work," a league official told Berman. "The hope is to get clarity at some point soon so these teams can start organizing and planning their offseasons."

The eight teams eliminated from contention under the return-to-play plan are the 15-50 Golden State Warriors, 19-45 Minnesota Timberwolves, 19-46 Cleveland Cavaliers, 20-47 Atlanta Hawks, 20-46 Detroit Pistons, 21-45 New York Knicks, 22-43 Chicago Bulls and 23-42 Charlotte Hornets.

The new league dates are below:

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Friday that eliminated teams "are seeking unprecedented offseason access to players" and relayed a list of four ideas front offices have proposed to the league:

• A combination of voluntary and mandatory workouts for two weeks in July.

• Regional minicamps in August that include joint practices for a period of days and approximately three televised games.

• Organized team activities (OTAs) for mid-September.

• Teams want an opportunity for training camps to start seven to 10 days earlier for the 2020-21 season for those teams left out of Orlando.

The NBA originally suspended play March 11 after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus. Concerns over public health and safety associated with the COVID-19 pandemic led to the remainder of the season being played in an Orlando bubble.

The league's Board of Governors approved the plan Thursday, and the players association followed suit Friday:

Each team will play eight regular-season games acting as "play-in" games before the traditional playoff format takes effect.