Windhorst: NBA Team Executives, Agents Concerned Bubble Will Lead to Superteam

ESPN NBA insider Brian Windhorst said Friday that NBA agents and executives are concerned about the possibility of a future superteam as a result of the NBA bubble in Orlando, Florida.

Windhorst expanded on the concern during an appearance on ESPN's Get Up:

Windhorst said he heard "on more than four occasions" from agents and executives that teams being in such close proximity to each other in the bubble could lead to opposing players forming bonds and wanting to join forces during free agency in 2021.

The situation is somewhat comparable to what happened with the Miami Heat in 2010, as LeBron James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade all formed a bond playing for Team USA at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, which led to James and Bosh joining Wade as members of the Heat.

Windhorst theorized that such a scenario is less likely to happen in the bubble since the players are still competing against each other rather than teaming up like James, Bosh and Wade did in Beijing.

The 2019-20 NBA regular season has been suspended since March because of the coronavirus pandemic, but 22 of the league's 30 teams were invited to Orlando to finish the regular season and the playoffs.

Each of the 22 teams will play eight more regular-season games, with the top eight teams in each conference then playing out the normal postseason format. Games will be played without fans and players have been adhering to social distancing measures off the court.

Some teams have already played scrimmages, and the regular season is officially set to resume July 30 when the New Orleans Pelicans face the Utah Jazz and the Los Angeles Lakers face the Los Angeles Clippers.

The 2020 NBA Finals will end no later than Oct. 13, and free-agent negotiations can begin Oct. 18.