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Report: 8 Non-Bubble Teams Coming to Orlando a 'Non-Starter' for NBPA
August 8, 2020
The NBPA is not interested in having the eight non-bubble teams head to Orlando, Florida, for offseason training camps at the conclusion of the NBA restart and postseason, according to a report from Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Per that report, "The NBPA won't agree to mandatory reporting for players on the eight teams outside of the restart but will eventually allow it on a voluntary level, sources said."
K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports added:
The eight non-bubble teams—the Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers, Minnesota Timberwolves and Golden State Warriors—reportedly aren't thrilled with the huge layoff they'll have between their seasons ending in March after the league went on hiatus and resuming in December.
Per Woj, those teams fear falling further behind the bubble teams.
"We are looking at nine months between games now, and if the season is delayed, we are looking at possibly a full year between competitive games," one general manager told Woj. "That's unprecedented in the history of the sport. We deserve help here."
There's merit in that concern, namely for the teams built around younger players who are still building NBA experience and chemistry with their teammates. A nearly nine-month layoff for those players simply isn't something that has ever happened in the past, outside of lockouts or individual players dealing with things like injuries or suspensions.
A young team seemingly on the rise like the Atlanta Hawks, for example, won't want an All-Star like Trae Young to have such a long period away from his teammates.
"We're a young team," general manager Travis Schlenk said in May, per Michael Cunningham of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "The more chances to play, the better."
But for teams like the Hawks to avoid such a long layoff, an agreement between the NBA and NBPA for workouts at team facilities is their best hope.