Woj: Some Players getting cold feet about playing in Orlando

[Black Jack]

To me the NBA is taking a MASSIVE risk here. If one player gets sick and goes to the ER...it is OVER. This could be a huge story and the NBA will look absolutely awful.

That said isn't it like 700M in TV money the league has to give up if hey cancel the season? I get it

Honestly if I was a player who didn't need the money I'd just stay home, damn the consequences. Any guys living check to check obviously have to go. Maybe high profile guys like LeBron have to. Maybe rookies looking for their first big payday have to play ball. But if I'm a veteran journeyman and my portfolio is already set? not a chance.

[levon]

"They didn't sign up for this".

You're making it sound like these "predominantly black men" are being assigned to concentration camps. They are going to be away from the wife, girlfriends and kids for a couple of months, living with lavish paychecks at Disney World and play **** basketball with their boys.

It gets clearer day by day how many dudes here just watch and gossip about, but don't really play, or LOVE playing, basketball. This is what these guys do, I would hope they would be thrilled to do it again.

Sign me up.

I don't have a ton of game myself, but basketball is a huge part of my life as evidenced by me even being and posting on this forum for years. These dudes are at the top of their craft, which means they've played through thick and thin and busted their asses to get here. You can't really accuse them of looking for excuses not to play the game they love. The fact that some of them have concerns about returning should be telling, that this issue is nuanced and there's more to life than basketball.

[Zvaart]

This season is turning into a massive joke....

[jpengland]

I don't blame them one jot.

Anybody with underlying health conditions, or with family members with such should be actively encouraged to stay away.

If you make the finals and any of your family members may be at risk then you are staying away from them entirely for, what, 3-4 months?

The.NBA should have actually made a responsible decision and pulled the season. If they wish to plough ahead, participation should be entirely voluntary. Talk of docked pay is absurd.

No matter what precautions are taken, it's too big and too long to prevent the virus entering the bubble.

We are also going to see rich young guys breaking rules left, right and centre. And this is in Florida which doesn't have any kind of handle on Covid.

[elchengue20]

Lol, i' m playing pickup these days just for the sake of playing basketball and these soft bithces can't play while they are getting paid millions.

If this gets any further i will start to believe that today's players are a lot softer than in the past.

[TimRobbins]

Covid 19 shouldn't be a big issue for young athletes. Very few in shape young people are getting seriously ill fro Covid 19. I'm not sure why the players are worried about this.

[AdagioPace]

They should do it in Alaska. Whats Alaska's usefulness if you can't even organize a NBA bubble there?

[jpengland]

Covid 19 shouldn't be a big issue for young athletes. Very few in shape young people are getting seriously ill fro Covid 19. I'm not sure why the players are worried about this.

JaVale McGee has asthma. Covid attacks the respiratory system.

He should be nowhere near this bubble.

[Lalouie]

I don't blame them one jot.

Anybody with underlying health conditions, or with family members with such should be actively encouraged to stay away.

If you make the finals and any of your family members may be at risk then you are staying away from them entirely for, what, 3-4 months?

The.NBA should have actually made a responsible decision and pulled the season. If they wish to plough ahead, participation should be entirely voluntary. Talk of docked pay is absurd.

No matter what precautions are taken, it's too big and too long to prevent the virus entering the bubble.

We are also going to see rich young guys breaking rules left, right and centre. And this is in Florida which doesn't have any kind of handle on Covid.

they never hear about underlying conditions until something happens and that's kinda the problem. the doctors won't look for something until it happens, florida is sec country and all they care about is their sports.......and there's been a spike already in fla

[bondom34]

Covid 19 shouldn't be a big issue for young athletes. Very few in shape young people are getting seriously ill fro Covid 19. I'm not sure why the players are worried about this.

JaVale McGee has asthma. Covid attacks the respiratory system.

He should be nowhere near this bubble.

Yup. Harden does too. Its a real risk for some of these guys, let alone if they worry about family.

[axeman23]

Leak the names

I have to imagine there are some “big names” in the mix.....otherwise this wouldn’t be a story

Maybe Kawhi thinks thinks there hasn't been enough time for load management, and the season's too condensed...

[UcanUwill]

I said this on youtube, but man, when I was young, I had to literally clean diarrhea for minumum wage, and I did, these guys are paid millions of dollars to play basketball, people did their best so they could still have a job as pro athletes in safe enviroment, and these guys have a nerve to act like this entitled a-holes. I seriously flipping out over this, you think nurses or mcdonnalds workers like to go to their freaking job, they might make less in ten year than you make in few weeks, and you act like your freaking job to play ball in freaking Disney world is too big a sacrifice? Seriously.

[Sofia]

i'm guessing it's the weak minded, young players who don't give a sh** and think they're there to have a good time at disney.

i don't think lebron minds, i don't think cp3 minds, i don't think westbrook or harden minds, and i don't think giannis minds.

this is why i think the teams with the advantage are the vet teams - players who have played 10 years and have no ring. vets who want to win cuz they made their money already. who get that this is a business.

if players are crying about quarantining, limited access to everything, then they don't want to win and they'll lose, and all is as it should be. they don't belong there and never should have been.

however i think this is an overblown thing. "some players" is what,,,the 3 players woj talked to???

What about the players who care about the health of their family?

Or their own mental well-being? Up to 3 months in a cage without the ability to come and go (keeping in mind they will need to fence the area off to keep people out of the bubble) may not be very appealing to many players.

But that stuff doesn’t matter right? They get paid to do a job, shut up and dribble!

[Duke4life831]

Let's keep it 100. They aren't scared of COVID.

They're concerned with not being able to get pussy and weed while stuck inside Disney World for 2 months.

I bet Harden's first question was whether or not Disney World has a strip club.

Pretty much this. The majority of the NBA are guys in their mid to late twenties that are single and millionaires. Being trapped in a "Disney World bubble" for 2-3 months aint going to happen. Ya you probably have your rookies and guys who have bounced around leagues wanting to play and get the paycheck. But ya Im sure there is a good chunk of players would rather lose out on the 2 month salary and just wait till the new season starts up, so they dont have to get trapped in the bubble for 2 months.

There was no way of this actually working with a strict bubble. The vast majority of players aren't going to be cool with that. When the bubble idea first was talked about, Jared Dudley came out and said, "ya players will still be able to leave" haha. These guys dont want to be cooped up at Disney World for 2 months. Most guys will choose to take the small financial hit and be able to go out and have fun.

[hippesthippo]

I've said this before.. how long are these men supposed to remain celibate?

[NyKnicks1714]

I've said this before.. how long are these men supposed to remain celibate?

About a month

[hippesthippo]

I've said this before.. how long are these men supposed to remain celibate?

About a month

7 weeks. It was a rhetorical question.

[Ckay]

One of them is probably Devin Booker.

[DaddyCool19]

That is fine but those NBA players should be ready to lose a significant portion of their salary for doing it.

If NBA players are really serious then all of them should sit out because a lot of them have families. I just know that those same NBA players will not be happy losing money when NBA will lose money too.

You have to choose. It is not like NBA players are poor. Cancel the season and play the next one from December.

Who says there will even be a next one at this point? There certainly isnt going to be one this summer. I'd say next year is in doubt too.

In germany there are already discussions about letting some fans in for the next season and gradually increasing the number.

[Lalouie]

i'm guessing it's the weak minded, young players who don't give a sh** and think they're there to have a good time at disney.

i don't think lebron minds, i don't think cp3 minds, i don't think westbrook or harden minds, and i don't think giannis minds.

this is why i think the teams with the advantage are the vet teams - players who have played 10 years and have no ring. vets who want to win cuz they made their money already. who get that this is a business.

if players are crying about quarantining, limited access to everything, then they don't want to win and they'll lose, and all is as it should be. they don't belong there and never should have been.

however i think this is an overblown thing. "some players" is what,,,the 3 players woj talked to???

What about the players who care about the health of their family?

Or their own mental well-being? Up to 3 months in a cage without the ability to come and go (keeping in mind they will need to fence the area off to keep people out of the bubble) may not be very appealing to many players.

But that stuff doesn’t matter right? They get paid to do a job, shut up and dribble!

yeah well, imo the ones you're talking about are the younger guns, ie the ones who'll feel caged up. if they can't sacrifice being caged up for the sake of the ring, well that's what i'm talking about. i think the older vets can handle it, and that's my piont. now surely i am speculating on who the F*** is whining about this but this whole thing is speculatory anyway. i think the nba will be making this up on the fly because sh** will happen.

these nba venues will be the safest places in the usa. all the players are going to get a 10" rod stuck up their nose as far as it will go every day. everyone related to the team or in contact with them, or those who will service them(ie people who will work at the hotels the players staying at) will have to be quarantined as well! i'm gonna think the the players will tell their families to stay away if they feel it's unsafe. the last thing the nba wants is for ONE player to get covided and any relations, or the whole thing gets shut down, so this safety thing is really moot for all intents and purposes.

i'm sure all of these matters were touched upon, but "COLD FEET"? you mean they were ok with it before, started thinking about it, and then became worried later? in regards to covid, what more is there to say, if you're worried it would have been so even before any discussion about resuming the playoffs. woj is actually vague on the particulars. keep the families at home!!!! no, i think some players and orgs were concerned about getting the short end of the stick

it's who will have the willpower to withstand what will probably be a rigorous test of mind over environment. up until now, the players have probably been quarantining themselves in their 3million dollar homes. now they'll be cooped up in a hotel and restricted - advantage vets