Woj: Some Players getting cold feet about playing in Orlando

[Texas Chuck]

Can't wait until guys tell Smitty who originally proposed the WDW idea and who led the reporting on the issue that's he wrong.

[BlueSan]

Is it me or does it feel like it will be inevitable that important players will test positive mid series?

From where... no one coming in and out and tests daily, doesn't get safer than that

[BlueSan]

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.

And Virus is gone in December right? Like the flu virus which has magically gone away also?


We have to learn how to live with it not stop living until it goes away, cause that ain't happening

[D.Brasco]

Is it me or does it feel like it will be inevitable that important players will test positive mid series?

From where... no one coming in and out and tests daily, doesn't get safer than that

That's what the UFC said about their precautions and there's been about a fighter each event who has to drop out due to testing positive.

The virus can stay dormant for a while and testing isn't 100%.

The league is allowing the teams to have 17 player rosters for the fact it seems like they expect potentially 1 or 2 players per team may test positive.

I think a lot more people are carrying the virus then we think but it's a crapshoot some people never show symptoms others end up in the ICU.

[SF_Warriors]

Is it me or does it feel like it will be inevitable that important players will test positive mid series?

From where... no one coming in and out and tests daily, doesn't get safer than that

I'm sure that precautions were made and that it would be as isolated as possible, but I can still see scenarios where nba players can interact with individuals that may have been exposed:

Chefs, food preps, or delivery persons - The nba can hire a catering company and isolate them for the entirety of the playoffs, but those guys still have to go out and buy groceries/materials or have them delivered. People will be handling and delivering the food that the players eat. People will be setting up areas for dining or delivering food to the players rooms. i mean, we are talking a large group of people needed to prep and feed these guys.

Medical professionals/trainers - These guys are probably the least of my worries as they will most likely be working for the team and would be isolated.

Drivers - Are the players being driven from their housing quarters to the facilities for practices and games? If they are, I can almost guarantee those guys would be local, and not isolating from the outside world. How about the drivers taking the players to the hotel from the airport?

Housecleaning/maintenance - The people cleaning the rooms the players stay in and also cleaning/maintaining the gym they play in..There WILL be people needed to make sure the players are catered to and people are also needed in case things need fixing, etc. I can almost guarantee all those people are not living in isolation. Then there's the people handling the players' laundry, luggage, other equipment. I really don't think this will work with only one practice/playing facility so if we are talking about multiple facilities and all the local staff needed to have everything run smoothly...

Security Personnel - If they are a local company, those guys are not isolating..Maybe the housing quarters and Disney has their own security team? Or would the nba hire their own security team and have them stay in that area and not allowed to go out, etc?

Players may have been exposed prior to getting on the flight to Orlando. There will be flight attendants on the plane..how about from the airport, where they will most likely get into some form of interaction with airport staff and how about drivers of the bus to the housing facilities/hotel? What about the refs, timekeepers, ball boys, logistics staff that also had to go through airport security?

Frankly, the more I think about it, the more complicated it seems...We are talking about having 16 teams stay in an isolated area for weeks and even longer for some teams as the playoffs progress, and not expecting them to go anywhere or do anything except play ball? Or if teams are being rotated through and flying in and out that makes it even worse. There's also some doubt in my mind that the players will travel to orlando as a team, so we are talking a bunch of guys coming in from multiple airports, being driven by multiple drivers to the hotel..

Also a possibility, I can totally see a scenario where players or nba staff might want to go out and about after a couple of weeks isolated in a hotel room.. or they might want to get food delivered from an outside source.

[twyzted]

I can tell you with 100% certainty that the NBA did not consider playing in a bubble outside of the United States. Not sure where Iceland came from, but that wasn't a thing.

I can also tell you that only three sites were under any sort of serious consideration: Walt Disney World, Las Vegas and Houston. Houston came in too late and Las Vegas had way too many concerns to be worked through. What landed the NBA at WDW is that WDW is private property and can restrict access far easier than anywhere else can.

It was in the news over here. They did contact the basketball association over here

iceland had the opportunity to be the center of the NBA league's return to basketball after COVID-19.

As with other professional teams in the United States, the NBA has looked for ways to get the race back after suspending because of corona virus.

The conclusion is almost clear that the NBA team will probably play in the Disney park in Florida State.

According to Sports Department sources, formal discussions took place between the NBA's defending team and the Basketball Association of Iceland.

The NBA was considering bringing their teams to the country and playing some of the remaining games here. That would have meant that the team had come to Iceland with all their players, employees and coaches and stayed in Icelandic hotels.

Hannes S. Jónsson, chairman of the KKÍ, confirmed in a conversation with the Sports Department that formal communication had taken place between the union and the NBA. He did not want to comment on the matter otherwise.

NBA manager Adam Silver is a forward-thinking and innovative guy. It was he who participated in the talks with the Basketball Association of Iceland.

The relationship between Iceland and the NBA has been very good over the years. Channel 2 was one of the first television stations in the world outside the United States to broadcast live from the NBA.

David Stern, who is considered by many to be the most important manager of the NBA, was a admirer of iceland and he and Einar Bollason, who announced NBA games in previous years on Icelandic television, were in good contact.

The idea of ​​continuing the game in the NBA has revolved around the teams staying in similar places in the so-called "bubble". The idea of ​​having the "bubble" in Iceland was formally debated, but in the end the NBA board decided not to go beyond the US.

Heres a link to the article its in icelandic but google will translate it but the text above is google translated article. I fixed some wording in it so it would be easier to understand.

I dont know how serious those discussion were but i highly doubt the chairman would lie about this.

[PistolPeteJR]

I don't blame players who may have that mindset especially since Florida is one of the State in which daily COVID-19 are on the rise not the decline. Safety first and no matter how well thought and sincere out the bubble situation may be it's not a 100% foolproof plan. Plus, many players don't want to be separated from their families or have to undergo a ten day quarantine for leaving the bubble area. As well as give up their summer vacation time.

The NBA would be smart just to cancel this season and move on to planning for having a successful 2020-21 season. As it stands now the NBA will be rushing into the 2020-21 season and the schedule will revert to an old one of 4 games in 5 night and more back to backs which will lead to a lot of player management scenarios from teams while robbing the fans of an enjoyable NBA experience.

If it don't fit don't force it just relax and let it go...

Florida is one thing. Disney is another.

[Smitty731]

I can tell you with 100% certainty that the NBA did not consider playing in a bubble outside of the United States. Not sure where Iceland came from, but that wasn't a thing.

I can also tell you that only three sites were under any sort of serious consideration: Walt Disney World, Las Vegas and Houston. Houston came in too late and Las Vegas had way too many concerns to be worked through. What landed the NBA at WDW is that WDW is private property and can restrict access far easier than anywhere else can.

It was in the news over here. They did contact the basketball association over here

iceland had the opportunity to be the center of the NBA league's return to basketball after COVID-19.

As with other professional teams in the United States, the NBA has looked for ways to get the race back after suspending because of corona virus.

The conclusion is almost clear that the NBA team will probably play in the Disney park in Florida State.

According to Sports Department sources, formal discussions took place between the NBA's defending team and the Basketball Association of Iceland.

The NBA was considering bringing their teams to the country and playing some of the remaining games here. That would have meant that the team had come to Iceland with all their players, employees and coaches and stayed in Icelandic hotels.

Hannes S. Jónsson, chairman of the KKÍ, confirmed in a conversation with the Sports Department that formal communication had taken place between the union and the NBA. He did not want to comment on the matter otherwise.

NBA manager Adam Silver is a forward-thinking and innovative guy. It was he who participated in the talks with the Basketball Association of Iceland.

The relationship between Iceland and the NBA has been very good over the years. Channel 2 was one of the first television stations in the world outside the United States to broadcast live from the NBA.

David Stern, who is considered by many to be the most important manager of the NBA, was a admirer of iceland and he and Einar Bollason, who announced NBA games in previous years on Icelandic television, were in good contact.

The idea of ​​continuing the game in the NBA has revolved around the teams staying in similar places in the so-called "bubble". The idea of ​​having the "bubble" in Iceland was formally debated, but in the end the NBA board decided not to go beyond the US.

Heres a link to the article its in icelandic but google will translate it but the text above is google translated article. I fixed some wording in it so it would be easier to understand.

I dont know how serious those discussion were but i highly doubt the chairman would lie about this.

They may have reached out to the NBA, but so did about 25 other places. The NBA may have politely listened to their proposal. But the NBA did not seriously consider it, nor did they reach out.

I'd put this about somewhere as close to being taken serious as the idea of playing on cruise ships was.

[Smitty731]

Is it me or does it feel like it will be inevitable that important players will test positive mid series?

From where... no one coming in and out and tests daily, doesn't get safer than that

I'm sure that precautions were made and that it would be as isolated as possible, but I can still see scenarios where nba players can interact with individuals that may have been exposed:

Chefs, food preps, or delivery persons - The nba can hire a catering company and isolate them for the entirety of the playoffs, but those guys still have to go out and buy groceries/materials or have them delivered. People will be handling and delivering the food that the players eat. People will be setting up areas for dining or delivering food to the players rooms. i mean, we are talking a large group of people needed to prep and feed these guys.

Medical professionals/trainers - These guys are probably the least of my worries as they will most likely be working for the team and would be isolated.

Drivers - Are the players being driven from their housing quarters to the facilities for practices and games? If they are, I can almost guarantee those guys would be local, and not isolating from the outside world. How about the drivers taking the players to the hotel from the airport?

Housecleaning/maintenance - The people cleaning the rooms the players stay in and also cleaning/maintaining the gym they play in..There WILL be people needed to make sure the players are catered to and people are also needed in case things need fixing, etc. I can almost guarantee all those people are not living in isolation. Then there's the people handling the players' laundry, luggage, other equipment. I really don't think this will work with only one practice/playing facility so if we are talking about multiple facilities and all the local staff needed to have everything run smoothly...

Security Personnel - If they are a local company, those guys are not isolating..Maybe the housing quarters and Disney has their own security team? Or would the nba hire their own security team and have them stay in that area and not allowed to go out, etc?

Players may have been exposed prior to getting on the flight to Orlando..how about from the airport, where they will most likely get into some form of interaction with airport staff and how about drivers of the bus to the housing facilities/hotel? What about the refs, timekeepers, ball boys, logistics staff that also had to go through airport security?

Frankly, the more I think about it, the more complicated it seems...We are talking about having 16 teams stay in an isolated area for weeks and even longer for some teams as the playoffs progress, and not expecting them to go anywhere or do anything except play ball? Or if teams are being rotated through and flying in and out that makes it even worse. There's also some doubt in my mind that the players will travel to orlando as a team, so we are talking a bunch of guys coming in from multiple airports, being driven by multiple drivers to the hotel..

Also a possibility, I can totally see a scenario where players or nba staff might want to go out and about after a couple of weeks isolated in a hotel room.. or they might want to get food delivered from an outside source.

There is still a chance that all Disney Cast Members (Disney lingo for employee) will also isolate within the bubble. It's not a completely unknown thing to them (happens during hurricanes), but it's a long period of time. That said, nearly 70,000 Cast Members have been out of work since mid-March, and unpaid since mid-April. They'll get the necessary volunteers to stay on property if they need it.

The teams will absolutely travel to FL together. Maybe (maybe!) there is a player or two who can't get back to the home city prior to travel, but that's fairly unlikely. The plan is for all players to be back in the home market over the next week or so. Do the light practices in their facilities and then head to FL in early-July.

Your fears are all fair. This is definitely complicated. Majorly complicated. But it'll be as safe as they can possibly make it. And, from videos all over the internet, many players aren't avoiding crowds anymore. Many are out and about. This Disney "bubble" will certainly be safer than that.

[SF_Warriors]

From where... no one coming in and out and tests daily, doesn't get safer than that

I'm sure that precautions were made and that it would be as isolated as possible, but I can still see scenarios where nba players can interact with individuals that may have been exposed:

Chefs, food preps, or delivery persons - The nba can hire a catering company and isolate them for the entirety of the playoffs, but those guys still have to go out and buy groceries/materials or have them delivered. People will be handling and delivering the food that the players eat. People will be setting up areas for dining or delivering food to the players rooms. i mean, we are talking a large group of people needed to prep and feed these guys.

Medical professionals/trainers - These guys are probably the least of my worries as they will most likely be working for the team and would be isolated.

Drivers - Are the players being driven from their housing quarters to the facilities for practices and games? If they are, I can almost guarantee those guys would be local, and not isolating from the outside world. How about the drivers taking the players to the hotel from the airport?

Housecleaning/maintenance - The people cleaning the rooms the players stay in and also cleaning/maintaining the gym they play in..There WILL be people needed to make sure the players are catered to and people are also needed in case things need fixing, etc. I can almost guarantee all those people are not living in isolation. Then there's the people handling the players' laundry, luggage, other equipment. I really don't think this will work with only one practice/playing facility so if we are talking about multiple facilities and all the local staff needed to have everything run smoothly...

Security Personnel - If they are a local company, those guys are not isolating..Maybe the housing quarters and Disney has their own security team? Or would the nba hire their own security team and have them stay in that area and not allowed to go out, etc?

Players may have been exposed prior to getting on the flight to Orlando..how about from the airport, where they will most likely get into some form of interaction with airport staff and how about drivers of the bus to the housing facilities/hotel? What about the refs, timekeepers, ball boys, logistics staff that also had to go through airport security?

Frankly, the more I think about it, the more complicated it seems...We are talking about having 16 teams stay in an isolated area for weeks and even longer for some teams as the playoffs progress, and not expecting them to go anywhere or do anything except play ball? Or if teams are being rotated through and flying in and out that makes it even worse. There's also some doubt in my mind that the players will travel to orlando as a team, so we are talking a bunch of guys coming in from multiple airports, being driven by multiple drivers to the hotel..

Also a possibility, I can totally see a scenario where players or nba staff might want to go out and about after a couple of weeks isolated in a hotel room.. or they might want to get food delivered from an outside source.

There is still a chance that all Disney Cast Members (Disney lingo for employee) will also isolate within the bubble. It's not a completely unknown thing to them (happens during hurricanes), but it's a long period of time. That said, nearly 70,000 Cast Members have been out of work since mid-March, and unpaid since mid-April. They'll get the necessary volunteers to stay on property if they need it.

The teams will absolutely travel to FL together. Maybe (maybe!) there is a player or two who can't get back to the home city prior to travel, but that's fairly unlikely. The plan is for all players to be back in the home market over the next week or so. Do the light practices in their facilities and then head to FL in early-July.

Your fears are all fair. This is definitely complicated. Majorly complicated. But it'll be as safe as they can possibly make it. And, from videos all over the internet, many players aren't avoiding crowds anymore. Many are out and about. This Disney "bubble" will certainly be safer than that.

Thank you for reading my post, just realized its so long haha, and providing a thoughtful reply.If any company can achieve such a logistical challenge, such as getting all those workers isolated inside said bubble, it is disney. I am sure all the staff are wearing masks as well and I can see them being kept away from the players as much as possible. At the end of the day, I do not want any players getting tested positive and for the nba to have a quality playoffs. Just to me, it clearly is not 100% foolproof and there is a risk for players to contract covid. Obviously in a situation like this, its all about minimizing risk rather than completely removing it.

I hope they test them daily prior to even going to orlando..

[The Duke]

Teachers at most schools are pretty easily replaced. The top .000001% of basketball players aren't. There's a reason there's a salary gap here.

The league will still make good money, even if a couple of top basketball players decline to show up.
Overall team talent would drop, but most of the money will still be rolling in, when you add a 12th man

Short term sure. But over the next 4-5 years a drop of a few key valuable players hurts the league's quality overall and popularity could drop (hard to say if it does or doesn't). A 12th man replacing a 6th man is a HUGE drop off for a playoff team though. That's very easily the difference in a title or not many years. I know fans focus on the stars, but there have been countless titles that would have swung had key bench players not been available.

Who is taking about 4-5 years?
I'm taking about the next 5 months.
Also the nba cars less about how individual teams perform, and more about ratings watching the games (even if a 3rd best player gets replaced with a 12th man)

[Nites]

I don't blame them.

[dhsilv2]

The league will still make good money, even if a couple of top basketball players decline to show up.
Overall team talent would drop, but most of the money will still be rolling in, when you add a 12th man

Short term sure. But over the next 4-5 years a drop of a few key valuable players hurts the league's quality overall and popularity could drop (hard to say if it does or doesn't). A 12th man replacing a 6th man is a HUGE drop off for a playoff team though. That's very easily the difference in a title or not many years. I know fans focus on the stars, but there have been countless titles that would have swung had key bench players not been available.

Who is taking about 4-5 years?
I'm taking about the next 5 months.
Also the nba cars less about how individual teams perform, and more about ratings watching the games (even if a 3rd best player gets replaced with a 12th man)

Well next 5 months, it's a short term amount of money. i'm sure they care, but the nba needs to and I think historically has, thought long term.

[RookieStar]

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.

And Virus is gone in December right? Like the flu virus which has magically gone away also?


We have to learn how to live with it not stop living until it goes away, cause that ain't happening

THIS!! I can't stress it enough. Cancel this season and start it in December? Why? Do you know that it will be gone or this vaccine is sure to come out before then and is 110% super effective? If so.. can you tell me the next lotto numbers?

We live with it. We plan around it. If we cancel the season, are you suggesting we start the next season when we are ALL sure to be immune? When is that? March 2021?

[Sofia]

Spoiler:

This thread is showing the worst of the RealGM boards. So many inaccurate things being said, or somewhat accurate being said without presenting context. Someone tries to be rational, and they get shouted down because people would rather come back here and say "Told ya!" than have a discussion.

Will the bubble idea work? Who knows? If the players are insistent about coming and going as they please, then it won't work.

Are cases up in Florida? Yup. Are they up in Orange County? Yup. But numbers in Orange County had been shockingly low. Are they up in the areas immediately surrounding Disney in southwest Orange County? Not substantially.

Will Disney be open for weeks before the NBA gets here? Outside of Disney Springs and some hotels (none of which will be used by the NBA), no. The Parks open July 11 and July 15. The NBA is scheduled to arrive in early July.

Does it matter if Disney is open? Not really. Walt Disney World is 39 square miles. That's twice the size of Manhattan and roughly the size of San Francisco. The hotels that the NBA will use are all fairly isolated, all with their own security at every entrance/exit point. The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is at the extreme south end of property, and isolated from the theme parks. There is roughly a quarter-mile driveway from the main road before you are even to their parking lot.

I know I wasted time typing this because no one is going to read it or care. But it's been bugging me how irresponsible some of you are with just throwing out random nonsense without anything to back it up.

Hey buddy, it’s good to hear the podcast back up again!

From this post and what you’ve said on a recent pod, you’re obviously very familiar with the area and facilities.

I’m an episode behind, so apologies if you’ve covered it, but how could this look logistically? You’ve mentioned the areas have some separation from the rest of the park, but I imagine to maintain a true bubble, things like temporary security fencing, checkpoints and transfer areas (like an airlock in space!) would need to be established. What else do you think may be needed and how much would the NBA need to bring in?

[elchengue20]

NBA players : We shoudn't be called heros, regular people face problems way bigger than basketball everyday, their life is a lot harder. I have to be grateful, i'm blessed.

Also NBA players : I don't want to play basketball in a bubble for 2 months in a 5 star hotel while getting paid millions , that's not fair.

[Sofia]

Probably the same players who want to sit out to do social activism

ugh, can you imagine if they take a knee?

[Catchall]

Was there really no other place to do this? How much of this was throwing a bone to ESPN's parent conglomerate versus actual logistical concerns?

I feel like if they truly put personnel health first, they wouldn't be doing this in such a stupid state where the citizens have been roaming freely since early on yet if a player or hell, camera person steps outside they're at risk of losing their job.

Name a more isolated place with the ability to stage that many games and house that many people while keeping them isolated from the rest of the world? I'm not sure that other place exists.

Salt Lake City/Park City, Utah. They made an Olympic Village once, they could have done it again. Place is practically socially distanced to begin with.

They could have stayed a 5-star resorts, played golf at country clubs, had their own private buses, and played at 3+ basketball arenas.

[Catchall]

Great opportunity for two-ways and G-league call ups.

[Smitty731]

Spoiler:

This thread is showing the worst of the RealGM boards. So many inaccurate things being said, or somewhat accurate being said without presenting context. Someone tries to be rational, and they get shouted down because people would rather come back here and say "Told ya!" than have a discussion.

Will the bubble idea work? Who knows? If the players are insistent about coming and going as they please, then it won't work.

Are cases up in Florida? Yup. Are they up in Orange County? Yup. But numbers in Orange County had been shockingly low. Are they up in the areas immediately surrounding Disney in southwest Orange County? Not substantially.

Will Disney be open for weeks before the NBA gets here? Outside of Disney Springs and some hotels (none of which will be used by the NBA), no. The Parks open July 11 and July 15. The NBA is scheduled to arrive in early July.

Does it matter if Disney is open? Not really. Walt Disney World is 39 square miles. That's twice the size of Manhattan and roughly the size of San Francisco. The hotels that the NBA will use are all fairly isolated, all with their own security at every entrance/exit point. The ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex is at the extreme south end of property, and isolated from the theme parks. There is roughly a quarter-mile driveway from the main road before you are even to their parking lot.

I know I wasted time typing this because no one is going to read it or care. But it's been bugging me how irresponsible some of you are with just throwing out random nonsense without anything to back it up.

Hey buddy, it’s good to hear the podcast back up again!

From this post and what you’ve said on a recent pod, you’re obviously very familiar with the area and facilities.

I’m an episode behind, so apologies if you’ve covered it, but how could this look logistically? You’ve mentioned the areas have some separation from the rest of the park, but I imagine to maintain a true bubble, things like temporary security fencing, checkpoints and transfer areas (like an airlock in space!) would need to be established. What else do you think may be needed and how much would the NBA need to bring in?

Thanks for the kind words. Glad you are enjoying the show. Launching a podcast is easy. Signing over rights and contracts to get paid for it is a whole other story! But we're back now!

I said this on a radio appearance or maybe a podcast today, but there is that dude who has snuck into something like 20 straight Super Bowls. And that guy once parachuted on the field. If people want to get in somewhere, they will.

But at the entrance/exit to each Disney resorts (there is usually just one, but sometimes a couple), there are security booths. Disney will have those fully manned, as well as extra support from the county sheriffs if necessary.

As far as the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex goes, it's set pretty far away from the main road. It's about a quarter-mile drive down in before you get to the parking lots. Then the facilities are a good distance from there. Disney will have security right at the entrance, and again backed up by the county sheriffs if necessary.

Essentially, no one is going to get near the NBA (or MLS for that matter) unless they really, really try. And you probably aren't stopping those people almost no matter what precautions you take.