Adam Silver and the rest of the NBA office were put in an almost impossible situation when the coronavirus was declared a pandemic.
The league was prepared to play games without fans in arenas, but quickly pivoted to suspending the rest of the 2019-20 NBA season after Rudy Gobert tested positive for coronavirus.
Several initial measures were put into place to prevent further spread of the virus like players being tested and banning all team practices for the foreseeable future. However, as the situation evolves, it is clear that more steps will be taken to help combat the spread of the virus.
With more and more cases being reported, the NBA has made additional guidelines in response to the coronavirus, according to Tim Bontemps of ESPN:
As a result, while the NBA recommends that its players stay in market, it will allow them to travel elsewhere — although anyone still expected to be under self-isolation or quarantine because of exposure to the coronavirus must remain so until they have been cleared by a medical professional.
The ban on team activities will also reportedly be upheld until further notice:
In addition, the initial ban on organized team practices that had been in place through Monday has now been extended indefinitely. Individual players, however, are allowed to work out at the team’s practice facility if they choose to.
With the NBA’s original 30-day suspension looking more likely to last longer, it is good they are allowing players to travel outside their team’s city to be with loved ones during this time. As for the ban on organized team practices, it was a necessary move to protect the players and team staffs from possibly contracting the virus as more cases are being reported.
Players are still able to practice with a member of the coaching staff one-on-one, but even that may change soon enough given the severity of the situation. For the Los Angeles Lakers, in particular, they are focused on remaining in game shape as they are still considered to be one of the prohibitive favorites to win the 2020 NBA Finals if it resumes.
However, everything like the regular season and playoffs start dates are up in the air as there is no telling what steps will be taken at the federal level in the coming weeks. As the country becomes more intent on preserving everyone’s health and well-being, it will likely be a long time until there is a return to normalcy.