The forced NBA hiatus, caused by the coronavirus pandemic, will leave eight teams unable to play competitive games for up to nine months. As these organizations were not invited to the Orlando bubble games, league officials are considering the holding of a second bubble, and when approved, games will be played in Chicago starting in September.
The proposal, when drafted, will need the support of the NBPA, and when played out, the basic components are training camps and matches that will pit the participating teams. Ideally, the NBA would want all the left out teams to partake, but going to Chicago will likely be voluntary.
According to Clutch Points, while the final details of the Chicago bubble have to be finalized, players' participation "wouldn't be mandatory." The report picked up from the earlier claims made by Chris Fedor of Cleveland.com.
That would put the second bubble to the Orland version, which allowed players to opt-out of the competition, and the option was accessed by Avery Bradley and other NBA stars wary of playing while the deadly virus remains uncontrolled in the United States.
In Bradley's case, he chose not to play as he believed the season restart would only serve as a distraction to the Black Lives Matter movement engulfing America.
In any case, the plan is to make sure that NBA teams and players not part of the Orlando games will remain in top shape. The league is acknowledging that due to the global health crisis, the eight organizations will be forced on the sidelines a long stretch.
The games will be designed to ensure that players will remain competitive, and the NBA will be implementing the same protocols that will govern the Orlando bubble.
However, Bleacher Report said not all of the eight teams targeted for invitation are enthusiastic. The Cavs and the Knicks are more likely to beg off with some veterans in the Cleveland roster having reservations on the planned bubble games.
The Pistons are also tipped to opt-out, and head coach Dwane Casey even suggested that the majority of his counterparts in the other teams would prefer having their own and exclusive training camps.
So it would seem that the Atlanta Hawks are a minority voice on the matter. The team has been battling for inclusion on the resumed games for the reason of having the new and young members of the roster to get a feel of the NBA competition.
On the part of the Warriors, the team is unsure of participating, but if given the green light, core players like Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry will likely sit out. The two just recovered from injuries, so the Dubs would prefer fielding them when the next season starts in late December.
