NBA return to play: Players have until June 24 to decide on returning or not
NBA players have roughly one week to decide to return or not
Despite recent concerns that have arisen amongst players about the NBA’s plan to restart the 2019-20 season in an Orlando/Disney bubble next month, the return to play plan is still moving forward. There are certainly some adjustments that will – and need – to be made, but the NBA is moving forward with the idea as more and more details continue to emerge.
One interesting detail that has emerged thanks to the excellent reporting from The Athletic and Shams Charania (subscription required) is the fact that there’s a June 24 deadline on players indicating to their respective teams whether they decide to play or not when the NBA resumes.
Assuming that the report is accurate, that means players have roughly one more week to decide and let their respective teams know about their plan.
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The NBA’s return to play plan might not be for everyone
While there continue to be concerns about the safety revolving around the NBA’s return to play plan, there are clear social concerns that many players carry with respect to the issues that are taking place in America. While a global pandemic is on the minds of many at this time, there are plenty of other big factors that will play a key role in any player’s decision to play.
Kyrie Irving has recently emerged as one of the strongest voices that is pushing against the NBA resuming play next month. He led a conference call last week, giving voice to players to address their concerns about restarting the season.
Conversations are important and the players have every right to bring up concerns that they may have – whether it has to do with the health and safety of the plan or not. A united front should be taken by the players when/if play resumes and we shouldn’t expect anything other than that.
With that said, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has already said that the NBA’s return to play may not be for everyone and stopped short of saying that he expects some players to sit out the remainder of the 2019-20 season when it restarts.
Players will have to make a decision soon on the NBA’s return to play plan, it’s looking like they have one week to do so.