The league has entered into exploratory conversations with The Walt Disney Company about finishing the remainder of its season at Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida, in late July, NBA spokesperson Mike Bass said Saturday.
"The NBA, in conjunction with the National Basketball Players Association, is engaged in exploratory conversations with The Walt Disney Company about restarting the 2019-20 NBA season in late July at Disney's ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Florida as a single site for an NBA campus for games, practices and housing," Bass said. "Our priority continues to be the health and safety of all involved, and we are working with public health experts and government officials on a comprehensive set of guidelines to ensure that appropriate medical protocols and protections are in place."
In studying the "bubble" concept, ESPN spoke to a range of stakeholders -- NBA coaches, referees and executives, infectious disease specialists, basketball operations specialists, TV producers and directors, as well as hotel and food workers -- and compared their needs and concerns with the league's thinking.
There are considerable logistical challenges to any attempt to finish the 2019-20 season. And though the situation around COVID-19 is constantly evolving, hope perseveres to eventually declare a 2020 champion. This is how an NBA bubble could work.
esting is a must
When it comes to restarting play, NBA commissioner Adam Silver has said he'll follow the guidance of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and independent health advisers. And the one thing these health experts agree on is that testing is the key to everything.
There needs to be a fast, simple and reliable test. There also must be enough available public testing to avoid backlash toward the NBA for acquiring and using kits. The league expects it will need approximately 15,000 tests, sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Teams were sent a memo on April 30 advising not to arrange coronavirus tests for asymptomatic players and staff.
The NBA is working with academic centers, labs and medical test developers to contribute to advances in testing for sports and the public. But advancements in testing capacity over the past few weeks have increased optimism for the NBA's ability to return.
"I do think it would be disturbing to many if there was massive testing that was available to a sports league at a time when people who are in high-risk situations were still having a difficult time getting access to testing," said Dr. Vivek Murthy, a former surgeon general who has advised the NBA on the coronavirus.
Medical experts differ on how often testing would have to be performed to maintain bubble integrity. Dr. Anthony Fauci, a key member of the White House's coronavirus task force, has suggested sports could resume with weekly testing of athletes, as long as they are closely watched.
There could be daily monitoring of symptoms, but that has limited effectiveness because asymptomatic carriers can be contagious before showing symptoms, several infectious disease specialists told ESPN.
"[Testing every day] would be my gold standard," said Carl Bergstrom, a professor of biology at the University of Washington who has been closely following MLB and NBA plans and has discussed the logistics with stakeholders. "Figure out how to test everyone every day, and from there back out."
Still, this would leave unanswered questions. For example, the CDC says adults over 65 years old are at higher risk of severe illness or death from COVID-19. Would the NBA allow coaches such as Gregg Popovich (71) and Mike D'Antoni (68) to work?
False negatives and false positives also present issues. A return to play would need to be met by rigorous testing to account for both possibilities and to ensure the health and well-being of those inside the bubble.
The wide-ranging responses to risk tolerance from epidemiological experts highlight the complexities for the league in being able to provide guidance on a return-to-play plan or even the ability to outline a timeline.
source : https://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/29120877/the-nba-bubble-blueprint-how-league-finish-2019-20-season