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At the end of what will be a four-plus-month
hiatus caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the NBA will have 22
of its 30 teams resume action at the Disney campus near Orlando,
Fla., with training camp due to run July 9-29 and games to
commence on July 30.
All players and staffers will essentially be quarantined for the
duration of their stay in the NBA's "bubble" while undergoing
regular COVID-19 testing.
The National Basketball Coaches Association is questioning the
details of the "bubble" protocols, particularly whether the
league's oldest head coaches will be permitted to execute all of
their regular duties.
The San Antonio Spurs' Gregg Popovich, who is 71 years old; the
Houston Rockets' Mike D'Antoni, 69; and the New Orleans
Pelicans' Alvin Gentry, 65, all fall in the age bracket that is
viewed as being at risk to severe consequences if they contract
the coronavirus.
In a statement to ESPN, the union wrote, "The health and safety
of all NBA coaches is our main concern. However, we are also
concerned with a coach's opportunity to work and to not have
their ability to secure future jobs be severely jeopardized. The
league assured us that a coach will not be excluded solely
because of age.
"We feel the medical review process is designed to flag only
those individuals who pose significant threats of substantial
harm to themselves that cannot be reduced or eliminated by the
NBA's considerable steps to create a healthy and safe atmosphere
in Orlando.
"Adam (Silver) and the NBA have created a situation in Orlando
that is likely far safer than in our coaches' home markets.
Absent a significant threat, we believe a coach should be able
to understand and assume their individual risks, waive
liability, and coach in Orlando."
Silver had said initially in a TNT interview on June 5, "There
are people involved in this league, particularly coaches, who
are obviously older people. ... We're going to have to work
through protocols, for example, and it may be certain coaches
may not be able to be the bench coach.
"They may have to maintain social distancing protocols, and
maybe they can be in the front of a room, a locker room ... with
a whiteboard, but when it comes to actual play, we're not going
to want them that close to players in order to protect them."
However, Dallas Mavericks head coach Rick Carlisle, the
president of the NBACA, subsequently spoke with Silver.
"(Silver) admitted that he jumped the gun with his statement to
TNT," Carlisle told ESPN. "The health and safety of our coaches
is first and foremost. It's entirely possible that an NBA coach
in his 60s or 70s could be healthier than someone in their 30s
or 40s.
"The conversation should never be solely about a person's age.
Adam assured me that we would work through this together to help
determine what is both safe and fair for all of our coaches."
--Field Level Media
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