Report: Up to 200 players joining Kyrie Irving on call to burst NBA bubble in Florida
The NBA bubble might be in trouble.
New issues are coming to the forefront a week after NBA owners and National Basketball Players Association representatives approved a proposal to restart the season next month at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida. As details of the plan have emerged, dozens of players have reportedly expressed concerns over a range of issues, including extended isolation and the national uprising over the death of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody.
Brooklyn Nets star Kyrie Irving is reportedly leading a group of players who were planning to hold a conference call Friday night to “unify” against the NBA’s return-to-play proposal. One report suggested as many as 200 players might participate in the call.
Following those reports, league sources told Yahoo Sports a faction of high-profile players were strongly opposing Irving’s position, communicating with others “en masse” about the financial implications if they don’t play. Yahoo noted if the season is not resumed, owners will likely exercise the force majeure provision in the collective bargaining agreement, leaving players with little leverage due to economic impacts of the COVID-19 crisis.
The NBA is planning to restart the season July 30, a day earlier than originally planned, at the 220-acre ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex located at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Florida, 20 miles from Orlando. Twenty-two teams will participate in the reboot, including the Kings, who will be vying for their first playoff berth since 2006.
International players are expected to return to home markets Monday and all players are to report June 21. Coronavirus testing will begin June 22, followed by the start of training camp June 30. Teams will arrive in Florida beginning July 7. Some will be sequestered there for more than three months.
“As far as actually playing and going back down into Orlando, I’m still up in the air a little bit because I really don’t — we don’t have all the details,” Portland Trail Blazers forward Carmelo Anthony told TNT’s Ernie Johnson this week. “We don’t know a lot of information, so until we have that, it’s hard to just commit to that 100 percent.”
Other players voiced their concerns as some of those details emerged this week, despite strong support from NBA stars such as LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard and Chris Paul, president of the Players Association.
“I’ve talked to a few guys that are super interested in sitting out possibly,” Indiana Pacers guard Malcolm Brogdon told “The JJ Redick Podcast with Tommy Alter” on Thursday. “At the end of the day, I was actually talking to Chris Paul the other day, and he said, ‘Man, this is an individual decision that every man has to make for himself.’ I think that’s exactly what it is. I think it depends on your perspective.”
In addition to COVID-19 concerns, some players are put off by the thought of spending so much time away from their families, confined to the bubble, where they will undergo daily testing for the coronavirus. Others are reportedly concerned about the optics of resuming the season during a time of social unrest.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday that 40 to 50 players participated in conference calls over the previous 24 hours to discuss concerns about the NBA’s proposal. Some have reservations about entering the bubble, where they will be required to stay for weeks or months.
According to Wojnarowski, the first six teams eliminated under the approved return-to-play format will be in the bubble for 35 to 40 days. Teams that reach the NBA Finals could be in the bubble until Oct. 12, a stay of up to 68 days. Anyone who leaves the bubble will have to quarantine for 10 days before they can return. Families will not be allowed to join players in the bubble until after the first round of the playoffs in late August.
Taylor Rooks of Bleacher Report reported about 50 players participated in a Zoom call earlier this week to discuss what they can do to take a stand against the return-to-play plan. Rooks said another conference call with about 150 players was scheduled Friday night to “solidify” their position and “stress this only works if they unify.”
Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck reported that conference call could involve up to 200 players, noting that Irving has been a driving force in organizing such discussions. Beck said one agent told him two-thirds of the league’s top 40 players would refuse to play under proposed restrictions. Players who choose not to play will not be paid.
“What message are we sending by agreeing to this during this time?” an unidentified black player told Yahoo Sports. “We’re out here marching and protesting, and yet we all leave our families in these scary times and gather to perform at a place where the owners won’t be at? What type of sense does that make? We’ll be going backwards. That place isn’t that magical.”
