It Didn't Take Long For The NBA's First Step Towards A Potential Return To Hit A Speed Bump
OK so maybe this was all too good to be true. I know I jumped with both feet into the good news Woj released on Saturday out of nowhere.
I regret nothing. It was the first bit of good news we've had in this entire hiatus that things were progressing towards an eventual return. The smallest of baby steps sure, but it was something. It was the type of news that those of us who are still holding out hope that basketball returns needed. I wasn't exactly sure how they were going to pull it off with different states having different stay at home orders but I figured there were smart people out there taking care of the details.
Well now we learned that the Hawks basically said thanks but no thanks to opening early. I'm surprised to hear that it's not a competitive balance issue but rather a safety issue. I'm not sure I totally buy that. I just don't think some owners want it out there that they are complaining about their guys not being able to work out in the event they get bounced early if games do come back. Easier to say it's a safety issue instead because who is going to give you shit about making sure things are safe. That's a PR disaster to come off like you care more about competitive balance than health. I'm sure the safety aspect is part of it, but the competitive advantage has to be in the mix as well because that's a real thing.
Advertisement
It's also not surprising that there are some teams that are still open to the idea of re-opening facilities. I'd put money on this being the case with some of the teams that are legit contenders this year. If things do eventually come back later this month, this is what it'll look like
better than nothing I suppose. While I commend the league for trying to find a way to get going again, isn't the easiest solution to just do nothing until the CDC or whoever say it's OK for everyone to return? That solves your safety issues and any competitive balance issue. Because let's face it, if players from different cities are allowed to return earlier and start the process of getting in shape sooner, that's going to matter once games are back. That's a can of worms I don't think the league wants to deal with.
The positive spinzone is the league hasn't come out and flat out cancelled all paths to a potential return. It may not be as soon as Friday, but it's not dead yet. Every day we go without the Woj/Shams bomb that the season/playoffs are cancelled I'll take as a win at this point. We're in uncharted waters right now so while this appears to be a little speed bump, there's still reason to hold onto hope.