The NBA is reportedly still a couple of months away from games returning.
The league has been hammering out a deal with Disney to have games in Orlando, and Shams Charania reported Wednesday afternoon games are likely to return in “late July/early August.” (RELATED: David Hookstead Is The True King In The North When It Comes To College Football)
Under the current plan, training camps would be held in local markets before moving to Orlando for games during the coronavirus pandemic.
Sources: The NBA is working on multi-phase medical/safety protocols toward restart of play. Current projections have in-market training camps in July, then camps/scrimmages in Orlando, then resume play late July/early August.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 27, 2020
However, not all players are super pumped about heading to Disney. According to Sam Amick, there is “grumbling from agents about the potential for huge disparity in hotel quality” down in Orlando.
As @TheSteinLine noted, it appears there is some concern about accommodations for all 30 teams at Walt Disney World. I’ve heard some grumbling from agents about the potential for huge disparity in hotel quality https://t.co/mSJECnhJHB
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) May 27, 2020
There are two major points to be made. First and foremost, returning by late July is probably too late for the NBA to be in a good position.
By that time, they’re going to end up competing with the NFL and college football for eyeballs starting in September.
That’s going to be a disaster. The NBA simply can’t compete with football and expect people to watch. It’s just not going to happen.
Secondly, the fact NBA players are reportedly complaining about accommodations in Orlando is laugh-out-loud funny.
I could sleep in a shack for an NBA salary and still be satisfied. Tens of millions of people are out of work and NBA players are worried about if their hotels are nice enough.
If that’s not the definition of being tone-deaf, then I don’t know what is.
We’ll see what happens, but I wouldn’t say things are looking great for the NBA right now.