OKC Thunder: 5 key issues players cite for hesitancy to restart season

As NBA gears up to resume the season, a group of players is hesitant citing 5 specific issues.

A conference call spearheaded by Kyrie Irving on Friday night (June 12) included approximately 80 NBA players. Those in attendance were primarily composed of players who had questions or doubts about restarting the NBA season. The group included both players who were hesitant for a return to action, as well as OKC Thunder captain and NBPA president Chris Paul and players who represented the group who desire a return.

Although one main topic was at the heart of the group pushing not to return there were a number of other issues on the players’ minds as well.

Since the suspension, Paul has worked closely with NBA commissioner Adam Silver and Michelle Roberts, the executive director of the NBPA to resolve the potential roadblocks to the restart. Throughout the three months, Paul has answered questions of individuals and been involved with group conference calls to ascertain how committed players were to return or what their specific reservations were.

The following is the list of the five main concerns and the associated status of resolution for each issue.

5 key issues NBA players cite for hesitancy to return:

Health and injury:

There isn’t much the NBA can do to ensure players won’t sustain injuries. Teams will need to find the right balance of ramping up activity and manage playing time. No player wants to sustain an injury but free agents and players set to sign rookie extensions have more at stake.

To that end,  Adrian Wojnarowski’s tweet notes several young stars discussed the possibility of insurance allowances with the NBPA officials on Friday.

As for the coronavirus, temperature taking and testing will occur daily. Zach Lowe outlines the specifics and comfort level of medical advisors.  One trusted source throughout the pandemic is Dr. Anthony Fauci who told  Stadium anchor Michael Kim “I was very pleased to see that the intent was not reckless at all.”  Fauci has reviewed the plan, calling it creative and stated the key was the NBA making sure the bubble begins with no positive cases.

In addition, as noted in our article the NBA will start testing every other day as of June 23rd and then daily two days prior to teams departing for Orlando.

Isolation from family and friends:

As previously noted family won’t be able to come onto the Disney site until after the first round series is finished. In essence, the first 14 teams who leave will be partially replaced by family and friends.

Adrian Wojnarowski and Bobby Marks ESPN article notes the six teams who fail to earn a playoff berth will depart Orlando 35 to 40 days after arrival. A further eight teams will exit after the first round (53 days) another four at the end of the second round 67 days).

While it’s not ideal to be away from your support system for close to two months it is important to limit the numbers in order to restrict the possibility of the virus entering the bubble.

Inability to leave:

Clearly, anyone with a medical concern shouldn’t take the risk. For example, a player like Jeff Green who underwent heart surgery in 2012 would be a logical choice to keep away from Orlando.

Others aren’t thrilled by the fact they will be restricted inside the bubble environment. Technically, a player could take a brief respite but would need to be put in quarantine before they could rejoin their club. The NBA held firm to their stance any player electing to not participate wouldn’t face repercussions other than losing money.

One area cited as a concern that the bubble could affect is the player’s mental health. Everyone knows how difficult the stay-at-home timeframe was and while these players won’t be as restricted this type of isolation can take a toll. No updates have been provided but presumably, the NBA will provide off court activities and have medical professionals such as therapists available.

Financial Impact on OKC Thunder and league:

As several analysts have noted there isn’t the same incentive for all players from the 22 teams to return. Specifically, the hurdles the Washington Wizards and Phoenix Suns need to clear just to capture the ninth seed are substantial. Given that knowledge, it’s understandable why players from those teams wouldn’t be as amped to travel to the bubble and be isolated for 35 to 40  days knowing they are unlikely to play in the postseason.

We can debate the decision of the NBA allowing those two teams to participate but the big picture is clearly tied to the hit the league is taking financially. Aside from the fact, the league is losing approximately 40 percent of its revenue because fans aren’t in attendance there are other factors at play.

Markets have regional television deals with most needing 70 games played to fulfill their contracts. When the league decided to suspend play teams had played between 63 and 67 games.

Yet, the financial hit the NBA would take in the future would be drastic if the season weren’t resumed. Bobby Marks tweet provides the main points which are $1.2 billion in player salaries or 35 percent of their total pay and $2 billion in revenue for the league.

The more relevant point is if the players chose to not return the league could cite the caveat of force majeure and tear up the existing Collective Bargaining Agreement. With the league and NBPA forced to renegotiate a deal it would also likely mean the BOG would want a less friendly split – – the current split is 50-50.

https://twitter.com/bobbymarks42/status/1271620910554939392?s=21

Notably, during the conference call, Chris Paul and other NBPA members were on hand to provide these details and CJ McCollum was cited in Sham Charania’s paid-for subscription The Athletic article for bringing this point up.

Taking a stand on social injustice:

The main topic and focus of the conference call were whether the players could send a message by sitting out the season in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. Although there are some strong supporters of this directive, Irving specifically is the player most passionate in taking this direction.

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Both sides of this argument have merit. Aside from the financial impact, the players would suffer there are those who believe being on television every day and reaching the masses with a common message is powerful.

The opposing side is worried once the games resume what occurs on the court could take away from the players’ abilities to keep the focus on reforming social and racial injustice.

Thunderous Intentions will take a deeper dive into this concern in an upcoming article breaking down some specific actions the players and teams could do to keep the emphasis on the movement at Orlando.

Although the restart is less certain than it was after the plan was approved, even after the call, it does seem that it is still the intended direction.

With superstars like LeBron James, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and others intent on playing out the season it would be surprising if things change. Irving did note he would support whatever the majority decides. For the moment that appears to be resuming the season in Orlando at the end of July.