OKC Thunder: Could spiking COVID-19 cases in Florida spell trouble?

OKC Thunder and peers situation in Florida

In preparation for this article, I reached out to Keith Smith who was the first person to suggest WDW would be the ideal venue for the bubble. Smith offered key insight into the Florida situation at Disney and clarified some misinformation others recently dispensed.

One of the main areas I wanted to gain clarity on was the comments Carlye Wisel made to Trey Kirby on Thursday’s No Dunks podcast. Wisel stated there were guests already booked into the Grand Floridan hotel in the timeshare section. She implied this was in the exact same section of the hotel as players will be staying. The Grand Floridan is the hotel the OKC Thunder are in along with the 76ers, Rockets, Pacers, Mavericks, Nets, Grizzlies, and Magic.

Smith clarified that the timeshares Wisel mentioned are NOT in the hotel. Rather, it is a Vacation Club and a good distance away from where the NBA will be housed. He also said it won’t be difficult to keep distance between those guests and the NBA players.  Smith posted similar information in a tweet confirming the three hotels will not be open to the general public until the NBA is off-site.

The other question I had for Smith was about the rise in COVID-19 cases in Florida and how they break down throughout the state. Additionally, I was looking for insight into Naples which is where the Toronto Raptors will be conducting their pre-Disney ramp up.

Smith noted the worst hit segment of Florida is the Southeast portion of the state. Orlando is in the central part of the state while Naples is in the Southwest. Furthermore, he noted Florida Golf Coast University made a concerted effort to block off the area in preparation for the Raptors’ arrival. Smith cautioned that Florida isn’t a wide state so any spike is being taken seriously.