NBA Restart: It’s a Whole New Game

The return of the NBA season is set for July 31st in Orlando, Florida. Rumors have sparked that the season may not resume, but there have been changes occurring like player substitutions, temporary contracts, and new regulations being placed. Despite the setbacks, here are a few updates on what’s happening with the resuming of the season.

PLAYER SUBSTITUTIONS AND ROSTER CHANGES:

 JR Smith, aka JR Swish, is heading to Florida with purple and gold on his back now on the roster for the Los Angeles Lakers. Jr Smith is playing substitution for Avery Bradley.  Fans are excited to see the duo of Smith and Lebron James back together to give fans a show. The Trail Blazers will sign Jaylen Adams to substitute Trevor Ariza, who has opted out of playing. Jamal Crawford and Donta Hall have agreed to a deal with the Brooklyn Nets.

PLAYERS WHO HAVE OPTED OUT OF PLAYING IN THE SEASON:

Players have a choice of opting out of returning but could potentially lose millions from not fulfilling their season contract.  For example, Trevor Ariza has opted out of playing the rest of the season to spend more time with his son. Ariza could potentially lose 1-2million in salary for not participating. His contract guaranteed a minimum of 12.8 million for the 2020-21 season. Kevin Durant, Mavericks center Willie Stein, Nets Wilson Chandler, and Wizards David Bertans have opted out of returning.

HEALTH CONCERNS AND CORONA TESTING:

The NBA has started a wave of testing players and staff. In the first round of tests, 16 NBA players tested positive for coronavirus.  Three hundred forty-four players were tested recently between June24-29; out of that group, nine players tested positive.  The official number of players who tested positive are 25 out of 351. Wizards’ Thomas Bryant and Gary Payton II tested positive for coronavirus. Brooklyn Nets star DeAndre Jordan and Taurean Prince tested positive too. Several positive test outcomes also shut down the Denver Nuggets practice facility. Not all names have been released on who tested positive. 10 out of 884 staff members tested positive as well.

NBA REGULATIONS:

Most players are using this time in quarantine to workout and train at home like Pelicans star Zion Williamson has been toning and slimming down for the restart. Other players are still trying to grasp the new rules of the season mentally. The NBA has updated the health and safety manual with new protocols like maintaining 6 feet separation in every setting except games and practices. Outside of gamedays, there are strict policies of interactions like throwing away playing cards after each game played, always wearing a mask, no pets, testing for recreational drugs is suspended, and no double play in ping-pong. Isolation housing will be provided if someone tests positive when the season starts. Players must wear smart rings that monitor heart rates and body temperature.

Demar DeRozen expressed his frustration in a recent interview said, “The Ping-Pong thing is ridiculous, to be honest……I got through 10 lines of the handbook and just put it down because it became so frustrating and overwhelming at times because you just never thought you’d be in a situation of something like this”

Twenty-two teams will be playing. An eight-game series to the playoffs along with a play-in tournament will occur to determine the final brackets for the east and west conference. The training camp is expected to start on July 11th. Players have been seen arriving at Disney World.

Demar DeRozen expressed his frustration in a recent interview said, “The Ping-Pong thing is ridiculous, to be honest……I got through 10 lines of the handbook and just put it down because it became so frustrating and overwhelming at times because you just never thought you’d be in a situation of something like this”

Twenty-two teams will be playing. An eight-game series to the playoffs along with a play-in tournament will occur to determine the final brackets for the east and west conference. The training camp is expected to start on July 11th. Players have been seen arriving at Disney World.