Competitive balance will be a challenge as NBA moves to open practice facilities amid pandemic

As sections of the United States begin to gradually re-open in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, the NBA has started to begin the process of sanctioning the opening of practice facilities later this month.

In a league-wide memo that went out on late Monday, the NBA informed teams that May 8th could be the first potential date where practice facilities could be opened up for use by players for workouts or treatments on a voluntary basis.

Numerous states and local governments have announced modifications of stay-at-home order on non-essential business activity this week, a move that is giving the NBA an initial green light to start the process towards a potential resumption of the season. Up until now, all practice facilities had been ordered closed and no in-person contact between staff and players had been authorized.

A number of specific restrictions for teams and players will be in place in this initial wave of re-opening to help limit risk for team staff. The guidelines include:

—No more than four players would be permitted at a facility at any one time.
—No head or assistant coaches could participate.
—Group activity remains prohibited, including practices or scrimmages.
—Players remain prohibited from using non-team facilities such as public health clubs, fitness centers, or gyms.

The bigger question now across the league once May 8th hits is what will happen to teams that reside in ‘hot spots’ of the pandemic. One of those places is Massachusetts, where Governor Baker just extended the stay-at-home order until May 18th for non-essential businesses.

For now, all the NBA is saying is that any team that is prohibited from using their facility due to government restriction will be able to work with the league to identify alternatives for players. However, that will be a tricky situation for individuals given that air travel is a risky situation right now to places where players could work out, even if another team authorized their facilities for all NBA players in the region. It’s unlikely anyone will want to relocate their family right now just to have the ability to workout ahead of schedule for a couple of weeks. At the same time, there are issues of competitive balance in place here if individuals get a week or two head start on working themselves back into shape before the eventual resumption of the season.

The likely alternative for now is a situation that ESPN.com is reporting the Lakers are already pursuing: Lobbying the mayor’s office for an exception to the shelter-at-home order ahead of the expiration timeline (May 15).

For hot spots around the country with longer stay-at-home orders (Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania), this may be the only recourse teams have to start working out at their facilities at the same time as the rest of the league. Otherwise, the logistics of finding viable alternatives for a couple weeks will be challenging.

The bigger question for the NBA now is whether they push back a potential open date (May 8th) until later in the month when all teams get clearance to have access to their facility or if they prioritize letting players start getting back into a safe workout space as quickly as is allowed locally.

Either way, the varying timeline in how this could play out for various teams makes me believe that the NBA will aim to have several regular games if league play returns before moving to a postseason format. That type of gradual return to intense play, even if only for a few games before the postseason begins, will help level the playing field for this type of scenario (while also making the league a few more TV dollars in the process).

For now, it’s safe to say that players will be working out again in the Auerbach Center in a matter of weeks at this point. While they wait, Jayson Tatum and company may want to invest in an outdoor hoop or two as the calendar turns to May so we aren’t too rusty amid an abbreviated training camp down the line.