The NBA has its restart plan. It knows which teams will participate, where they will play, and how the rest of the 2019-20 season will unfold, at least in theory. Time will tell if the coronavirus pandemic actually allows it.
One thing, however, is certain: everyone – players, coaches, training staff, all team personnel – will have to follow COVID-19 protocols put forth by the league and health experts.
“[That] goes, really, for all the leagues [trying to restart],” former NBA big man and current Nuggets color analyst Scott Hastings said on After Hours with Amy Lawrence. “If all the guys and the teams follow the protocols, I think they’re going to be all right. Disney and the people down there in Orlando, I think, will go beyond. They’re going to be paid a lot of money, I’m sure. The NBA, there’s a lot of expensive assets who are going to be running around that area. So I think they’re going to have as sterile as possible of facilities for these guys.”
As we’ve seen in recent months, however, some people across the country refuse to take the pandemic seriously. They refuse to wear masks or social distance, even as hotspots continue to emerge.
“Listen, we’re Americans,” Hastings said. “We’ve seen it [with] people gathering in social circles without distancing. We’ve seen it with protests or through, ‘I just want to go to a bar’ – people near each other. If the players follow the guidelines, I think they can pull this thing off. You got to trust human nature. I think they’ll be able to pull this thing off, but guys are going to have to follow the rules. Sometimes that’s easier said than done.”
Hastings said that he personally isn’t as concerned as he should be about the virus, but he trusts NBA teams to do what is in the best interest of their players.
“The Lakers aren’t going to do something stupid to risk LeBron James or Houston and James Harden or Damian Lillard with Portland,” he said. “There are all these great players, and these are huge assets not only for their teams, but for the league. I would tend to trust, but we will see. I think they can pull this off.”