In the event that the NBA is given clearance to resume the 2019-20 season, the league wants to give players a chance to get back into game shape. According to ESPN’s Brian Windhorst, the league’s return to action will consist of a 25-day window split between individual workouts and a brief training camp.
"They're spending a lot of time getting a back-to-basketball plan ready. They hope they get to use it," Windhorst said on Sunday. "In talking to executives and trainers around the league, what they’re looking at is a 25-day return to basketball window."
He added that it will include an "11-day series of individual workouts, where there'd be social distancing for a period of time," and "then hopefully, if the clearance comes that they can play five-on-five basketball, a 14-day training camp."
As Windhorst repeatedly tries to make clear, this plan doesn’t mean that the league is leaning towards a return. Last week, commissioner Adam Silver struck down rumors that the NBA was "angling" towards shutting down the 2019-20 campaign, stating that a decision on the future of the season would not be made this month.
While Donald Trump appeared confident that sports would begin "sooner rather than later," Silver has maintained that the league will base its decision on the advice of those more knowledgeable about COVID-19, not Trump. Silver is also unsure that if the league were to start back up, whether it would finish the regular season or move onto the playoffs.
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