The NBA is moving closer to resuming its 2019-20 season. NBA commissioner Adam Silver announced that he and NBA Players Association director Michele Roberts will host a call for all players on Friday.

The purpose of the call is for players to ask questions and address any concerns they may have about the coronavirus pandemic that suspended the NBA season on March 11. The call is to be an open forum where players can bring any issues to the table.

Friday also marks the first day that the NBA will allow teams to reopen their practice facilities. Not all teams plan to reopen on Friday, but three said they will for sure. Cleveland, Denver, and Portland will all reopen their practice facilities on Friday. 

Houston had planned on reopening on Friday but pushed it back and may open next week. The Rockets reconsidered their plan after Texas governor Greg Abbott announced a new directive for the reopening of gyms in the state. Abbott is calling for those facilities to open on May 18 at the earliest.

A number of teams are in no hurry to return. One of those is the Los Angeles Lakers. The state of California has some of the strictest shelter-in-place orders. Another is the Dallas Mavericks where owner Mark Cuban believes a return right now is not the best thing to do. Cuban believes that the league needs to have testing in place before a return. 

Teams that do reopen their practice facilities must follow the league’s directives on social distancing. Any workouts in reopened facilities are voluntary and teams can identify six assistant coaches or player development personnel that would be responsible for supervising the workouts. No head coaches are permitted to participate or even watch the player workouts. The workouts cannot include any type of team practice or scrimmaging.

Rick Bouch