NBA Pushes Plan To Reopen Facilities Until May 8 At Earliest
(AP/CBS) -- The NBA has pushed back plans that would allow teams to reopen their practice facilities for at least one week, and cautioned that the new target is far from set in stone.
The earliest that teams can reopen for voluntary player workouts is now May 8, the NBA said Monday — and that would only be the case in places where local and state laws made such a move permissible.
And when those facilities are open, the rules will be very different: A person with direct knowledge of the league's plans told The Associated Press that players will have to wear face masks when in the facility, except when they are actually working out. Staff members would have to wear face masks and gloves at all times, said the person who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity because those details were not publicly announced.
The league announced other restrictions on Monday:
• 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 NBA suspended the season March 11. It ordered teams to shutter their facilities eight days later, saying at the time it was doing so "in light of the rapidly-developing coronavirus situation, and consistent with evolving advice from health experts regarding how to promote individual and public health while minimizing the spread of the virus."
Celtics players likely won't be getting back to work anytime soon, as Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said Monday that Boston will not open on May 4, as the state's current emergency order says.
(© Copyright 2020 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
