The Los Angeles Clippers are one of the teams fighting to bring more family earlier into the Walt Disney World bubble despite the recent surge in positive coronavirus cases.
According to Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Clippers have been one of the most vocal teams insisting the NBA allows “at least one family member or friend” to join players at the start of the first round.
“They’re fighting for that,” a rival GM told Amick.
The Clippers are certainly not alone in this, as there are several other teams that want that support system while they're sequestered in the bubble.
According to an earlier leaguewide memo, teams will be allowed to reserve an additional hotel room for each player on their roster after the first round (up to 17).
The maximum occupancy of the room must be followed to the letter, and agents won't be allowed unless they’re related to the player. Tobias Harris of the Philadelphia 76ers, for example, would be able to bring in his father/agent Torrel Harris.
All player guests will have to adhere to significant quarantine requirements before and after arriving at Walt Disney World in Orlando.
There's a particular risk in bringing in more people and growing the bubble exponentially by allowing family that soon into the competition. Doing so in the first round would give every player on the roster a plus-one, and a quick bit of math shows that is a total of 544 people (17 players times two, times 16 teams taking part in the first round) — not counting coaches, executives, and essential staff.
Doing so the way the NBA intended in the latest memo cuts that number by half (272 people). Players who make it that far into the postseason would have roughly spent a full two months in the bubble.
The Clippers have lent their voice to the cause, but there is no guarantee their requests will be granted by the league, as it must consider the best course of action moving forward.
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