Last week, Los Angeles Lakers veteran small forward Jared Dudley was confident the NBA season could resume.
However, after the NBA shut down all practice facilities and more and more people in the NBA population got the coronavirus, the Lakers wing has changed his tune.
As transcribed by Hoops Rumors:
“Once I heard the news of no more practice facilities, if that goes for a month or month-and-a-half to two months, I find it almost impossible to then have a season because now you’re telling a professional athlete, ‘For 60-to-80 days you’ve done no training.' I’m not optimistic right now at all for a season to be honest with you,” Dudley told Fox Sports Radio.
“Unless something happens here in the next 30 days where they open back up the facilities. But how do they do that? Once everyone starts getting tested, you’re going to hear more and more cases because it’s a very common thing to get.”
The NBA would like to resume play in the summer if it's possible and then start the 2020-21 season in December. However, the virus keeps spreading and more cities are going on lockdown.
Dudley and the Lakers had the top record in the Western Conference standings before play was suspended after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the virus. That was followed by Jazz shooting guard Donovan Mitchell, Detroit Pistons big man Christian Wood, Brooklyn Nets superstar Kevin Durant and Boston Celtics guard Marcus Smart.
Two players on the Lakers have also tested positive for COVID-19. Both players are currently asymptomatic, in quarantine and under the care of the team’s physician.
The Lakers tested their entire team after it became clear they were exposed during a game on March 10th against the Nets.
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