Los Angeles Lakers forward Jared Dudley understands that even if the NBA is cleared to return this year, players will need some time to get reacclimated.

As such, Dudley proposed a “bubble” training idea whereby the NBA would send players to multiple locations so they can train and ramp up activity for the potential resumption of play.

Dudley said players would likely need at least four weeks of preparation before establishing a certain comfort and readiness to play in games.

Via Matt Peralta of Lakers Nation.

“I would say a minimum of four to six weeks. It’s not even necessarily game shape, I just want people to realize this. We can’t go seven straight days, we still have to have off days. So realistically you would think five or six days on, one day off,” Dudley explained in an interview with LakersNation.com.

“So once you have that it’s a build-up. We go hard one or two days, ok now you’re sore, we gotta slow it down. That’s why there’s an offseason that builds it back up. We’re going from an offseason technically. It’s a short offseason, but one where people are working out less than they ever have in their entire life.

This is a timeline that has also been suggested by other coaches and players throughout the NBA, which obviously serves as another complicating factor as the league hopes to finish out the 2019-20 season.

However, it seems the NBA is already planning for built-in time in the event they receive the “green light” to resume play.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported the league has discussed delaying the start of the 2020-21 season until December. This plan figures to account for all of the preparatory time as well as the eventual conclusion of the 2019-20 season.