The NBA is going through a difficult stretch with a potential long hiatus since the season came to a halt on March 11. Los Angeles Lakers forward Jared Dudley has seen the situation get more dire by the day, a feeling that is shared with many NBA executives and owners around the league.
Dudley stressed he wants the NBA to return, but only under the right circumstances:
“I want the season to come back. But I want us to be able to train our bodies to where we can’t use it as an excuse. For everybody. Because there is an excuse,” Dudley told Michael Lee of The Athletic. “If we have four to six weeks to get our body right, okay, from a physical standpoint, we’re right. Are we ready as a country? For one, I think there is going to be a time, basketball is going to be huge us to get back, for people to be able to cheer. We have to be able to start the process and I think basketball would be a good way.
So is testing available for everyone to be able to do it? Is the curve down? Have we plateaued and can we do it in the right time frame? If it’s the right time frame, not rushed, there’s no reason. And I’m someone who likes money but that should not be the main reason for us getting back right now. That’s because you have people’s health, from the virus, health from player safety in terms of injury. We don’t have the proper stuff right now. Hopefully, we have a miracle and hopefully something changes in the next 60 days, but it’s looking more bleak by the day.”
The Lakers veteran was first more optimistic about the season resuming because of all the money involved, but now he's starting to change his tune a bit as he sees how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting sports and life around the world. While he acknowledges playing in Las Vegas is a possibility, he also realizes the challenges of that as well:
But then, the question is, are we going to be a society by June, July, that we have enough testing for security, hotel personnel, cleaning crew? And now they can’t leave, because if they go home … they have to stay on site for 60 days, maybe 90. And that’s where I get to the point, are we going to get there. Because it’s a ticking thing. You have to be able to July 1, start the season, maybe July 15 to have the season and not affect it. So, you have a time date.
Ultimately, players would prefer not to return to a play-in tournament, a shortened regular season, or a crunched postseason. Yet the hopes of picking up right where they left off is rather unrealistic at this point, as the NBA could be out of action for several months, or maybe for good this season.
NBA teams and their owners have mulled a very possible cancellation of the 2019-20 season, as this coronavirus pandemic doesn't look to be getting any easier to deal with worldwide. This would certainly be a bummer for Dudley and the Lakers, who were one of the title favorites when the season went into shutdown mode.
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