The NBA's four California franchises — the Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Golden State Warriors and Sacramento Kings — are doing everything they can to get the 2019-20 season rolling again.
According to reports, the said NBA teams are lobbying Governor Gavin Newsom to include them in the gradual re-opening of the country's most populous state.
Article Continues BelowPer Sam Amick and Joe Vardon of The Athletic:
Gov. Newsom's “Stage 2” includes “gradually re-opening” low-risk workplaces such as retail curbside pickup locations, manufacturing companies, offices where telework is not possible, and other “public spaces.” If the Lakers, Clippers, Warriors and Kings can get into Gov. Newsom's ear that their facilities are low-risk workplaces, then four more NBA teams can begin getting back into game shape.
As the NBA sees teams in various states get the green light to work out at practice facilities, the league has also been afflicted by an unequal clearing among franchises — with the re-opening of the country working on a state-by-state basis. Georgia, for example, is opening with the Atlanta Hawks potentially going to work the earliest.
The California teams could see their workplace ban lifted by Gov. Newsom, but that still leaves plenty of NBA teams waiting at home with little to no timeline for a return.