Video: NBA Won't Open Team Facilities Until May 8th

The NBA pushes back the date to open facilities to a week from Friday.

The NBA Won't open team facilities until a week from this Friday. The association released a memo earlier today saying May 8th is the target date for facilities to open, but could be pushed back further. 

The memo gives strict guidelines on how teams should proceed once players are allowed to come back to work.  

Despite pushback among many franchises, there are still other teams embracing idea of re-opening facilities, believing that a clean, safe and monitored team environment is needed now to keep players from potentially searching out less safe gymnasium environments to stay in shape.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) April 27, 2020

• No more than four players would be permitted at a facility at any one time.
• No head or assistant coaches could participate.
• Group activity remains prohibited, including practices or scrimmages.
• Players remain prohibited from using non-team facilities such as public health clubs, fitness centers, or gyms.

Per Adrain Wojnarowski, there is some conflict between ownership in the NBA; one group is "embracing the idea of re-opening facilities," believing that a clean, safe, monitored environment is better than having players in a public gym. According to Mike Fisher of Dallas Basketball (Sports Illustrated), Mark Cuban and Adam Silver are pushing for the league to take its time in returning to any activities so as not to risk another outbreak of COVID-19. 

How does the NBA protect its competitive balance if it allows players from a team to work out in one city while others are still on lockdown? @SIChrisMannix explores the idea: https://t.co/WWemptxazp pic.twitter.com/bC2zYdQvvS

— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) April 27, 2020

Players will be allowed to come back voluntarily, for workouts or treatment, as long as the facility is in a city or a state where a shelter-in-place order is being lifted. For teams that are still facing government restrictions, the NBA will help them find alternatives. 

Despite some apprehension, the mayors of Oklahoma City and Tulsa (the state's two largest metro areas)  are planning to let their cities shelter-in-place order expire this Friday.  It remains to be seen what that means for the Thunder but, all indications are that at some point, players will make it back to their team's gyms.