Report: Tons of new details emerge about NBA bubble in Orlando

The NBA season is set to return at the end of July and we got a ton of new details from The Athletic’s Shams Charania on Tuesday night. Here, we’re going to go over everything that he detailed in his report, from certain deadlines to how players will operate on the bench, we’ve got a ton of info to go over.

Phase 1

June 15-22

This is the time when players will report back to teams and those teams will immediately prepare for testing players at facilities. The Raptors are already in Florida because of travel issues. Players are allowed to workout at team facilities during this time, but only voluntary and individual workouts are allowed. Players will only report to facilities for testing or to train, and then go directly home during this time.

Phase 2

June 23-30

This is similar to Phase 1 except testing begins at team facilities. Players are only permitted to go to the team facilities for testing and then home. They will undergo a bunch of tests for coronavirus COVID-19 and are able to help with a Yale study going on.

As for players who decide to sit out, they won’t be penalized for doing so, though will have a fraction of their paycheck taken out. These are the non-participating players. Any player who is “excused” are sitting out because they were deemed high risk for COVID-19. Excused players must notify teams by June 25. Non-participating players must notify by June 24.

Phase 3

July 1-11

During this phase, individual workouts are mandatory though group workouts are still prohibited. Head coaches are allowed to participate in individual workouts with players.

Phase 4A

July 7-11

This is when teams will start to report to Disney World. Team flights will happen from July 7-9 for certain teams until everyone is at Florida. Upon arrival, players and staff will remain isolated until they have two negative COVID-19 tests at least 24 hours apart. Players can wear proximity alarms around them to notify when they aren’t 6 feet away from another person. All staff and personnel will wear the alarms, players it is optional.

Everyone will wear facemasks and distancing will occur regularly. Distancing will go on through individual workouts and during team workouts. Players will be allowed to wear a Oura ring that can help in early detection of the coronavirus. Players won’t be tested for recreational drugs, only PEDs.

Phase 4B

July 9/10/11-21

This is a bit longer so we’ll just go over some key talking points.

— Teams may engage in group workouts, practices weight training, a lot of what teams are used to during the season.

— Players will continue to be tested and must practice good hygiene during practices to prevent the virus from popping up.

— On July 21, after players have isolated for long enough, they’ll be allowed to eat meals together. They can have brief interactions with others in common areas but that’s it. Players can’t enter other players hotel rooms, so no parties.

—If a player leaves without approval — players are allowed to leave — then that player will be punished with 10-14 days of quarantine and can’t return until two negatives tests within that time span. The tests also get worse if a player does this, so no real incentive to ruin things.

Phase 5

July 22-29

— Players will begin scrimmages against other teams within their hotels. At this point, players can socialize with other players from other teams in their hotels, just not inside any hotel rooms.

Phase 6

July 30-Oct. 13

The season begins! So we’ve already been through a lot of this information about the League’s return. We’ll do eight regular-season games for each of the remaining teams to decide seeding. If a play-in tournament is required, that will commence before the 16-team, 7-game NBA Playoffs. Once teams are eliminated, they will immediately leave the NBA Campus.

Here’s a list of where the teams are staying at Disney World.

• Gran Destino — Bucks, Lakers, Raptors, Clippers, Celtics, Nuggets, Jazz, Heat
• Grand Floridian — Thunder, 76ers, Rockets, Pacers, Mavericks, Nets, Grizzlies, Magic
• Yacht Club — Blazers, Kings, Pelicans, Spurs, Suns, Wizards

And a list of amenities the players will have during their stay in Disney:

• Hotel amenities — players-only lounge with video games, pool/trails, barbers, manicurists, pedicurists
• A 24-hour VIP concierge service
• Daily entertainment — Movie screenings, DJ sets, video games, ping pong, pool, lawn games
• Players can attend other games