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NBA Allows Teams to Open Practice Facilities

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The seeds for the new season are now being planted as official workouts resume.

2019 Las Vegas Summer League - Portland Trail Blazers v Milwaukee Bucks Photo by David Dow/NBAE via Getty Images

The NBA has informed teams that they can now open practice facilities for limited groups of players, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic. The move is significant on a couple of fronts. The clearance was necessary as part of ongoing protocols for COVID-19, an issue that has dominated professional sports over the last nine months. It also foreshadows the start of the 2020-21 NBA season, an issue which is currently under contention.

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN adds a tidbit about COVID safety:

Following a Board of Governors meeting a week ago, the league wasreported to favor a December 22nd startto the new year. Supposedly, the players areleaning towards a January 18th kick-off. The head of the NBPA说12月末的时间表吗“defies common sense”.

Today is the deadline for either side to declare that they will opt out of the current Collective Bargaining Agreement, which would send both parties back to the negotiating table regarding finances and presumably scuttle any attempts at an early start. More to come on this issue as the day progresses.