NBA Teams Guidelines for Players' Return

NBA teams are expecting the league office will issue guidelines around June 1 that will allow franchisees to start recalling players who've left their markets as the first step toward a formal ramp-up for the season's resumption, sources told ESPN. Teams expect a similar timeline from the league on when they'll be allowed to expand individual workouts already underway with in-market players to include more team personnel, sources said.

The NBA suspended the 2019-20 season on March 11 because of the coronavirus pandemic. The league is discussing a step-by-step plan for a resumption of the season that includes an initial two-week recall of players into team marketplaces for a period of quarantine, one to two weeks of individual workouts at team facilities, and a two- to three-week formal training camp, sources told ESPN.

Barring an unforeseen turn of events, many NBA owners, executives, and National Basketball Players Association elders believe Commissioner Adam Silver will green-light the return to play in June with games expected to resume sometime before the end of July, sources said.

The NBA is still considering a two-site format for the return of the season, including Orlando's Walt Disney World and Las Vegas, sources said.

Silver indicated that the North American sports commissioners had indicated to the Trump administration and governors that they could need their assistance in helping players return to the country, and fully expected to receive it, sources said.