The NBA's restart plan, which now is a week away from players being required to return to their team's markets, continues to face questions in four critical areas, according to an NBA source involved with the discussions:
_ The level, format and degree of COVID-19 testing.
_ The isolation aspect of the resumption planned for the Wide World of Sports campus at the Disney World complex outside of Orlando.
_ The ability of players to continue their activism amid Black Lives Matter protests and rallies.
_ And financial risks by players who otherwise would have been two weeks from securing new contracts or extensions.
"The good thing," an NBA source involved told the Sun Sentinel, "is that everybody is talking. They're going to play."
Heat involvement in the process has included forward Andre Iguodala among those on a player conference call on Friday night, discussing the merits of returning and center Bam Adebayo talking with union officials about protections in light of his ability to sign an extension in excess of $100 million this summer.
A party familiar with the Adebayo aspect said the discussion with the union extended to players who will become free agents this offseason, an offseason that was scheduled to begin with free-agency negotiations on June 30.
Instead, the NBA has set in motion plans for a resumption on July 30 that could run through an Oct. 13 Game 7 of the NBA Finals.
The discussion that involved Adebayo was not the first time that possible insurance against injury has been raised, with the cost of such protection often prohibitive.
An agent briefed on the contractual concerns, said a pitch of allowing those with team options for 2020-21 to have that money guaranteed in advance of a restart was rejected.
The Adebayo aspect has several layers, since the only way the Heat can retain cap space for a major free-agent signing in the 2021 offseason would be to bypass an extension offer and instead have the playmaking big man become a restricted free agent in the 2021 offseason.
From a more immediate perspective, the Heat's Derrick Jones Jr., Goran Dragic, Meyers Leonard, Jae Crowder, Solomon Hill and Udonis Haslem would have become free agents July 1.
"We'll see what the future holds." Dragic said of his future in a Sunday interview with Local 10.
To this point, the only training sessions have been one-on-one work with coaches under strict distancing protocol.
"The concern is injuries. These guys usually are playing all summer, before training camp. Now you're asking them to come in for three weeks and play, without addressing the injury risk," a long-time NBA agent told the Sun Sentinel. "I'm not sure my guy should be playing."
Testing of all players, including those asymptomatic, will begin next Monday, although final details have yet to be forwarded to players regarding the type of testing and the frequency once players arrive at Disney. The NBA has been shut down since March 11 amid the coronavirus pandemic.
"The main concern is safety," Dragic said. "As long as it's gonna be safe and everything for everyone who's gonna be in that bubble, then I'm okay with it."
As for the sequestering, there remains ongoing concern about players being separated from family members until Aug. 30, unless their team is eliminated earlier.
Then there is the ongoing involvement of players in the movement against police brutality and racial injustice.
"It's not a question of play or not play," union executive director Michele Roberts told ESPN. "It's a question of, does playing again harm a movement that we absolutely, unequivocally embrace? And then whether our play can, in fact, highlight, encourage and enhance this movement? That's what they're talking about."
The NBA's plan will not allow players to leave the specifically designated areas of Disney during the course of their teams' season, with anyone leaving then subjected to a 10-day quarantine upon reentry. Several NBA players have been involved in both COVID-19 relief efforts and Black Lives Matter rallies, for the Heat most notably Haslem.
"It's still a lot of things need to be done," Dragic said.
