The NBA is gearing up for a return, but should they wait it out even longer?
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00:00 The NBA seems poised for a return with Orlando and Disney World, the leading candidate to
00:06 host the league.
00:07 For more, I'm joined by our Ben Pickman and the fantasy exec, Corey Parson.
00:11 Now guys, as fans, obviously we want the NBA to come back, but in general, is it a good
00:16 idea?
00:17 Ben, we'll start with you.
00:18 I mean, I think on a big picture level, yes, it is a good idea and would do good for the
00:24 NBA to return, but I think the league does need to be careful, right?
00:27 I mean, we've heard about this Disney World proposal and reportedly people will be in
00:31 this quarantine campus environment.
00:33 But Jared Dudley did say just yesterday on Wednesday night that there is a chance that
00:38 players will be allowed to leave the bubble.
00:39 And so that opens up some some opportunity for risk.
00:43 We also have obvious testing concerns about how frequently can they test the NBA players
00:47 we've seen in some other team sports, namely the Premier Lacrosse League and the NWSL that
00:52 have announced return to play tournaments, that they're fully controlling the environment
00:56 of some of their teams and their participants.
00:58 But there are a lot more people at risk in this scenario, not just the players.
01:01 You have to consider media who's there, TV broadcasters, trainers, coaches, families.
01:06 If they're allowed there, there are a lot of people at play.
01:08 And so it's important for the league not to rush back just too quickly.
01:12 You know, it should go without saying we want everyone to be safe.
01:16 However, you know, I don't really know how the circumstances are necessarily going to
01:20 change too much if they wait.
01:22 Corey, no doubt.
01:23 And listen, here's my thing.
01:25 I've been saying this for a while now.
01:26 I think Adam Silver is the sharpest guy in professional sports.
01:29 So I think it's been thoroughly vetted.
01:30 And I really feel like he knows what he's doing.
01:32 When it boils down to it, this is all about money.
01:35 The NBA cannot continue to lose all of this revenue, whether it be TV or whatever have
01:39 you.
01:40 The players also want to play.
01:41 We've seen Chris Paul, LeBron James also be very vocal about it.
01:44 Now, yeah, you'll have some guys go out the bubble and stuff like that.
01:47 But like, you know, it's professional responsibility.
01:49 So I would think that it is a good idea.
01:51 And I'll be honest with you.
01:52 I hope that they can get it done.
01:53 You know, look, we did credit the NBA in some ways for leading when this crisis started.
01:59 So perhaps they can help to lead at least the progress toward getting out of this crisis
02:06 as well.
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