Report: If NBA players leave Orlando bubble, they’ll face 10-day quarantine

The idea players could somewhat freely enter and exit the NBA’s bubble at Disney World?

Not quite.

Shams Charania of The Athletic:

Sources: Expected protocol if an NBA player leaves the Orlando bubble: Quarantined for no less than 10 days and must have two negative coronavirus tests.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 8, 2020

Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN:

Front-office and union officials are expecting players who test positive to be quarantined for a minimum of seven days -- and possibly 10 to 14 -- based on several factors, sources told ESPN.

Players will be tested for COVID-19 every night in the contained Orlando campus environment, with test results returning the next morning, sources said.

The NBA plans to fit a lot of games – 88 seeding games, 0-4 play-in games and 15 playoff series – into a narrow window (July 31 – Oct. 12). Anyone quarantined 10 days would miss quite a bit of action.

There are legitimate concerns about forcing players to remain contained. But It’s hard to see the NBA maintaining adequate safety without such restrictions.

At least the players know what they’re getting into. They’re getting paid well for playing. This is a case for the continuing players to earn relatively more than the players on the eight finished teams.

Like with many aspects of coronavirus, there are no easy solutions – just hard compromises.

That’s even more true of players who contract coronavirus without leaving the bubble. There’s far less sympathy for someone who breaks protocol and then must miss 10 days for quarantine.

But stay in the bubble and still test positive? Missing 7-14 days is a tough break.

Yet, alternatives are difficult. Should the NBA delay games just to allow the positive players to recover? Which players should get that treatment? Allowing positive players to play is a non-starter.

At least players will get tested daily. That’s an encouraging update.