NBA: CJ McCollum worried about re-opening practice facilities
Portland Trailblazers guard CJ McCollum says he is worried about the NBA re-opening practice facilities for teams as the league tries to draw closer to returning.
McCollum made the statement on an online report, asking if the move will be “worth it” and if the league has to rush its return.
“The issue is you can go to your practice facility, but there’s all these stipulations,” McCollum told Yahoo Sports. “You can’t use certain stuff, can’t do certain stuff. Now they’re talking about you might have to be 12 feet away from your strength coach. How are you going to lift 12 feet away from somebody?”
“I am worried like the rest of the world, but I like that it is optional and I’m pleased with the caution, structure and measures the Blazers organization has put in place to ensure the safest environment possible for all parties involved,” McCollum told Yahoo Sports. “I get the measures [the league is] taking, but you have to think at some point when there are drastic measures that need to be taken, ‘Is it really worth it?’ It’s either safe or it’s not.
According to the same report, even Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban echoed McCollum’s sentiments, saying the move is risky.
“The problem, obviously, is that because we can’t test people, then we can’t assure anybody’s safety whether they’re basketball players or anybody else,” Cuban said. “Even though we can try to take all different kinds of precautions, it’s just not worth it — particularly when our guys are staying in shape and they’re going outside and shooting on outdoor hoops and working out in various ways. So, I just don’t think the risk is worth the reward.”
Understandably, McCollum lost one of his relatives due to coronavirus. Earlier this year, Minnesota Timberwolves big man Karl-Anthony Towns’ mother also passed away after contracting the virus.
COVID-19 has swept the United States with hundreds of thousands of cases, and a vaccine is yet to be developed.
Among teams who have already made facilities available for players to practice are the Blazers, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Orlando Magic.
