Fansided

A second NBA bubble is reckless and entirely unnecessary

ByMike Phillips|
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 10: Larry Nance Jr. #22 of the Cleveland Cavaliers tries to keep the ball away from Lauri Markkanen #24 of the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on March 10, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 10: Larry Nance Jr. #22 of the Cleveland Cavaliers tries to keep the ball away from Lauri Markkanen #24 of the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on March 10, 2020 in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

The NBA is planning a second bubble site for the eight eliminated teams.

Despite the raging coronavirus cases in Florida, which topped 10,000 on Thursday, the NBA is moving full steam ahead towards completing its season in Orlando. The league’s bubble at Walt Disney World is expected to be meticulous and a necessary risk if the 22 invited teams are going to complete the regular season.

There were eight teams that didn’t get invited to Orlando, and they have expressed concerns about their ability to compete with a nearly nine-month layoff between the end of their seasons in March and the presumed start of the 2020-21 NBA season in December. Those concerns are being answered by the NBA, as ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan is reporting the league will set up a second bubble in Chicago for the eight eliminated teams in September.

This second bubble will allow the so-called “Delete Eight” teams to hold mini-camps and stage games against each other.

The fact that this idea even made it off the drawing board is mind-boggling and a potential disaster for the NBA.

The league will have a hard enough time managing 22 teams in its first bubble in a state where coronavirus cases are spiking and the governor is plowing ahead with his reopening plans anyway. Adding a second bubble site for eight teams that finished well below .500 to have training camps and a few meaningless games is completely nonsensical.

Even if all eight teams were invited to this loser’s bubble, there is no guarantee all the players would go. The New York Knicks, who are reportedly against this idea, have up to eight players who can become free agents that wouldn’t gain anything by showing up to Chicago for this event.

There is also no guarantee the Golden State Warriors would even bother bringing stars like Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson to the bubble and risk injury ahead of the next season for meaningless games. While a tweak like adding lottery incentives might spice things up a little bit, packing eight teams into a bubble for training camps increases the risk of virus exposure for everyone involved when it looks like we are still months away from the possibility of a vaccine for COVID-19.

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