Australian NBA star Matthew Dellavedova has revealed his reservations around the resumption of the 2019-20 season in Florida.
The league released a statement last week confirming it was in talks to establish an 'NBA bubble' at a Disney complex in Orlando, Florida, where the remainder of the season could be played in July. Las Vegas is another location being discussed.
Latest reports suggest NBA teams are expecting further guidelines on June 1, providing greater detail on when workouts can be expanded and how games can resume from mid-July, with potentially reduced squad and support staff of only 35 people per team.
But what the bubble option looks like for players is still very unclear.
For Dellavedova, the coronavirus shutdown has been an unlikely positive on the home front.
"We've been really lucky here. All our friends and family are safe and well and it's actually been great to get quality time with our almost 7-month-old son. That's been unreal," he told Wide World of Sports.
"It's been a great experience all things considered."
But his Cleveland Cavaliers teammate Larry Nance Jnr suggested earlier this month that players with young families like Dellavedova might not go for the bubble idea.
The Aussie said he was never directly asked about the topic until today, however it's clear the bubble's potential ramifications on his family life are on his mind.
"The NBA is going to make sure they're doing everything to keep everyone safe and healthy, but I'd like to hear exactly what the plans are," Dellavedova said.
"They've told us some things that they're planning to do but like everyone else, I want to see what the full picture looks like.
"There's a lot of different options being thrown around but until there's a plan that's locked in, I think everyone will assess it after that."
https://www.instagram.com/p/CAjC1ydgny6/Dellavedova is a big Collingwood fan, and like most sports lovers from Australia, he is keen to see footy return. He said the NBA has been tracking the sporting codes in Australia too.
"They've been following very closely what's happening in the German soccer league, what's going to happen in the NRL, the AFL and different leagues around the world," Dellavedova said.
"They're going to have a really good plan in place. And the longer it goes, the more information they're going to have to make a decision.
"I think the NBA is looking at all the testing options. They've been talking about doing daily testing.
"If there's a way to get the season back and keep everyone safe and healthy, they're going to explore every possible option. I know a few people were suggesting we should play the rest of the season in Australia but I think everyone will be happy if it's Florida or Vegas."
https://www.instagram.com/p/CAr3xIGAHgG/In the meantime, Dellavedova has been spending his time training solo readying himself physically and mentally for the NBA season to restart. Because of his young son, he's been on the cautious side, and resisted doing group work-outs or court work with teammates.
He and his family spent six weeks in Cleveland but in the last few weeks he's been based in the East Bay near where he went to college in San Francisco.
"The weather has been a lot better and I've been able to work-out rather than running around downtown Cleveland or doing step-ups onto my couch or things like that," the Victorian joked.
"I have also been jumping on the Zoom team yoga and team ball-handling sessions which have been fun.
"There was probably a few more guys on there at the start, but now things have opened up a bit, guys have found ways to get into the gym and the practice facility has opened up a little bit back in Cleveland.
"Still, it's been good keeping connected and have a group work-out, even though the people downstairs from me in the apartment might not have been too happy hearing the ball bounce, but I'll get them some tickets eventually when things get back to normal."
Dellavedova said until the NBA delivers a concrete return plan he will remain on the west coast training on his own, but he's fully expecting they will indeed get to finish the season.
"It's an interesting situation not knowing if we're going to be coming back. I'm pretty sure the NBA is coming back and they've kind of said that, but they don't know if it's just going to be the playoff teams, or 20 teams, or everybody," he said.
"As an athlete you've got to prepare like you're coming back because you just can't turn it on and off."
Matthew Dellavedova spoke to Wide World of Sports on behalf of Spalding Australia
from WWOS http://wwos.nine.com.au/basketball/matthew-dellavedova-cleveland-cavaliers-nba-season-restart-after-coronavirus-shutdown/518ebff0-1b28-4e0e-8730-bab57b37a331
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