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Last night, Shams Charania dropped what is certainly the biggest NBA-related news of the past 48 hours.
The NBA and NBPA have reached agreement for the eight franchises who were not part of Orlando restart to conduct voluntary group workouts while residing in campus settings, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 19, 2020
NBA and NBPA essentially forming in-market bubbles for the eight non-restart teams, Sept. 14 to Oct. 6, sources say.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 19, 2020
Phase 1: Sept. 14-20: Testing begins, individual workouts
Phase 2: Sept. 21-Oct. 6: Group training in campus setting; private living accommodations for all. https://t.co/774ZkM0xVz
The eight non-restart teams are able to bring in up to five G League affiliate players into the program. Limit on 5-on-5 scrimmaging for Phase 2 had been discussed at one hour per day. https://t.co/ErzAnYOD3h
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 19, 2020
Okay, maybe there’s been a few bigger storylines over the past two days, but still, it’s exciting to see that the Wolves will get to practice/play together again after such a long hiatus.
Really, that’s all this comes down to. It would have been awful, not only for the Wolves but the fanbase as well, to go nearly a year without seeing the team together. The Wolves hardly got to see what they had in their new team after the trade deadline anyways, so it’ll be good to see them all play together again.
That brings me to my next point — televising scrimmages should be a no-brainer. The Wolves don’t exactly have the most die-hard fanbase. They’re perennially in the bottom third of the league in attendance. Going nine months without seeing the team play, and even longer without seeing Karl-Anthony Towns play, would be a terrible, terrible idea.
More than anything, this should be fun. The team seems to get along really well, which could make those scrimmages/practices really fun to watch. We’ve been enjoying the wholesome Wolves content throughout their time off, so let’s give people more access than ever to enjoy and connect with this team.
Lastly, kudos to the NBA for figuring out how to pull this off. The bubble in Orlando has worked great, and I’d imagine they’ll take similar protocols with these mini-camps. The original idea of bringing the teams together in Chicago would’ve been a dud, but allowing teams to get twenty-or-so guys in town for scrimmages and practices is a perfectly practical solution.