A Larger Than Expected Group Of NBA Players, Including Kyrie Irving, Are Organizing Against The NBA’s Restart Plan In Orlando

Yahoo Sports – There is a significant number of NBA players who are disappointed that everyone wasn’t given the opportunity to vote on whether to restart the 2019-20 season, league sources told Yahoo Sports.

Last week, the National Basketball Players Association executive committee and its board of representatives approved the league’s 22-team, return-to-play format to be held at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida, in late July.

The complaint, privately expressed by multiple players, is that every player’s voice wasn’t heard for this critical and potentially life-changing vote, sources said.

The unease about relocating to a quarantined campus during the COVID-19 pandemic was already viewed as hazardous and unnecessary to many players. But because of the George Floyd tragedy and the powerful movement for racial justice that’s sweeping the nation, some players believe it’s bad optics for a league comprised predominantly of black men to be sequestered in one location for up to three months merely to entertain the masses and ease the league’s economic burden, sources said.

More details on the situation with players from Bleacher Report’s Taylor Rooks:

And the late-night hammer of additional details comes from B/R’s Howard Beck:

Once Kyrie Irving got a taste for tearing apart teams in Boston, he couldn’t quite scratch that itch by throwing teammates under the bus and getting Kenny Atkinson fired in Brooklyn. So now he has to take down entire leagues to fill that hunger, like a newly turned vampire who’s enjoyed his first taste of blood.

And honestly, the NBA’s return has largely seemed like a star-driven move. Guys like LeBron need to save gigantic pay days as well as potential legacies as LeBron’s championship window can shrink exponentially as he gets older. LeBron, Kawhi, Giannis, guys in that tier are practically partners in the league. They want it to do well since that gets them higher max deals, more salary cap space and richer endorsement deals. They also obviously love the game and want a shot at the title.

At the same time, there may be guys who don’t share that same love of the game with the economic incentives to get back out there. Guys who are more husband and dad than basketball player may want to just stay home. Young guys who have spent quarantine hanging out with a girl they like and just want to party and hang out all summer. Guys who just cash that paycheck and show up to camp out of shape because they don’t really have that burning desire in them to hit the court every day. It’s a coworker environment like any. Some people love every moment. Some people are just happy the check clears every pay period.

It does seem like those guys deserve their chance to speak their peace. I’d personally welcome the NBA to return but it probably shouldn’t force guys back into action if they don’t want to be there. Fingers crossed this doesn’t throw an MLB-sized wrench in the league’s restart but it’s not the best news for NBA fans.

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