There May Be A Second NBA Bubble In September With All The Teams Not Involved With The Orlando Return

A refracted Woj bomb courtesy of ESPN’s Jackie McMullen! McMullen has addtional details on a proposed second bubble of the non-Orlando qualifying teams:

The NBA is close to signing off on a second “bubble” in Chicago for the eight teams that were not invited to play in Florida, enabling them to participate in a mini-training camp and subsequent games against other clubs with a target date of September, sources told ESPN on Thursday.

The details are still being hammered out, and teams continue to push for an alternative plan that would enable them to hold mini-camps within their local markets and to explore the idea of establishing regional sites where teams could scrimmage against each other.

Multiple team sources said union leader Michele Roberts has been steadfast in her insistence that the non-playoff teams follow the same protocol as the 22 teams that will be quarantined in Orlando and competing for the NBA championship. Commissioner Adam Silver supports Roberts on this issue, it was confirmed by those who were on the call.

Towards the tail end of McMullen’s report is one hilariously unsurprising detail:

Seven of the eight non-playoff teams [the Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Detroit Pistons, Golden State Warriors, and the Minnesota Timberwolves] participated in a call Thursday with league officials, with the New York Knicks as the lone team without a representative on the call, sources told ESPN.

Even in a situation where the Knicks legitimately have a shot to win something resembling a championship, they’re nowhere to be found. Classic Knicks.

But honestly I’m the type who LOVES bad basketball teams so I’m all in here. From a fantasy and betting perspective, I’ve always found value in knowing the bottom of the league like the back of my hand. But, even independent of that, there’s beauty in Devonte’ Graham’s assist and aggressive three point game. There’s joy in Christian Wood finally finding in a home and role in Detroit. There’s hopefully a bright future to come with Trae Young’s Atlanta Hawks.

People have asked the “why” question about this proposed second bubble but it stands that this would sub in for a Summer League and normally timed training camp with an expected quick turnaround to get to the 2020-21 season. Guys like Zach LaVine were initially disappointed their season was done due to the somewhat select group going to Orlando. It’ll give these guys a low-pressure chance to ball, some extra NBA DFS, and maybe a reprise from the pain of a delayed NFL season.

There likely needs to be some sort of pot of gold for these teams at the end of a rainbow — one that might be a fix for a potentially fully-staffed Warriors squad — but I’m in either way. You’ll never hear me look the basketball gift horse in the mouth.

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