The NBA bubble was a smash hit in terms of limiting the number of COVID-19 infections, but no one is quite sure what to do with the New York Knicks and the seven other teams that didn’t qualify. First, they talked about forming a separate bubble in Chicago, then they discussed letting each team organize their own training camp, and finally they considered scrapping the whole thing.
But now a new idea has emerged, according to The Athletic’s Sam Amick: bring the eight losing teams into the Orlando bubble at a later date. Six teams are on their way out of the bubble when they fail to qualify for the playoffs, which would free up some space for the “Delete Eight” as they are called to train once they are quarantined.
This idea probably won’t go well with the Knicks, who have been adamant from the start that they prefer to train separately at their Tarrytown training facility. But the NBA Players Association prefers everyone to train together in a place they can control. As we watch daily updates of MLB teams outside of a bubble environment fighting COVID epidemics within their ranks, it’s hard to blame the NBAPA. The bubbles are working.
Also, it would be nice for the young Knicks to train at Disney during playoff time, maybe watch a game or two, and check out the playoff vibe … albeit the surreal 2020 version.