Milwaukee Bucks and the rest of the NBA continue to deal with the fallout of pausing the 2019-20 season due to the coronavirus and initial policies has been set by the league.
The 2019-20 NBA season may be on hold for the moment, but the Milwaukee Bucks and all 29 other teams have a plan to follow for the short-term.
Per Shams Charania of The Athletic, the NBA informed all 30 teams Thursday evening of the following policies they all have to follow until March 16 in the wake of the NBA season being suspended Wednesday night:
The NBA has informed all 30 teams on policies effective immediately and through March 16, including:
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) March 12, 2020
- All players must remain in market of team
- Players remain home as long as possible
- NO group workouts, practices
- Team physicians/trainers speak to each player once a day
For now, all Bucks players will remain in Milwaukee until Monday with no practice time allowed, both individually or as a group, which gives some much needed clarity in the wake of the NBA putting the 2019-20 season on hold for the time being.
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Along with that, players have been asked to remain at home/self-quarantine and there will be direct lines of communication with the Bucks’ medical staff at least once a day.
Of course, the NBA’s decision to suspend their season has had an incredible ripple effect, beyond the basketball world.
Other major sports leagues that are currently in action like Major League Soccer, the National Hockey League, the NCAA Tournaments or Major League Baseball, who were close to kicking of their 2019-20 season next week, have all either suspended, delayed or outright cancelled their season throughout Thursday.
And according to ESPN’s Zach Lowe, the NBA 2K League is set to announce the postponement of their 2020 season Thursday night to add to the impact of COVID-19 starting to hit this side of the world.
E-sports, too: the NBA 2K League is expected to announce tonight that it is postponing the start of its season, which had been scheduled to begin on March 24. The league and 2K are working closely to see if it is possible to play games remotely, source says.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) March 12, 2020
The mammoth ramifications that have generated in the aftermath of all these decisions are only starting to be felt as of this writing, despite the prevailing hope the NBA has in being able to pick up the season in the foreseeable future.
On that front, Vince Goodwill of Yahoo Sports! reported Thursday afternoon that the NBA is anticipated at a 30-day hiatus before they re-evaluate where things stand. And all NBA players may soon be the subject of testing as Goodwill included via a source in light of Utah Jazz guard Donovan Mitchell testing positive for the coronavirus, despite showing no prior symptoms:
"“One ownership source on the call said it was suggested that every player be tested as soon as possible, because Mitchell’s case could be a harbinger for other positive tests for players who aren’t yet showing symptoms.”"
Whether that mandate will be enacted remains to be seen, but clearly, things are only starting to take shape around the NBA in what’s obviously an unprecedented time in league history.
As usual, we’ll keep you updated with any and all news relating to the NBA and the Bucks at large through this dizzying time.
For more information about COVID-19, visit the website for the CDC, WHO, or the website for your state’s Department of Health.