Some NBA players questioning return to practice facilities

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With three NBA teams expected to open their practice facilities to limited participants Friday - and more clubs likely to follow - some players are questioning the value of that access given the restrictions involved.

"Players are saying, 'I can do my stuff at high school gyms or whatever else I've been using right now - without having to go through all these protocols,'" an unidentified Western Conference general manager told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne. "And I can work out as long as I want there - not just an hour."

Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum voiced his concern Thursday about returning to abbreviated workouts at his team's facility. The Blazers are one of the teams scheduled to partially reopen Friday.

He may not be alone.

"I think a lot of guys feel it's not safe when you have to jump through so many hoops to get a socially distanced workout in without being able to use the shower or the whirlpools or the sauna," an unidentified Western Conference starter told Shelburne.

Players must arrive dressed to work out because they aren't permitted to access the locker room, and they can't shower at the facility.

As for players who left the cities they play in, another executive said they'd "be surprised if any of our players flew back into market for this."

Some executives told Shelburne that they believed players would feel differently about reopening facilities if there was a roadmap in place for resuming play.

After the NBA suspended its season March 11, Dallas Mavericks star Luka Doncic went back to his native Slovenia on a private jet, sources told Shelburne. Under current federal regulations, he would need to quarantine when he returns to the United States.

For his part, Mavs owner Mark Cuban refused to open his practice facility, citing limited available tests for the coronavirus.

NBA commissioner Adam Silver, NBPA executive director Michele Roberts, and the league's players are expected to have a conference call Friday.