Today, the Governor of Illinois noted that his state is the only one so far to satisfy the initial reopening metrics as laid out by the White House.
I’ve always said that the data will tell us when we can reopen our state.
While the president ignores his own guidance and urges states to reopen prematurely, I'm proud that Illinois was the first state to hit all five @WhiteHouse metrics. https://t.co/7k8bAoI9L8
— Governor JB Pritzker (@GovPritzker) May 27, 2020
Obviously that hasn’t stopped other states from aggressively opening up, but it certainly feels like an important moment in Illinois’ process as it relates to sports. Surely guys can start working out at facilities now, right?
Right:
Per sources, Bulls received clearance from Gov. Pritzker’s office and are in talks with city officials to safely open Advocate Center on Friday for voluntary, socially distanced player workouts that would follow league-issued safety guidelines.
— K.C. Johnson (@KCJHoop) May 27, 2020
As noted today by Marc Stein, the vast majority of NBA teams had received permission to start these kinds of workouts, so it’s nice to see that the Bulls will be joining that group on Friday, and doing so safely.
As for how the voluntary workouts fit into a return timeline, while much is still up in the air, you’d roughly be looking at something more official on the training side not kicking off until July:
Sources: The NBA is working on multi-phase medical/safety protocols toward restart of play. Current projections have in-market training camps in July, then camps/scrimmages in Orlando, then resume play late July/early August.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 27, 2020
With only a small portion of the regular season to finish (if at all), and the ability to punt the start of next season to December or January, the NBA still has plenty of time to work out their return schedule. In the meantime, Bulls players will be able to get back to training at the Advocate Center, if they choose.