DALLAS (105.3 The Fan) - The NBA is taking its first steps toward what could be an eventual return of game action after a months-long pause due to the coronavirus crisis.
The league announced on Wednesday that its teams in states where lockdown restrictions have been eased may begin opening practice facilities as early as Friday. Such an announcement would seem to benefit the Mavericks on May 18 as that's the date governor Greg Abbott said gyms can re-open in the state of Texas.
But Mavericks owner Mark Cuban has a different opinion on the matter.
"The problem obviously is that because we can't test people, then we can't assure anybody's safety, whether they're basketball players or anybody else,'' Cuban told podcasters @bdameris and @MFollowill. "Even though we can try to take all different kinds of precautions, it's just not worth it – particularly when our guys are staying in shape and they're going outside and shooting on outdoor hoops and working out in various ways.''
This isn't a Steve Kerr situation, here, either. The Mavs are currently in 7th place in the Western Conference and are destined to return to the playoffs for the first time since the 2015-16 season.
Cuban did say on 105.3 The Fan earlier this week that he wants the NBA to start up again but that it'll take a "perfect" plan to do so. A plan that he feels isn't ready to get off the ground yet.
"I just don't think,'' Cuban says, "the risk is worth the reward."
