NBA details next steps of return plan. Here’s when the Miami Heat can begin training camp
The NBA is getting ready to take the next step in ramping up its return to play this summer. The league detailed its training camp plan Friday in a memo circulated to teams, including the Miami Heat. Starting June 23, Erik Spoelstra will be able to begin working with the Heat as one of two coaches present for voluntary workouts. Training camp for the 22 remaining teams will begin next month at in Central Florida.
This is all part of a larger memo outlining the NBA’s plan for the next few months as the league tries to wrap up the season amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Miami Herald confirmed. Training camp will stretch from July 9 to July 29 at Walt Disney World’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex, and the season is currently scheduled to begin July 30. Miami currently plans to travel to Lake Buena Vista by bus on July 9, at which point they will enter the league’s “bubble,” limiting contact with the outside world. Typically, the Heat does all travel — including for road games against the Orlando Magic — by plane.
The NBA plan requires all players to return to their home cities by June 22. Players traveling from outside the United States must arrive in their home cities by June 15. Wing Solomon Hill is Miami’s only player not yet in South Florida, as he has spent his hiatus in California. The team expects him to return “soon,” a source said.
While the plan is subject to change because of the uncertainty caused by the coronavirus, the playoffs are slated to begin Aug. 17. Family and guests of teams can begin arriving in Florida on Aug. 30 as eliminated teams depart and the sheer number of people within the bubble decreases. The league expects the NBA Finals to start by Sept. 30 and a Game 7 would take place Oct. 13. The league expects 14 of the 22 teams to be eliminated within 53 days of arriving in Central Florida.
Last month, teams regained access to practice facilities for the first time since the season abruptly halted in March. Voluntary workouts have been limited to one player and one coach per basket. Starting Friday, players can be supervised by two coaches. Starting June 23, Spoelstra and other head coaches will be allowed to be one of those supervising coaches.
Once it arrives at Disney World, the Heat will have about three weeks of training camp before finishing out the regular season with eight games to determine seeding and the final playoff teams in the NBA playoffs. Miami (41-24) is currently the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference and locked into a playoff spot.
This story was originally published June 12, 2020 at 4:13 PM.
