Mark Cuban says Mavericks won't open practice facility despite end of Texas' stay-at-home order
Between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott allowing the state’s stay-at-home order to end and the NBA giving teams the OK to open their practice facilities if allowed by the state, the Dallas Mavericks have the all-clear to return to the gym.
[ Coronavirus: How the sports world is responding to the pandemic ]
However, Mavs owner Mark Cuban said Wednesday that won’t be happening.
Mark Cuban: ‘We can’t assure anybody’s safety’
During an appearance on The Athletic’s “77 Minutes in Heaven” podcast, Cuban said that the Mavericks have no immediate plans to reopen their practice facility because coronavirus testing is not at the level required.
Cuban said the risk to the players and others was too great.
Mark Cuban told @bdameris and @MFollowill on their podcast that the inability to test for coronavirus is the reason the Mavs have no immediate plans to open their practice facility. pic.twitter.com/1w7l5TeUWj
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) May 7, 2020
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, Cuban is not alone among NBA franchises with that concern.
Several states have made the decision to reopen for business in the last week, despite the coronavirus still spreading throughout the country. The CDC reported 22,303 new cases on Wednesday.
The NBA recently made the controversial decision to allow teams to return to their practice facilities if state mandates allow it and proper precautions are followed. Only three teams reportedly plan to take advantage of the opening: the Denver Nuggets, Portland Trailblazers and Cleveland Cavaliers.
No more than four players are allowed in the facility at a time, and players remain prohibited from using non-team facilities to work out. Players will be allowed to work out under the supervision of six designated assistant coaches or player development personnel, but not the head coach.
The NBA had previously ordered to teams to keep their practice facilities closed since mid-March.
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