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Orlando Magic executives optimistic about NBA’s return plan

By Philip Rossman-Reich

ORLANDO, FL - JULY 8: President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman of the Orlando Magic address the media on July 8, 2019 at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - JULY 8: President of Basketball Operations Jeff Weltman of the Orlando Magic address the media on July 8, 2019 at Amway Center in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Fernando Medina/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Orlando Magic are already going through the first step of the NBA’s return plan. Despite questions remaining, executives are optimistic it will work.

The Orlando Magic got off their buses taking them to Disney on Tuesday morning, greeted by NBA deputy commissioner Mark Tatum. They immediately went into a room for a brief orientation and the first round of testing.

From there, players hopped on golf carts to go to their rooms for the first 36-48 hours of quarantine.

This morning and afternoon, NBA personnel in full PPE suits went around and administered a second test. Everyone will sit there waiting for these results to come back. If there are two negatives, they will be cleared to join team-wide practices starting Thursday.

These are the lengths the league is going to get players into their bubble and campus setting to resume and finish the NBA season. It is a detailed and thorough plan — players have undergone testing every other day since June 23 to prepare for the move-in at Disney and assess where any hot spots are and get players into quarantine quickly when they test positive.

Still, there are questions for how this will work. There is uncertainty with the rising cases throughout the country and in Central Florida specifically. This is a massive undertaking without precedent for anyone in the league.

Nobody is sure if the league can get this right. Medical experts, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, have praised the detail of the NBA’s plan. But whether it will work or not is still a mystery.

With players and teams on the ground. Magic executives at least are confident the league’s plan to restart the season will work.

"“I have been very optimistic for quite a while now,” Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said in a teleconference with media Tuesday. “Only because I know the length and the extent to which the NBA has relied upon experts and tried to leave no stone unturned. I can tell you that it is truly a momentous undertaking what they have put together here. I think As the details have been unrolled to the players and the rest of us involved in this operation, the confidence has only grown.”"

The Magic played at least some part in helping formulate the plan. Magic CEO Alex Martins was reportedly on the committee that devised the league’s return to play plan. Weltman said he was fielding calls from other teams trying to get a lay of the land and unlock any local secrets and insight as they prepared to move in.

Obviously, the Magic and the league are invested in the plan they have devised. They are trying to exude confidence in it as players enter the reality of staying in the bubble.

Weltman is joining the team in the bubble. And even knowing the details of the plan, he said he was impressed with the level of safety and detail the league is going through at this initial phase.

Lingering concerns remain

There remain plenty of lingering concerns — from restless players inside their hotel rooms on the campus, at least in the early stages, to how the league will deal with any positive tests. The initial protocols are in place to try to find anyone who is still positive before allowing the players to work and play together.

But the virus has been very difficult to predict. The league is going to remain nimble and adjust on the fly should conditions change.

"“The health and safety of our players and coaches and staff is our number one priority as a league as we get restarted on the Disney campus,” Martins said in a teleconference with media Wednesday. “The league office has done a tremendous job putting all the safety measures in place and all the protocols and really to plan for what no one can predict what is going to happen. I do know the league has done a tremendous job of preparing at the highest levels and thinking about every detail.”"

Those concerns are certainly rising with MLS struggling with containing an outbreak in their own restart to the season at Disney.

The MLS is Back Tournament kicks off Wednesday and has already had a team withdraw due to a rash of positive tests. At least one other game has been postponed because of positive tests within a single team.

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The two leagues will not interact with each other. The part of the Wide World of Sports facility MLS is using is separate from the part the NBA will use. And the MLS’s tournament will be nearly finished when the NBA starts playing games.

They also had two vastly different testing and training protocols.

"“I think that it’s tremendously important for a number of reasons,” Weltman said of the league’s lead-up time before playing games inside their campus setting. “Maybe number one is the mental ramp up of what it takes to understand this monumental undertaking that we’re going to go through. The real import is the start to do the testing weeks out and build up the level of confidence in the protocol that everybody is going to be safe. . . . Just to know everyone who comes in has the utmost confidence in the safety protocol is huge.”"

But the NBA will have to reckon with and deal with any positive tests it experiences within the campus setting. That is when the league will really see whether its safety protocols are working.

The other concern is also with Disney hotel employees and whether they could potentially penetrate the bubble.

Disney is not testing its employees regularly, asking that they make self-assessments and use their best judgment deciding whether to go to work or not.

Martins assured contact with Disney employees will be minimal, if any. Housekeepers will not be allowed in rooms while players are in their rooms. Martins said the league has put in specific protocols in place to make sure the players and staff do not come into contact with people who have not been tested regularly.

That may be a small solace for the players and those heading into the bubble. But the proof will be in the execution. There is still concern over having potentially infected people in rooms, even if they are wearing gloves, a mask and all the other protective equipment.

Each day will be a test

Each day will be a test of the NBA’s protocols.

But that confidence is there. Disney has long been meticulous with its details in providing a great guest experience. It is a massive organization with a massive campus that seemed uniquely able to handle the NBA’s needs and requirements.

What the NBA is asking of its players is not easy. There were clearly intense negotiations and partnership with the players association to come up with this plan to finish the season. And there is still some trepidation and concern.

Players are eager to return to work and some form of normalcy like everyone else in society. These are just the parameters of returning to their jobs.

They are just starting the process of going through these protocols and the league’s full plan to finish the season.

Next. How the Orlando Magic stayed together during the pandemic. dark

At least, for now, everything appears to be working as it was supposed to. Hopefully soon life will begin to feel normal.