Los Angeles Lakers veteran Jared Dudley is "90 per cent confident" the NBA will return amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The NBA was suspended indefinitely in March due to the COVID-19 crisis, which has wreaked havoc across the globe.
It remains to be seen when, and if, the 2019-20 season will resume – the Western Conference-leading Lakers had played 63 of the 82-game regular season when the campaign was halted.
Despite uncertainty, Dudley expressed optimism that the NBA will return after the coronavirus outbreak.
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"Right now, 90 per cent confident of returning," the 34-year-old forward said on a conference call on Wednesday.
"The only reason why I wouldn’t say 100 per cent is because you're dealing with the unknown virus that can happen at any moment. They keep talking about the second wave or something unexpected."
NBA practice facilities have started to re-open this month after the league had targeted no earlier than May 8 for teams to return to their complexes.
"I don't think you're going to go from zero to 100," Dudley said. "I think they'll give us seven to 10 days of individual workouts. Then that next seven days practice. And then you'll get your two- to three-week training camp before we head to Orlando and Vegas."
NBA commissioner Adam Silver is reportedly considering the league returning via two locations – Orlando and Las Vegas.
Discussing the possible bubble-like format, Dudley said: "You will be allowed to leave. Now just because you leave, if we're going to give you that leeway, if you come back with corona, you can't play."
Dudley added: "When you're dealing with 300 different players – if you've seen the [Michael] Jordan documentary, every team's got a [Dennis] Rodman. He just doesn't have green and blue hair.
"There's always someone who's outside the box, who does that, takes the risk and says, 'Hey, listen, man, I'm healthy, and I feel good.'"
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