NBA players need more than two weeks before returning: Chris Paul
Chris Paul spoke about the coronavirus-hit NBA season and the league's potential return.
Published : Apr 23, 2020 09:22 IST
Oklahoma City Thunder star Chris Paul said players need more than two weeks to prepare to play NBA games amid the coronavirus pandemic.
The NBA has been suspended since March 11 due to the COVID-19 crisis, which has killed at least 184,100 people worldwide.
It remains to be seen when, and if, the 2019-20 season will resume as the United States struggles to contain the outbreak following more than 848,700 confirmed cases and over 47,600 deaths in the country.
While the NBA remains committed to resuming the campaign, commissioner Adam Silver said there is still no timetable for a possible restart.
On the situation, 10-time All-Star Paul told reporters via a conference call on Wednesday: "I'm just letting you know – and I don't think the league would do it anyway – but if they were like, 'Hey, you got two weeks, and then we're going,' that's not going to happen.
"That's not going to happen. Whatever the amount of time is, just know that players will have the input, the say-so, because we're the ones playing. That comes first. We don't ever want to put guys in a situation where their injury risk is higher than ever before."
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Paul, 34, added: "I get what we're dealing with right now, a lot of hypotheticals, but I don't know.
"This is the thing with having 450 players in the league and being in a situation like this, where some guys have access to weight rooms, some guys don't.
"Some guys have access to facilities where they can train or do this or can run. That's why, whatever happens – and I say this, and I mean this – we always go back to the players."
"We just want to play," Paul continued. "We're trying to figure out what that looks like. Right now, I'm just focused on playing, playing in some form or fashion.
"This is a situation where no one knows. The virus is actually in complete control. I seriously tried to answer things the best I could, but there are things where it's not like I've got the answers and I'm just not telling you."