Memphis Grizzlies veteran forward and secretary-treasurer of the NBPA Anthony Tolliver has proposed a novel idea for the NBA return.
“Maybe we should have a pool of players that aren’t on any given team, free agents that are in the bubble with us and if need be teams can pull from,” Tolliver said. “I think that would be a safety precaution from a keeping-the-game-going (perspective). That way, if a team has a (coronavirus) outbreak, they can still keep a good lineup out there. I don’t know if that will happen, but it might be an idea we should explore.”
The 35-year-old didn’t imply that would happen, as those discussions are reportedly ongoing.
Tolliver has been among the players helping create the path to the “bubble” and has been part of negotiations between the players and the league.
“I’m satisfied with the results,” Tolliver said of the NBA Orlando “bubble” plan. “There were a lot of discussions to get to where we are. We were not charged with the responsibility of coming up with all of the rules, but we had the responsibility to review what was brought up and went through a couple of different iterations of what it would look like before we came to a conclusion. But, overall, I think our focus as the NBPA was about health and safety.”
