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Report: Eight non-Orlando restart NBA teams to get second bubble

By Duncan Smith

DETROIT, MICHIGAN - FEBRUARY 20: General view of NBA ball during a game between the Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on February 20, 2020 in Detroit, Michigan. 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. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
DETROIT, MICHIGAN - FEBRUARY 20: General view of NBA ball during a game between the Milwaukee Bucks and Detroit Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on February 20, 2020 in Detroit, Michigan. 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. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images) /
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Per a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the eight teams not invited to Orlando for the NBA’s restart will get a second bubble of their own in Chicago.

As if 22 of the NBA’s 30 teams getting back into action later this month wasn’t enough, it looks like the remaining eight teams will be getting a chance to play as well in September. According to a report from ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the group of eight will look to play in a second bubble in Chicago as the NBA nears a deal for the site.

We don’t know much beyond this at the moment, whether teams will play for some kind of incentive or not. After all, most of these teams entered the league’s coronavirus-induced hiatus battling for lottery spots, not playoff positions.

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Will the league freeze records and start over in an effective exhibition season? Is this essentially a Fall League that the league’s worst teams will send their C-squads to, or might these teams have the opportunity and desire to actually battle it out for wins on the court?

At this point, almost four months removed from basketball of any kind, it doesn’t really matter. NBA action is NBA action even if it’s non-playoff teams sending their fifth through 15th men to Chicago to break a sweat.

As this second bubble looks to get started sometime in September, these teams will likely be playing alongside the Conference Finals and the NBA Finals which will take place in Orlando.

Considering how the coronavirus is now rampaging through Florida with no signs of stopping in sight, Chicago might end up having been a more appealing destination for NBA teams and their players than Disney after all.

With this report from Wojnarowski, we don’t really know what to expect next, but it does appear that all 30 teams will be playing in some shape or form before the end of 2020.

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