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Report: Cavs Pushing for Return to Basketball for Teams Not Headed to Orlando

Collin Sexton and Darius Garland

The Cleveland Cavaliers 2019-20 season officially ended earlier this week when the NBA unveiled its plan to return to basketball amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

While the rebuilding squad won’t get a chance to experience life inside the NBA bubble down in Orlando, Fla., it is reportedly amongst the teams pushing for a return to basketball in some form or another.

“Most of the eight teams whose seasons have ended — including Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Minnesota and New York — are pushing to engage in joint practices as ramp-ups for regional summer leagues in August, sources said,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Friday night. “For example, the Pistons and Cavaliers have discussed the possibility of joint practices as a prelude to a mini-pod of games, sources said.”

Wojnarowksi went on to detail a number of the possibilities for the eight teams that will not be making the trip to central Florida later this summer.

Some of the ideas that have been presented to the NBA include a combination of voluntary and mandatory workouts in July, regional minicamps in August that would include three televised games, organized team activities in September and an earlier return to training camp prior to the start of the 2020-21 season.

At the moment, it is unclear which direction the NBA will go when it comes to offering the eight remaining teams an opportunity to get back to the court.

For the Cavs, some kind of return to competitive basketball is important. For a roster filled with young talent, an extended absence from the court could certainly impact the progression of players such as Darius Garland, Kevin Porter Jr. and Collin Sexton.

Hopefully, an agreement is made in the near future.

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