NBA is reportedly ‘exploring’ Cavs, non-Orlando teams maybe going to Orlando bubble

The Cleveland Cavaliers and other non-Orlando teams could perhaps reportedly go to the Orlando bubble at some point.

There have been prior reports of discussions involving non-Orlando teams being in a second NBA bubble which could potentially even involve four Summer League-type games in Chicago, along with non-Orlando squads reportedly maybe having scrimmages in two host cities. That’d follow a week of individual team workouts. The Cleveland Cavaliers would of course be a squad that’d be among those.

Those reports came first from ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan and then Rick Bonnell of the Charlotte Observer, but due to novel coronavirus concerns, both seemed to be anything but a certainty.

From there, though, it seemed to be a low possibility of teams such as the Cavs having the ability to have team workouts or practices, considering there was a “growing belief” among non-Orlando teams that nothing along those lines would be the case for them. That came from a report this week from The Athletic‘s Sam Amick and Shams Charania (also of Stadium and subscription required).

That initial news was rough to hear, because of at least having the potential for group workouts, and/or maybe scrimmages would’ve been nice for player development for pieces such as Darius Garland, Collin Sexton and Kevin Porter Jr.

The Cleveland Cavaliers could maybe get in some productive work before the formal end of 2019-20 after all, however.

On the plus side, per a report from Amick on Friday (subscription required), the NBA is “exploring” the potential for non-Orlando teams maybe joining the Orlando bubble, which probably was a more natural idea, anyhow.

There was no indication of potential scrimmages perhaps among those said teams, but Amick noted that per a league/seemingly Board of Governors conference call, those teams could perhaps join the bubble after eliminated teams are out.

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Again, from the Cavs’ perspective, at least having some group workouts in a controlled environment, especially for development of young pieces, could be very productive before the formal end of 2019-20.

It’d be nice for J.B. Bickerstaff for the squad to get in some team work, too, and considering the league has put in place stringent COVID-19 protocols, maybe there’s potential for scrimmages for the teams currently non in Orlando?

We’d have to see in regards to that, but either way, it’d be good for player development for a player such as Garland and Porter.

Garland was reportedly affected it seemed in terms of second guessing a bit in relation to his prior meniscus injury at Vanderbilt, and while he did show promise and I was encouraged by his playmaking, him hitting just 40.1 percent of his shot attempts was underwhelming.

It’d be nice for Porter to get some work in as a 1, too, at least in potential team group work, as that was something Bickerstaff wanted to see from KPJ in what was supposed more of the closing stretch of the season. Plus, maybe Dylan Windler could get some further added work in around his teammates, or at least be very active in practices/individual work with Bickerstaff and others present?

Windler recently said that  he’s “feeling good” in relation to complications involving a stress reaction in his lower left leg, per a report from Cleveland.com’s Chris Fedor, and he could benefit from this sort of scenario, too. Looking onward, the Cavs would really be aided by Windler’s shooting ability, of which KJG’s Matt Fagan recently hit on.

Overall, the Cavs were playing better with Bickerstaff taking over the head coaching reigns post-All-Star break, at a more respectable 5-6, and they were sixth in assist rate and 10th in effective field goal shooting.

So again, for the Wine and Gold, it would be a positive for them from a player development and feasibly team camaraderie standpoint if this possibility were to play out, but again, we’ll have to see.