Houston Rockets: NBA releases safety protocols if players contract COVID-19

The Houston Rockets will be restarting soon and the NBA has released it’s safety protocols if a player tests positive for the coronavirus. Let’s look.

The Houston Rockets are edging closer to restarting their season and the end of July will be here before we know it.  There are a lot of concerns that they’re working through to ensure the relaunch of the brand is as smooth as possible but there’s no question that the nuances will be sound and safe for everyone involved.

I’m sure the Houston Rockets are itching to get started once again and voluntary workouts at team facilities have already been underway for nearly about a month or so.  Additional coaches are now allowed to attend these individual workouts but they must be in compliance with guidelines set forth by the NBA, which fall in line with CDC recommendations.

Players will have to report at the first of the month to Toyota Center and then they’ll be off to Orlando, Fla. about a week later to start training camp.  Mike D’Antoni has made it clear that he’d like to continue to coach this team, especially wanting to see through what he started, being able to win games without a center.

James Harden, Russell Westbrook, P.J. Tucker, Danuel House and Robert Covington were turning out to be a nice, competitive lineup with RoCo being able to be a solid defensive stopper in the paint.

There was no question that Covington would be a great fit with this current roster but the effectiveness without Clint Capela continued to hang over our heads.  But there was a strong sense of continuity, the team was still winning games so it’s important we see this through next month, hopefully for an eventual championship with everyone rested and relatively healthy.

But while the players are gearing up for a return, the NBA has released it’s safety protocols in a 113-page manual that was released to members of the media yesterday.

The Athletic’s Shams Charania got his hands on it and here are the steps the league would take if

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a player tested positive for coronavirus, which wasn’t necessarily clear up until now:

• Enter immediate isolation which will be separate housing from others
• Retest to confirm that they have another positive test
• Players will be able to exit isolation after consecutive negative tests and they can get back to work

Charania indicates that all players will be required to certify in writing that they agree to all of the safety protocols and rules in place before being able to partake in playing games.

Also, the report indicates that failure to comply with what they agreed to in writing could subject those in the bubble to a warning, fine, suspension, and/or removal from the campus but it’s tough to tell would this be a progressive type of discipline which what I’m thinking would take place.

If a player wants to return, although this would be a bit different than what they’re used to, I’m sure they’ll have no problems in complying so they can get back to doing what they love.

We’ll have to see how this goes as the world will be watching as this will be the first major pro sports league to get operations restarted.  They will certainly be a test case.

But at least we’ll be seeing our Houston Rockets soon — let’s go!