NBA teams not invited to Disney bubble will hold voluntary workouts from campus settings, per report

Eight of the 30 NBA teams were not invited to Orlando for the restart of the season

While the NBA restart has been a massive success for the 22 teams invited to the Disney bubble, the eight teams that weren't had legitimate concerns about the competitive disadvantage it could create for next season. At the earliest, the 2020-21 season will begin on Dec. 1, 2020, and should the virus demand it, the season could be delayed even further. Those eight teams, the Warriors, Cavaliers, Timberwolves, Hawks, Pistons, Knicks, Bulls and Hornets, could therefore be forced to start next season without having played any competitive basketball for at least nine months. 

A number of solutions have been floated since the Disney bubble was announced. There was talk of a potential second bubble in Chicago for those eight teams, but those struggled to gain traction. Now, the NBA has apparently settled on a different solution. According to The Athletic's Shams Charania, those eight teams will each hold voluntary group workouts in a campus setting within their own market. 

Players will report on Sep. 14, and coronavirus testing will take place from Sep. 14-20 while players conduct individual workouts. Then from Sep. 21-Oct. 6, teams will essentially hold mini training camps for players who want to report. Players will be given private living quarters on these campuses, wherever they end up being. 

Such workouts obviously cannot match the intensity of games held within the bubble. Young teams like the Phoenix Suns and San Antonio Spurs saw critical development from their less experienced players in those games at least in part because of the competitive atmosphere the NBA created. Those teams played real games with real stakes. The Portland Trail Blazers ultimately used the new bubble rules to move from the lottery into the playoffs. 

In that sense, these teams will still be at a disadvantage, but a much smaller one than was previously possible. While they won't have the opportunities the bubble teams had to play meaningful games, they will at least have time to work as a group before the 2020-21 season.