Lakers hoping to open practice facility before safer at home order is lifted

Earlier this month, Los Angeles County extended its safer at home order from April 19 to May 15. With the May 15 expiration date just a few weeks away, and the NBA reportedly planning to let some team re-open their practice facilities, the Los Angeles Lakers checked in with their local government officials to see what the future holds for them, according to a report from Dave McMenamin of ESPN on Tuesday:

The Lakers have been in contact with the Los Angeles mayor’s office to discuss the possibility of opening their practice facility for players before the current shelter-at-home order for L.A. residents expires on May 15, sources close to the matter told ESPN.

The Lakers have also been in touch with each other to discuss the rules that would need to be followed if the UCLA Health Training Center re-opened next month. according to the report. Here’s what we know so far:

Some of the Lakers’ planned precautionary measures include players having their temperatures taken while they are in their cars when they arrive at the facility and answering questions to a designated medical professional before being granted access to the building ...

Anyone the Lakers players will encounter at the practice facility will be required to wear a mask and gloves, and the designated rebounder for each player will wear gloves and sterilized sneakers, sources said ...

Hand-washing stations will be put in place. The weight room will be rearranged to allow for more space between equipment. Food service in the players’ lounge will be revamped to provide meals in individual containers, rather than through a buffet presentation ...

In addition, the Lakers reportedly plan on building a schedule for the team with the goal of limiting the amount of people in the practice facility at one time. According to a report by Shams Charania of The Athletic, the NBA is only allowing teams to have four players in their facility at once, and one team staffer.

Obviously the guidelines that the NBA has in place are fluid because the pandemic itself is fluid, but it’s clear that the league plans on taking an abundance of caution with the way they approach their attempt at a comeback, and so far, it seems like teams are willing to follow suit. That doesn’t necessarily mean the NBA is going to resume play soon, but the chances of them doing so are much higher if they continue to be smart about this.

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