Foto

Unease over restart but Lakers united in support,

LOS ANGELES • Several National Basketball Association (NBA) stars, most notably Brooklyn Nets' Kyrie Irving, last week reportedly voiced their opposition to resuming the stalled season, but ESPN has reported that Los Angeles Lakers players remain undivided on the restart.

The news came a day after Lakers backup centre Dwight Howard told CNN on Sunday that now was not the time to resume basketball in the light of the ongoing anti-racism protests in the US.

But contrary to their teammate's statement, more than one Lakers player told ESPN everyone was on the same page.

"(There is) no divide," one said.

"Still have some time to figure things out as a league and as a team," another added.

ESPN reported that the Lakers initially had concerns after hearing Howard's comments, but his agent, Charles Briscoe, yesterday told the outlet that the 34-year-old had not made a decision about resuming play as basketball had not figured in his thoughts in recent weeks.

"The statement was about social injustice and racism," Briscoe said. "Yet everybody is still talking about whether basketball should be played.

"He isn't saying that basketball shouldn't be. He's just saying that you should not be taking attention away from what's going on in the country to talk about basketball.

"Basketball is just a sport, at the end of the day. But what's going on with people dying in the streets, that's something real."

One Lakers player who has not spoken out against resuming play is LeBron James. On Sunday, Los Angeles Clippers guard Patrick Beverley tweeted that if the three-time NBA champion was ready to play, the rest of the league should prepare to head down to Orlando, Florida.

The season is aiming for a July 30 restart at the Disney World Resort, with players expected to arrive for a training camp scheduled from July 9 to 29.

Before that, the NBA will reportedly commence Covid-19 testing every other day from next Tuesday.

"Hoopers say what y'all want," Beverley tweeted. "If King James said he hooping, we all hooping. Not personal, only business."

The NBA has been on hold since March 11 due to the coronavirus pandemic.

REUTERS