Non-playoff NBA bubble in doubt?

In early July, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the NBA could temporarily house the eight clubs not participating in the 22-team league restart inside an isolated hub in Chicago for a makeshift training camp that included exhibition/preseason games.

Roughly one month later, that idea seems to have lost momentum.

On Tuesday, The Athletic's Shams Charania and Sam Amick reported that the eight franchises currently not involved in the return-to-play scenario taking place at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex believe the second bubble won't happen.

The story adds that the National Basketball Players Association has concerns about keeping players safe and virus-free outside of a completely isolated environment.

The Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers, Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks, Chicago Bulls, Charlotte Hornets and Minnesota Timberwolves have all been idle since the NBA suspended play on March 11 due to the pandemic. A second bubble was proposed to ensure players from those franchises wouldn't go until scheduled November training camps without on-the-court action versus NBA opposition.

Instead, the NBPA may propose in-market bubbles for team minicamps. While this is better than nothing, it would still leave the clubs already at the bottom of the standings at a competitive disadvantage versus teams that were able to return to work and play this summer.