Report: NBA staffs worry about psychological aspects of returning amid pandemic

Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum and Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban have questioned the NBA returning to play amid the coronavirus pandemic.

They aren't alone.

According to ESPN's Baxter Holmes, some NBA general managers and trainers are worried about the mental and psychological aspects of resuming the 2019-20 season that was indefinitely suspended on March 11.

While so-called "germophobes" likely wouldn't welcome a return to training, practicing, and playing, others who previously wouldn't have considered themselves a member of such a category understandably would feel uneasy about loosening social-distancing protocols at a time when the virus outbreak remains uncontrolled.

Players aren't the only ones concerned, as Holmes wrote:

"I just know myself," said the athletic training official for a Western Conference team. "I wouldn't want to work with the [players]. I mean, these are young guys. Some of them, I don't think they think it's real. They're just like, 'Oh, we're thinking too much into it,' but I'm like, 'It's the whole world.'

"And so the tough part is, it's my job to work with the guys. So you don't want to go against the grain, but at the same time, I'm not trying to put my family at risk."

Several NBA coaches are within age groups considered high-risk during the pandemic. Gregg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs, who has battled health issues over the years, is 71 years old. New Orleans Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry is 65. Houston Rockets head coach Mike D'Antoni, who will be 69 on May 8, plans to coach wearing a mask if the league returns during the summer months: