Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Warriors to opt out of Chicago bubble: Report

NBA might organize a mini-training camp for the eight teams that did not qualify for the NBA restart in Orlando. As per ESPN's Jackie MacMullan, the league is closing in on signing a second 'bubble' in Chicago. This mini-training camp would be to prevent a lengthy break from the NBA for the teams before the 2020-21 season. The games could take place in September and would feature the Charlotte Hornets, Chicago Bulls, New York Knicks, Detroit Pistons, Atlanta Hawks, Minnesota Timberwolves, Cleveland Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors. 

Also read | NBA second bubble proposed for 8 teams that won't play at Disney World, Florida: NBA Chicago Bubble

NBA Chicago Bubble: NBA second bubble for 8 teams who did not qualify

Steph Curry, Klay Thompson to not play in proposed NBA second bubble 

After the NBA restart was planned and announced, Atlanta Hawks executive Travis Schlenk and Detroit Piston coach Dwane Casey had expressed concerns about their teams not playing for an extended period of time. In an interview with ESPN, Casey stated that they cannot let the players 'sit around from March 11 to December without something'. He added that the layoff was too much and would hurt their careers.

The Golden State Warriors, however, might not let Steph Curry, Klay Thompson, Draymond Green or Andrew Wigging play in Chicago. During the recent The Hoop Collective podcast, MacMullan reported that the Warriors planned to have Curry sit out even if they were invited to play at the bubble in Orlando. "I was told unequivocally by people with Golden State that if Golden State came back, they weren't gonna let Steph Curry set foot on the floor," MacMullan explained. "The reason they were worried about Steph Curry is that they didn't feel he had played enough to come back."

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As per MacMullan, if the Warriors were keeping Curry from the games at Disney World, they would never let him play in Chicago. Around a month ago, Warriors head coach Steve Kerr had hinted at a separate bubble during an interview with The Athletic. Kerr claimed that if the league was discussing a mini-camp in July, August or September that other teams wanted, the Warriors would not be interested in something like that.

Kerr revealed that he had discussed the situation with other coaches as well. As per Kerr, every team has their 'unique set of circumstances' and he knows 'some of the teams are younger, interested in getting game action for their young players'. However, Kerr thinks the Golden State are in a 'different space' and are 'more interested in practice time'.

Also read | Steph Curry, Klay Thompson will be back at Warriors' training camp: Steve Kerr

Combining both the report and Steve Kerr's statements, the Warriors are most likely to take the path that minimizes both COVID-19 and injury risks. Reports add that if the Warriors do participate, they might play with their younger players like Ky Bowman, Jordan Poole, Eric Paschall, Juan Toscano-Anderson and Alen Smailagic. Curry, who injured himself last October, returned for only one game in March before the league was suspended on March 11. Klay Thompson tore his ACL during last season's NBA Finals against Toronto Raptors and was sidelined from the entire 2019-20 season. 

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(Image source: NBA official source)