The NBA is prepared to send 22 teams to Orlando to conclude the season. Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors are pushing for their own conclusion.
When news broke that the NBA was gearing up to finish the season in Orlando, most assumed the Golden State Warriors wouldn’t be included in the restart. To no surprise, the league invited only the top 22 teams to the Orlando bubble. However, it seems the other eight teams are looking for their own conclusion to the season.
Sam Amick of The Athletic reported that the eight teams not invited to Orlando have been in heavy contact with league officials to create a second bubble that would allow them to finish their season with nationally televised games.
This goes against the original reports that the Warriors are comfortable not being asked to finish their season. Standing with the worst record in the entire league, it makes sense the Dubs would rather wrap things up and look forward to next year.
Still, there are two reasons the Warriors could be pushing to return to the court this season. First, money is an obvious motive for getting back on the floor. Playing on live television would certainly help them make up for some of their losses from not being able to properly finish the season.
Second, the Warriors have a growing young core that could use the additional time to develop together. Allowing Andrew Wiggins, Jordan Poole, Eric Paschall and Marquese Chriss a few more games to gel together could work wonders for the franchise moving forward.
The eight teams that missed out on going to the bubble aren’t overly concerned with changing the standings but they all wish to compete in some form. Whether it be a mini-training camp or full-on games, the Warriors might not be done this year.