Detroit Pistons: Second bubble for non-playoff teams reportedly unlikely

A second NBA bubble that would have housed the Detroit Pistons and the other seven NBA teams left out of Orlando is now reportedly not going to happen.

Around a month ago we had heard that the NBA was hoping to implement a second NBA bubble, likely located in Chicago. It would have been a way for the eight teams not invited to Orlando to continue to get some run in, which would include the Detroit Pistons.

According to Shams Charania and Sam Amick of The Athletic (subscription required) that idea likely won’t come to fruition.

The initial plan was to wait out the Orlando bubble for a few weeks to see how it went. If everything ran smoothly, the league would then look to adopt those same standards for a non-playoff team mini-camp in Chicago.

We’re a few weeks into the Orlando bubble and things are going about as good as they can. Minimal cases have been reported and the sights and sounds of the games are truly reminiscent of when things were “normal”.

But at the end of the day, the usefulness of this second bubble was always brought into question. It would be one thing if the teams were playing to improve their draft position for the upcoming lottery, but that wouldn’t have been the case.

The bubble wouldn’t have even begun until September, which is passed the date of the lottery. Both Dwane Casey and Troy Weaver had expressed their interest in having said bubble, but it’s likely just for the sake of having organized basketball back.

These players are going to be going at least seven months without playing organized basketball with their teams, and the impact it could have, especially on the younger players could be troublesome.

The league has rejected the idea of teams holding mini-camps for teams in their respective cities for reasons that are unclear. For now, players are getting by doing individual workouts with the team coaches and trainers.