Bulls guard Satoransky wishes NBA would cancel season so he could go home
Bulls guard Tomas Satoransky did an interview with a reporter from his home country and the headline read, "Imprisoned in USA!"
The article wasn't that extreme. But Satoransky did admit he wishes the NBA season would be canceled so he and his family can go home to the Czech Republic. He spoke to reporter Tomas Rambousek from Nova Sport for a story published Thursday.
"It is not pleasant at all to stay here and watch how the owners of the teams try to finish off the season in order to not lose so much money," Satoransky said, according to a translation. "It's not very pleasant also because we - me with my wife and daughter - would like to depart to the Czech Republic.
"The way I see it is that the season will get canceled, but it's not up to me."
Satoransky said the Bulls held a team meeting Monday, but there wasn't much information available. Obviously, no one knows when or if the season might resume.
There were reports Thursday that the NBA ordered teams to close their practice facilities to players for the immediate future to prevent spread of the coronavirus.
"We have some workouts that we can do at home," Satoransky said. "Of course, I'm trying to do something to keep my body fit. Not because the season should be over, but also because I'm not comfortable doing nothing. I'm trying to follow a plan."
There have been no reports of any Bulls players getting sick. They played at Brooklyn on March 8, and four Nets players recently tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.
So the Bulls are being cautious, but it seems possible the Nets would have been exposed to the virus on the West Coast last week, after they played the Bulls.
Meanwhile, Boston's Marcus Smart became the latest NBA player to publicly announce he tested positive for the coronavirus. The number of known NBA players who tested positive was at 10 as of Thursday evening. The Lakers announced that two players tested positive. The Philadelphia 76ers said three people in their organization, not necessarily players, tested positive for the virus, and the Denver Nuggets had one.
Satoransky's concerns certainly are similar to what an American might feel if they were living in a foreign country right now. Besides Satoransky, the Bulls' other international players are Lauri Markkanen (Finland), Cristiano Felicio (Brazil) and Adam Mokoka (France).
The NBA reportedly told teams that players could leave their cities to return home, but the league is forbidding overseas travel right now.
"We try to communicate a lot with our home, to find out the situation in the Czech Republic," Satoransky said. "We try to follow it from the internet and social media.
"When I look out the window, I get a different view than the one you have in the Czech Republic. There are fewer people (outside), for sure. All bars and restaurants are closed, but there is still a lot of people on the walk, dogs coming out, children playing outside. You can still feel that people don't take it seriously and you don't see too many people in the streets with masks. This is one of the things that makes us nervous."
Satoransky did try to consider the bright side of being stuck indoors while the NBA season is suspended.
"I say that coronavirus will have the only positive effect on learning (how) to cook," he said.
One potential path to getting live basketball back on television is an idea being explored by the Big3 3-on-3 league. According to yahoo.com, the league is making plans to hold a quarantine tournament in April with players who test negative for the virus and would be housed together in a Los Angeles mansion.
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