Coronavirus: Cleveland Cavaliers to open training facility on May 8

New York, May 7: Cleveland Cavaliers coach J.B. Bickerstaff confirmed the team will open their practice facility on Friday after receiving permission from the NBA.

The league has granted teams in cities that have loosened their social distancing and stay-at-home orders amid the coronavirus pandemic to open, and any training at those venues would be strictly voluntary.

"No one is being pressured to do anything," Bickerstaff said on a conference call on Wednesday (May 6). "It's not mandatory for [the players] to show up."

For the players that do report to the complex, they will have several rules set by the NBA to adhere to.

No more than four players will be allowed at the facility at one time, there can be only one player per basket and players and coaches must remain 12 feet apart. Players will not have to wear masks and gloves, but everyone else present must.

"The league is in information gathering mode right now," Bickerstaff said. "Their goal is to not put themselves in a bind and not start too early."

When the NBA postponed the season on March 11, Cleveland were in last place in the Eastern Conference at 19-46.

The Cavs, however, were showing signs of turning things around, going 5-6 after Bickerstaff took over following the resignation of John Beilein in mid-February.

Bickerstaff said the players are eager to get back on the court and return to some sort of normality.

"They're hopeful," he said of the players. "That's what these guys do. When you get used to being part of a pack, that's where you're comfortable and want to be."