Blazers star CJ McCollum and Mavericks owner Mark Cuban threw the wisdom of the NBA's return into question Thursday, a day before Portland and two other teams were to reopen their facilities for player workouts, with more set to open next week.
McCollum, in an interview with Yahoo Sports, expressed confidence in the steps the Blazers have taken to make workouts safe but said he wasn't sure the efforts were warranted.
"I am worried like the rest of the world," McCollum said, according to Yahoo Sports. "But I like that it is optional and I'm pleased with the caution, structure and measures the Blazers organization has put in place to ensure the safest environment possible for all parties involved.
"I get the measures [the league is] taking. But you have to think at some point when there are drastic measures that need to be taken, 'Is it really worth it?' It's either safe or it's not."
Cuban, speaking to ESPN Radio's Freddie & Fitzsimmons, framed the issues in terms of whom players, coaches and trainers trust with their lives.
"Seriously. If you're a player, who do you trust with your life?" Cuban said. "If you're a coach or a trainer or anybody, for that matter, that's essential personnel for getting something back together, do you trust the hotel that we're going to stay at to keep everything safe -- the technology they're using, the protocols they're using?
"Who do you trust with your life?" Cuban repeated. "That's a big question to ask somebody, but we all make decisions like that every day. Do you stay in? Do you go out? What do you do? Where do you go for your groceries? All these things, how do you do it?"
McCollum also downplayed the urgency of players needing to get back into the gym.
"Let's just be honest, man, it's not like it will be the first time players got gym access outside of the team's facilities," McCollum said. "Some people have been working out, if we're being honest."
The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association are scheduled to host a conference call for all players Friday to field and address such concerns, sources told ESPN's Ramona Shelburne.
The Blazers and Cleveland Cavaliers planned to reopen their facilities Friday. The Denver Nuggets expected to, but sources told ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski that the Nuggets will instead open their facilities Monday. The Sacramento Kings also said they would open Monday.
"The issue is you can go to your practice facility, but there's all these stipulations," McCollum told Yahoo Sports. "You can't use certain stuff, can't do certain stuff. Now they're talking about you might have to be 12 feet away from your strength coach. How are you going to lift 12 feet away from somebody?"