Heat's Leonard: 'There's going to be people testing positive' in NBA

With the NBA tipping off its 2020-21 season in exactly six weeks, some players are asking questions about how the league will handle expected COVID-19 cases among league personnel.

"There's going to be people testing positive," Miami Heat center Meyers Leonard told Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. "I don't know about left and right, but it's going to happen. And then what happens? It's a tough time we're all dealing with."

After several players tested positive when the league suspended play last March, the NBA found tremendous success in its Orlando bubble. No players or coaches tested positive once play resumed, allowing the league to complete its 2019-20 campaign with few problems.

Now, with the NBA intent on teams traveling to play games at the league's many cities, personnel will no longer be in a bubble. Similar approaches by the NFL and MLB yielded multiple positive COVID-19 tests among players, causing game postponements and cancellations.

It's also been reported that like those sports, the NBA is considering allowing limited fans into premium seating where local regulations allow.

"The disease is very strange," Leonard said. "It's going to be interesting to see how the league rolls with the punches, so to speak."