Portland Trail Blazers: What are players getting up to during league hiatus?

No games, self-isolation, little to do. How are our Portland Trail Blazers players keeping themselves busy during COVID-19?

For a relatively unknown amount of time, there will be no NBA events at all. As COVID-19 becomes increasingly more damaging, sports leagues around the world have been forced to shut down.

Adam Silver initially said the hiatus would be at least 30 days, but a new report last night stated it would be closer to 3 months, with a mid to late June return looking more realistic, per ESPN Insider Adrian Wojnarowski.

So, with no basketball, what is there to do? Let’s take a look at what the Trail Blazers are getting up to.

Damian Lillard spends his summers making music along with his training, and it looks like he may use this isolation period to cook up another album.

Dame responded to a fan asking if there was new music on the way, saying it was “very possible”.

However, he’s still finding time for work, posting a picture from his pretty absurd looking home-gym.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B9xRUysA9pg/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

He’s also been trying to find some new Netflix shows, as has CJ McCollum. Both guards were on Twitter asking fans for new shows, with CJ eventually settling on ‘Dave’ from Hulu. As well as TV shows, CJ has been following a trend set by Wizards guard Bradley Beal, which was watching your own highlights on repeat.

https://twitter.com/CJMcCollum/status/1239358683663892480

The last thought conveyed by CJ was a humorous one, and something we’re probably all thinking. Why are people hoarding toilet paper???

Hassan Whiteside has taken an even lighter approach to the situation, and this video is one of many from his Snapchat.

However, it looks like the fun has worn off for the big man, with ‘The Horse’ now apparently feeling pretty trapped indoors.

Meanwhile, last Sunday was supposed to be Jusuf Nurkic‘s long-awaited return to the league. His broken leg had kept him out for a year, but the Blazers had pencilled Sunday’s afternoon matchup with the Rockets as the one which Nurk would return.

With the league now suspended, we’ll have to wait even longer to see our beloved Bosnian hit the court, and he was as disappointed as you’d expect.

However, the big man had some encouraging words.

https://twitter.com/bosnianbeast27/status/1238198886675542016

There’s a silver lining for sure, this suspension just gives Nurk (and Zach Collins!) more time to rehab and get ready for when the league does return, and the center is already back in the gym.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B9xQb4xntjI/

Carmelo Anthony is usually pretty distant from social media, but did have an appearance on McCollum’s ‘Pull Up Podcast’. The two players actually got the notification from the NBA that the league was being suspended in the middle of recording, which made for a very interesting listen. Give it a try, here.

The Portland Trail Blazers organization put out the following message after the league went into lockdown, and will now sit tight like the rest of the league, as we wait for more updates.

Hopefully, the NBA returns soon, but in the meantime, our players will provide a good deal of entertainment across social media. If you’re lucky, you might even get to raid Dame’s ‘Clash of Clans’ village!