Toronto Raptors announce plans to prepare for resumption of the 2019-20 NBA season

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Lowry-VanVleet

The Toronto Raptors have announced they are headed to Fort Myers, Florida on Monday to prepare for the resumption of the 2019-20 season.

The team will remain in Fort Myers until entry to the NBA Campus at Disney in Orlando begins at the beginning of July. They'll remain on the NBA Campus until the end of the season.

MORE: Where does each Raptors' starter rank at their position?

The team started allowing limited player access to the OVO Athletic Centre in mid-May. The team and Maple Leaf Sports and Entertainment worked with local government and public health officials to put the best practice in place for their players and the community.

That will continue in Florida in keeping with the league and team's protocols. There won't be any group workouts in this phase of return to play. Group workouts will begin once the team has reported to the NBA Campus in Orlando.

Strict protocols have also been put in place off the court to ensure the safety of players and staff. 

Toronto currently holds a 46-18 record, 6.5 games behind the Milwaukee Bucks for first place in the Eastern Conference.

The Athletic's Dave Dufour is reporting that the league will release their remaining schedule on June 25th. All 22 teams participating at the NBA Campus in Orlando will play eight games to complete the regular season before a full 16-team traditional playoff.

The eight teams not in Orlando have seen their season come to an end.

The NBA suspended the season on Thursday, May 12th due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

The views on this page do not necessarily reflect the views of the NBA or its clubs.

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Carlan Gay Photo

Carlan Gay is a deputy editor at The Sporting News.