Teams weigh benefits of taking training camp on the road

The line between what qualifies as an NBA team's actual training camp vs. any other ol' October preseason practice day has been blurred through the years. And yet, some teams still take the "camp" part seriously, figuratively pitching a tent somewhere far from home, packing the bug spray (OK, maybe not the Hornets) and Sharpie-ing their names into the waistbands of their underwear.

When NBA teams convene each fall, they do so typically with a lot less formality and rigidity than their brethren in the NFL or MLB. The settings for their initial workouts never have been as climate-driven or as extended as what baseball does with its spring training destinations -- six weeks or so of heat and sunshine in Florida or Arizona. There's way less of an armed forces feel, in numbers and in tone, than what pro football demands of its players -- no mandatory roommates, meetings at night and day or sweltering, cinder-block dorm rooms with (maybe) a noisy window air conditioner.

Still, some of the benefits from those controlled environments are real, enough that several teams each autumn opt to pack and travel for their workouts. This year, eight have gone away for camp:

Boston: Salve Regina University, Newport, R.I.
Memphis: Birmingham-Southern College, Birmingham, Ala.
Minnesota: Minnesota State University, Mankato, Minn.
New Orleans: University of Louisiana-Lafayette, Lafayette, La.
New York: Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, N.Y.
Phoenix: University of San Diego, San Diego, Calif.
Toronto: Carleton University, Ottawa, Ontario.
Washington: Virginian Commonwealth University, Richmond, Va.

Two other teams are going "off campus" in their home markets: Dallas will be using the facilities at Southern Methodist University, while Philadelphia is a few miles away from the Wachovia Center at St. Joe's.

Others will be conducting camp in the familiar surroundings of their practice facilities. That includes the Lakers, who famously spent almost two weeks, on an every-other-year schedule, training in Honolulu; they broke a pattern that would have had them back at University of Hawaii in 2009. Golden State, which has set up camp in Laie, Hawaii, using the BYU branch campus there, instead is staying put right in Oakland.

There are, at this point, two kinds of NBA teams: Those that take their players out of town for training camp and those that do not. The benefits and costs involved in those decisions are considerable, even if they're not always apparent to the fans, the parties involved or -- and this is key -- the people signing all the checks.

Among the pros for moving camp somewhere different:

Marketing and good will. The Lakers, back in 1988, had an ulterior motive for training in Oahu: They were trying to grow an audience for a cable sports venture, according to longtime L.A. player and assistant coach Kurt Rambis. Eventually, the destination became part of that franchise's allure and first-class image, helping to attract and retain players. Meanwhile, the Toronto Raptors, like many clubs, have sprinkled their camps around Canada and nearby locales (Kitchener, Niagara Falls, Buffalo, now Ottawa) in part to extend their fan base. The Minnesota Timberwolves again will hold camp in Mankato, owner Glen Taylor's home town, on the campus of his alma mater.

Facilities. Not every NBA team has a practice facility built for the specific demands of training camp. With so many players on the early roster, it's handy to have extra courts -- that's why the Mavericks have gotten comfortable at SMU.

Removing distractions. By planting players far from home, in a hotel, away from family and friends and the obligations of everyday life, some coaches feel that they have a better shot at their undivided attention. The key here, of course, is to go far enough away. When the Houston Rockets held camp one year in Galveston, Texas, some players turned the experience into a commute, trekking home or back late at night or early in the morning. That not only defeats the purpose, it raises the risks for highway mishaps. "If you do go away, you have to go far enough away,'' said Minnesota president of basketball operations David Kahn, whose Timberwolves won't be allowed to bring their own cars to Mankato (70 miles from the Twin Cities).

Bonding and team-building. If players have nowhere to go but back to the hotel, they're more prone to spend time together, talking or thinking about the work they've just put in. They can eat breakfast, lunch, maybe even dinner together, getting acquainted with the rookies and other new faces. At least, that's the philosophy. In a league that pivots on teamwork, any shared experience is an opportunity to know, like and trust the other man.

Two years ago in Honolulu, for example, Lakers forward Lamar Odom felt it was his decision to hire a chef for the team -- not the sand and surf of Waikiki -- that helped pull L.A. closer in a season that, nine months later, saw it reach the NBA Finals. "I won't take the credit,'' Odom said then, "but in training camp we became tighter. I made sure we had a chef. We ate dinner, lunch and breakfast together every day at training camp. I think that was special. I think that's when the bond started."

Bonding and camaraderie, of course, are intangibles. That makes them hard to quantify or, more important, monetize. And until Odom or some other coach or player stands before a microphone in June, dripping with champagne as he cradles the Larry O'Brien trophy, and shouts, "This all started back in camp in Honolulu ..." (or Ottawa or Saratoga Springs or Newport), it will be hard to attach and evaluate the price tag.

That's where the cons come in:

Time. The NBA collective bargaining agreement restricts to three hours the amount of time teams can spend with players, even during the traditional two-a-day period. That means even Red Auerbach or early Pat Riley couldn't monopolize the players in a boot camp approach the way old-school coaches might have in the past.

Schedule. In a league that already separates players from their homes for half of every month, October into June, splicing a five-, seven- or 10-day road trip onto the front end of the preseason seems a little much. "We travel so much in this business," Dallas GM Donnie Nelson said. "Some of our guys have families, and staying in town gives you five more nights to sleep in your own beds."

Inconvenience. The Celtics will train this week in a bucolic setting near the water in Newport. But a team spokesperson admitted that medical care and facilities won't be quite as good as what the team relies on during the season, so Boston didn't want to stray too far from home. Access to everything else back gets tougher, too.

Outdated facilities. For every big-time collegiate sports operation that can host an NBA team adequately, there are smaller schools whose gyms and support areas don't measure up. Years ago, when the Hornets still played in Charlotte, the training camp trek to Appalachia State meant using a hard floor that was built on concrete, without the "give" of standard NBA courts. At some sites, locker rooms that cramped -- or not available -- often make it necessary for sweaty players to cool down while being bused 10 miles or more to the team hotel.

Cost. This is the deal breaker for many teams in these financially trying times. The Lakers have estimated that training in their facility in El Segundo, Calif., will save about $500,000 from the cost of doing it all in Hawaii. Skipping even the less exotic destinations can keep some money in the team owners' pockets. Especially because so many of them have ponied up to build fancy new headquarters for the teams' day-in, day-out needs.

"An organization looks at it and says, `We have used our money and resources for this facility. Why do you feel a need to go somewhere else?" said Milwaukee GM John Hammond, who worked with teams that trained in Palm Springs (Clippers) and Windsor, Ont. (Pistons) but whose Bucks will stay home in St. Francis, Wis. "The theory of why you go -- to get away, for team bonding -- it all makes sense. But from a cost-effectiveness, I see the owners' standpoint."

Said Minnesota's Kahn: "If you're going to incur the costs of [building a great facility], you may want to realize the cost back by making sure you don't spend the money on training camp."

It's one more area of economic life where a new normal exists. For the NBA, that means as much training as ever, but a little less camping.