Month: March 2024

Pelicans Notes: Zion, Ball, Ingram, Holiday

It remains to be seen whether the NBA will be able to resume its 2019/20 season or whether teams outside of the playoff picture will get an opportunity to participate. However, if the Pelicans do get a chance to play this summer, Zion Williamson isn’t worried about needing several weeks to get back into playing shape, as Andrew Lopez of ESPN writes.

“Honestly, I’m ready now,” Williamson told TNT’s Ernie Johnson in an interview earlier this week. “I’ve been staying in shape, working on myself and just staying ready. You never know when the time is going to come when they’re going to say, ‘All right, let’s resume.’ I don’t want to have to look around at my teammates and say, ‘Sorry, guys, I’m not ready.’ So I’m staying ready for my teammates.”

Prior to the suspension of the NBA’s season, the Pelicans were hoping to push for a spot in the postseason, entering the home stretch trailing the eighth-seeded Grizzlies by 3.5 games but facing a favorable schedule. Williamson was disappointed to lose the momentum he and the team were building, but acknowledged to Johnson that the hiatus could be good for his body after he missed the first half of the season with a knee injury.

“It sucks because I had just come back after sitting three, four months without playing basketball or playing in an NBA game,” Williamson said. “As soon as I felt like I was getting going, this happens. It sucks from that perspective. But I think it’s a good thing because it gives me extra time to work on my knee and work on my body overall.”

Here’s more on Zion and the Pelicans:

  • The Pelicans were encouraged this season by the instant chemistry on display between Williamson and Lonzo Ball, one of the centerpieces of last year’s Anthony Davis trade, as Lopez writes in a separate ESPN story. “We think the fit is really, really good,” executive vice president of basketball operations David Griffin said. “(But) I didn’t think it would look quite like this this quickly.” Griffin added that the team believes the two former lottery picks are “just now scratching the surface of what they can do.”
  • Retaining Brandon Ingram this offseason is a “no-brainer,” but the Pelicans may face a tougher long-term decision on Jrue Holiday, John Hollinger says in a conversation with William Guillory of The Athletic. As Hollinger explains, the team will have to decide whether it makes sense to keep Holiday beyond his current contract, well into his 30s, or whether it might be more prudent to shop him before his deal expires in the hopes of gathering assets that would better line up with a Williamson/Ingram timeline.
  • In the second part of their discussion on the Pelicans’ future, Guillory and Hollinger examine what a Holiday trade might look like if the club goes that route, and explore a few other topics, including Alvin Gentry‘s future in New Orleans and the team’s center spot.

Knicks Notes: Perry, Rose, Smith Jr., Coaching Search

The Knicks are bringing back general manager Scott Perry for another season, but the fate of his staff won’t be determined until this summer, writes Marc Berman of The New York Post. Perry and the team had a May 1 deadline on their mutual option, so new president of basketball operations Leon Rose had to make a decision this week. However, Perry’s staff all have contracts that run through August, so Rose will take more time to evaluate each of them.

Those staff members include personnel director Harold Ellis, assistant GM Gerald Madkins, scout Fred Cofield and capologist Michael Arcieri, and Berman notes that none of them are guaranteed to remain with the team. He adds that Perry will have input into Rose’s future hires for the scouting department.

Perry has a long relationship with NBA mogul William Wesley, who Berman believes is providing behind-the-scenes advice to Rose. Perry’s new contract runs for one season, and he will likely get the chance to earn a longer deal based on his decisions going forward.

There’s more from New York:

  • Keeping Perry around will provide continuity for the Knicks heading into the draft and the offseason, writes Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic. Perry has spent the past three years with the organization and worked closely with former team president Steve Mills before he was fired in early February.
  • The decision to dismiss Mills right before the trade deadline probably postponed plans to trade Dennis Smith Jr., Ian Begley of SNY.tv states in a mailbag column. A source tells Begley that some people in the organization thought it was a “near certainty” Smith was going to be moved. Begley believes injuries and the death of a family member led to Smith’s regression this year and suggests he might be better off with another team, possibly the Magic, who reportedly expressed interest before the deadline.
  • Begley expects Spurs assistant Becky Hammon and former Knicks coach Jeff Van Gundy to get consideration in the upcoming coaching search. Several agents and coaches told Begley they believe Rose will hire Tom Thibodeau if he doesn’t keep interim coach Mike Miller in place. Begley adds that Kentucky’s John Calipari shouldn’t be dismissed as a candidate, even though he has stated that he’s not interested in the job.

Pat Riley: Heat Are “Close” To Being Title Contenders

Heat president Pat Riley is delighted with the progress his team made this season and believes the organization is “close” to being at a championship level again, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. Riley made the comments in a video released today, saying he hopes the league will find a way to salvage the playoffs so he can see the results of moves the team made at the trade deadline.

“I think we were (41-24) or something along those lines and headed to home-court advantage in the playoffs. It was a great year,” Riley said. “I’m really disappointed that we haven’t seen the finish, especially after we made the trade when we brought in Andre Iguodala, Solomon Hill and Jae Crowder. I thought that was going to give us a little bit of an edge going into the playoffs.”

Riley pinpointed the addition of Jimmy Butler in a sign-and-trade last summer for creating a lot of optimism for the new season. Another boost came from unexpected production by rookie guards Tyler Herro and Kendrick Nunn, along with second-year forward Duncan Robinson.

“I’m so happy that we turned a lot of things around and we found the right players,” Riley said, “the right mix of pick-and-roll players, guys that can post up and really found a couple of guys that can shoot the ball — really shoot the ball — so we’re happy for that and we’re really optimistic about moving forward into the future with these players.”

Riley touched on a few more topics during the video:

  • The Heat are running through scenarios for free agency, but everything is “up in the air” because of uncertainty over whether the season will resume. Miami has several important decisions to make, with new acquisitions Crowder and Hill both headed for free agency, along with Goran Dragic, Meyers Leonard, Derrick Jones Jr. and Udonis Haslem. In addition, Kelly Olynyk has a $13.2MM player option. Barry Jackson of the Miami Herald suggests Riley’s comments are a sign that he will try to keep the team together instead of renouncing the free agents and operating under the salary cap (Twitter link).
  • There’s strong support around the league for finding a way to complete the season, Riley added. He said all 30 teams have been participating in conference calls with the commissioner’s office and players union to discuss strategies. “I think that’s a very important thing for all of the franchises, complete the season even if it moves on later,” Riley said. “I think we’re all right behind Adam Silver and him waiting until he launches us back into action.”
  • Riley was “stunned” when he learned that the season was being suspended in the wake of a positive coronavirus test by Jazz center Rudy Gobert, but ultimately believes it was the right decision. “We heard that a player from the Utah Jazz had tested positive,” Riley said. “But I didn’t think it was going to last that long or turn out to be what it is today for not only the Heat, but for everybody to have to shut it down. Shut the country down, shut the world down and try to fight this thing. So it was pretty innocent that night only from the standpoint that, ‘OK, we can take care of this and then we’ll be back.’ But I think Adam Silver made an incredible move, and that just sort of cascaded into a lot of other decisions by other teams and other sports and industries.”

NBA Considers Finishing Season At Walt Disney World

Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida, is among the sites the NBA is considering to host the rest of its season, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Sources tell Charania that it’s one of several areas being looked at if the league decides to hold all its games in a single location.

Disney provides several advantages for the league, points out Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer (via Twitter). The resort offers ample hotel space and multiple basketball courts that are already set up to handle live television and radio broadcasts. He notes that because Disney is a privately owned property, it would be easier to manage than Las Vegas, which has also been mentioned as a potential site.

Disney already partners with the NBA by owning ABC and ESPN, which both have television deals with the league, adds Mike Vorkunov of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports floated the idea of bringing the NBA to Disney in a column two weeks ago.

2020/21 Salary Cap Preview: Los Angeles Lakers

Hoops Rumors is looking ahead at the 2020/21 salary cap situations for all 30 NBA teams. Due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the NBA, it’s impossible to know yet where the cap for 2020/21 will land. Given the league’s lost revenue, we’re assuming for now that it will stay the same as the ’19/20 cap, but it’s entirely possible it will end up higher or lower than that.

The Lakers’ roster entering the 2019/20 season was top-heavy and had undergone plenty of turnover, leading to speculation that the team would need some time to establish chemistry and start firing on all cylinders. Instead, the Lakers came out of the gates with 24 wins in their first 27 games. They haven’t looked back from there, entering the NBA’s hiatus with a 49-14 record, the best mark in the West by a comfortable margin.

While maximum salaries for LeBron James and Anthony Davis will be pricey going forward, the franchise has a good deal of flexibility to maneuver on the periphery and won’t be averse to going into the tax if need be.

Here’s where things stand for the Lakers financially in 2020/21, as we continue our Salary Cap Preview series:

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

Team Options

  • None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

  • Quinn Cook ($2,000,000) 1
  • Devontae Cacok (two-way)
  • Total: $2,000,000

Restricted Free Agents

Unrestricted Free Agents / Other Cap Holds

Offseason Cap Outlook

Even if we assume Davis opts out to sign a maximum-salary contract and all of the Lakers with player options exercise them, team salary shouldn’t be exorbitant — the five guaranteed salaries, four player options, a max salary for Davis, and the cap hold for the first-round pick would work out to about $123.5MM for 11 roster spots, assuming the cap doesn’t increase.

Of course, if more of those players with options besides Davis require raises for next season, staying out of tax territory will be more challenging. And while it’s plausible that the Lakers will have the full, non-taxpayer mid-level exception available, there may not be enough wiggle room to use the full MLE and bi-annual exception while staying below the tax apron.

Cap Exceptions Available

  • Mid-level exception: $9,258,000 2
  • Bi-annual exception: $3,623,000 2

Footnotes

  1. Cook’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after October 17.
  2. This is a projected value. If the Lakers’ team salary continues to increase, it’s possible they’d be limited to the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5,718,000).

Note: Minimum-salary and rookie-scale cap holds are based on the salary cap and could increase or decrease depending on where the cap lands.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and Early Bird Rights was used in the creation of this post. Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

And-Ones: NCAA, Mozgov, Whitehead, Wroten

The NCAA’s Board of Governors announced today in a press release that it’s moving toward allowing student-athletes to receive compensation for third-party endorsements and promotions. According to the announcement, athletes would be allowed to identify themselves by sport and school, but conference and school logos and other trademarked items would remain prohibited.

The guidelines, which are expected to go into effect when the 2021/22 academic year begins, aren’t a direct response to the NBA recently ramping up its G League developmental program and substantially increasing the amount of money that top high school recruits can make by going the NBAGL route. After all, the NCAA’s new rules will apply to student-athletes across the board, not just basketball players.

Still, top basketball prospects figure to take these forthcoming changes into account as they consider whether to play college ball or take the G League path. The NCAA has historically issued strict penalties for student-athletes found to be accepting even modest benefits — today’s announcement signals that those restrictions are on the verge of loosening to some extent.

Here are more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

  • Former NBA center Timofey Mozgov, who signed with Russian team Khimki last summer, missed the entire 2019/20 season due to knee issues. However, the club’s sports director, Pavel Astakhov, told Mosregtoday.ru that Mozgov is expected to remain with the team next season and should be healthy enough to play, as Emiliano Carchia of Sportando relays. The NBA permitted the Magic to remove Mozgov’s remaining cap hits from their books after determining that his health issues were likely career-ending.
  • Isaiah Whitehead, a Nets guard from 2016-18, has signed a contract extension with BC Mornar Bar, according to agent Misko Raznatovic (Twitter link). The club, which Whitehead joined in January, is based in Montenegro.
  • Former NBA guard Tony Wroten and Joventut Badalona have reached an agreement to termine his contract, two months before it was set to expire, the Spanish team announced (via Twitter). It’s unclear what the next step will be for Wroten, who spoke recently about wanting to make it back to the NBA.

Raptors Notes: Free Agency, Miller, Davis

The Raptors haven’t had meaningful cap room since 2015, so it remains to be seen whether the organization’s reputation has improved enough since then to make Toronto an appealing free agent destination for top free agents, Blake Murphy of The Athletic writes in a mailbag.

While Toronto hasn’t historically competed with big-market U.S. teams for stars on the open market, Murphy notes that last year’s championship should go a long way toward boosting the team’s appeal around the league.

Hosting a recent All-Star Weekend and establishing themselves as one of the league’s best-run franchises are also points in the Raptors favor, according to Murphy. So is the fact that quality players like Kyle Lowry, DeMar DeRozan, and Serge Ibaka chose to sign new contracts with Toronto rather than jumping ship, and Marc Gasol waived his trade kicker to join the club last season.

Here’s more on the Raptors:

  • Murphy touched on several other subjects in that mailbag, addressing Fred VanVleet‘s and Ibaka’s upcoming free agencies, Stanley Johnson‘s player option, and the possibility of an OG Anunoby rookie scale extension, among other topics.
  • In a separate story for The Athletic, Murphy profiles Malcolm Miller, who has been a bench piece for the Raptors for the last three seasons. Although Toronto has liked Miller enough to keep him around that long, he has never really played regular minutes, so it’s unclear what his future holds as he prepares for restricted free agency this offseason.
  • On a conference call, undrafted rookie Terence Davis admitted that he expected to spend half the 2019/20 season in the G League (Twitter link via Murphy). Instead, Davis has become a reliable rotation player at the NBA level — he’s the only player on the Raptors’ roster to appear in all 64 of the team’s games so far.
  • In case you missed it earlier this afternoon, we explored how a spot on an All-NBA team could impact Pascal Siakam‘s future earnings.

How 2020 All-NBA Picks Could Impact Contract Situations

All-NBA selections have become more important than ever in recent years, since teams can agree to increase the overall value of certain maximum-salary contracts based on whether or not a player has earned All-NBA honors in a given season.

Those higher max salaries are also available to players who win MVP or Defensive Player of the Year, but there’s only one of each of those awards per year. There are 15 All-NBA players annually, creating more opportunities for players to become eligible for those more lucrative contracts, informally known as “super-max” deals.

As we explain in our glossary entry on the “Designated Veteran Extension,” a player with between seven and nine years of NBA experience who meets certain contract criteria and hasn’t changed teams since the end of his rookie contract become eligible for a maximum salary worth 35% of the cap – instead of 30% – if he was named to an All-NBA team in the most recent season, or in two of the last three seasons.

Similar incentives are available for players coming off their rookie scale contracts, as noted in our glossary entry on the “Derrick Rose Rule.” Those players can earn max deals worth up to 30% of the cap instead of 25% if they were named to an All-NBA team in the most recent season, or in two of the last three seasons.

The differences between the various levels of maximum salaries can be substantial over the course of a long-term contract. For instance, in 2019/20, a five-year max contract that starts at 25% of the cap and includes 8% annual raises is worth just over $158MM. By comparison, a five-year deal that starts at 35% of the cap with 8% annual raises is worth over $221MM. A five-year contract at the 30% max falls in between, at about $190MM.

We don’t know yet what this year’s All-NBA teams will look like – or even when voting will take place – but as our informal polls last week showed, there are a number of candidates whose future earnings could be affected by whether or not they earn one of those 15 spots.

Let’s take a closer look at some of those players…

Players who have already qualified for super-max contracts:

Antetokounmpo and Gobert didn’t even need to rely on All-NBA spots to qualify for super-max contracts — Giannis’ MVP award last year and Gobert’s back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year awards in 2018 and 2019 secured their eligibility.

Because both players only had six years of experience entering the 2019/20 season, they had to wait one more year to be eligible to actually receive super-max extension offers, which would be worth 35% of the cap instead of 30%.

Antetokounmpo is a lock to receive such an offer from the Bucks, who have publicly said they’ll put it on the table as soon as they can. That was supposed to happen this July, but the NBA’s hiatus has thrown that timeline into flux. Whenever Milwaukee makes its offer, it would be for a five-year extension that would start in 2021/22 and be worth 35% of that season’s cap.

Gobert’s outlook is cloudier. He could also sign a five-year, 35% max-salary extension that would start in 2021/22, but he’s not at the same level of superstardom that Giannis is, so it remains to be seen how aggressive the Jazz will actually be in attempting to lock him up beyond next season.

Players whose already-signed rookie extensions would be impacted by an All-NBA selection:

Siakam and Simmons signed maximum-salary rookie scale extensions with their respective teams last fall. Both contracts will go into effect in 2020/21 and both include Rose Rule language, meaning they’ll be among the players closely monitoring this year’s All-NBA results.

In our series of polls, Siakam earned a spot on the All-NBA Second Team. However, I think there’s a real possibility he could end up on the Third Team. Antetokounmpo, LeBron James, and Kawhi Leonard will likely receive more votes than Siakam. Anthony Davis will place higher than Siakam too if voters consider him a forward. And even if Davis is listed as a center, Jayson Tatum is among those who should give Siakam a strong push for that Second Team forward spot.

While Siakam might be satisfied to end up on any All-NBA team, a spot on the Second Team would be far more satisfying from a financial perspective. His deal calls for a starting salary worth 28% of the cap if he earns All-NBA Second Team honors, but just 25% if he makes the Third Team.

As we outlined in the fall, that difference would have been worth nearly $16MM over four years based on a $116MM cap. The cap is no longer expected to get that high, but even so, missing out on a Second Team spot would cost Siakam millions.

As for Simmons, he wasn’t one of the 15 players voted to an All-NBA team by Hoops Rumors readers, but he looks to me like a viable candidate for the Third Team. If he makes the Third Team, his starting salary would be 28% of next year’s cap, rather than the 25% he’d get if he doesn’t make an All-NBA squad. Those three percentage points would impact Simmons even more than they would Siakam over the life of their contracts, since Simmons’ five-year deal runs for an extra season and the amount of the annual raises are based on the starting salary.

Nuggets guard Jamal Murray also signed a rookie scale extension with Rose Rule language, but isn’t a realistic candidate for an All-NBA nod.

Players whose next contract could be impacted by an All-NBA selection this season:

If Embiid – who was voted onto Hoops Rumors’ All-NBA Third Team – earns an All-NBA spot this season after doing so last year, he’d be in the same position heading into 2020/21 that Antetokounmpo and Gobert were entering 2019 — he’d have qualified for a super-max extension, but wouldn’t yet be eligible to sign one.

Once the 2021/22 league year begins, Embiid would have seven years of NBA experience, with All-NBA nods in at least two of the last three years, making him eligible to sign a four-year super-max extension that would begin in 2023/24, with a starting salary worth 35% of the cap. Even if Embiid doesn’t make an All-NBA team this season, doing so next year would still make him eligible for that same deal.

As for Ingram, he’s a long shot to be named to an All-NBA team, but in the unlikely event that he is, he’d be eligible to sign for a starting salary of up to 30% of the cap on a new free agent contract with the Pelicans. No other team looking to sign him to an offer sheet could exceed 25% of the cap in that scenario.

Other players to start monitoring if they earn All-NBA honors this season:

These players fall into a few separate sub-categories. Jokic and Booker, for instance, are in their fifth seasons and on their second NBA contracts. An All-NBA spot – which is far likelier for Jokic – would be a good start toward earning super-max eligibility, but they’d still have to make another All-NBA team in either 2021 or 2022 to become eligible to sign a Designated Veteran Extension in 2022.

Doncic, an All-NBA lock, and Young, a lesser candidate, are only in their second NBA seasons. If they were to make All-NBA teams this year and next, they’d be eligible to sign rookie scale extensions with starting salaries worth up to 30% of the cap during the 2021 offseason. Those deals would go into effect in 2022/23.

Adebayo, Mitchell, and Tatum are all in their third seasons and will be extension-eligible during the 2020 offseason. Earning an All-NBA spot this year actually wouldn’t do much for their Rose Rule eligibility — they’d still have to do it again in 2021 to qualify, since the criteria calls for an All-NBA berth in either the season before the new contract begins or in two of the three prior seasons.

Still, earning All-NBA honors this year would give those three players additional leverage to negotiate Rose Rule language into their potential rookie scale extensions, which would go into effect in 2021/22.

Strong All-NBA candidates who are notably ineligible for super-max contracts:

Beal was in position to qualify for a super-max extension if he had earned All-NBA honors this season, but the short-term contract extension he signed last October eliminated that possibility. By the time that extension expires, he’ll have 10 years of NBA experience and will be eligible for the 35% max anyway.

Davis has the right amount of NBA experience to gain eligibility and should be an All-NBA lock, but the fact that he changed teams last summer ensures he’ll no longer qualify for a Designated Veteran Contract this offseason — he missed out on the possibility of the super-max as soon as he left the Pelicans.

Various other All-NBA candidates won’t meet the super-max criteria for various reasons. Some, like James Harden, are already on a super-max contract. Others, such as LeBron James, already have 10+ years of experience and can’t qualify for a higher max than the 35% they already get. Recently changing teams (ie. Jimmy Butler) or signing new long-term deals (ie. Khris Middleton) also remove certain players from super-max contention.

Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Northwest Notes: Z. Collins, Conley, Beasley

Trail Blazers big man Zach Collins, who underwent shoulder surgery in November, is one of many injured NBA players whose return timelines has been complicated by the league’s hiatus. A report in January indicated that Collins was still on track to make it back in March, but he didn’t suit up before the league suspended its season on March 11.

Without the ability to participate in full-contact practices and scrimmages, Collins in a bit of a holding pattern as he nears the final stage of his rehab process. Still, as Chris Burkhardt of NBC Sports Northwest writes, Collins’ comments during a conversation with Trail Blazers Courtside strike an optimistic tone when it comes to a potential return this summer.

“I definitely think I am on the right track,” said the Trail Blazers’ big man. “Right now it’s tough because the last part of my development was playing and we can’t play right now. I’m just trying to simulate that as much as I can right now without going through contact with other players. It feels really good. Like I said before, I haven’t really had any setbacks in my rehab. From day one it’s all been pretty smooth, it’s just a long process. But it feels great. I’m really happy with where I’m at.”

Here’s more from around the Northwest:

  • Although his first season with the Jazz has been a little up and down on the court, Mike Conley said in a Twitter Q&A on Tuesday that the transition to Utah itself has been as smooth as he could have hoped. “Salt Lake has been unbelievable to me,” Conley said, per Sarah Todd of The Deseret News. “My family loves it. Obviously some of the best fans in the world. Truly a different experience for us, I think being in the mountains and altitude has been an adjustment. But, everywhere you go everyone is a diehard Jazz fan and truly care about you and your family.”
  • With restricted free agency looming for Malik Beasley, Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic examines the swingman’s value, openly wondering if Beasley’s impressive play in 14 games with the Timberwolves will be enough to earn him a contract in the range of four years and $60MM+.
  • Before today, our most recent collection of Northwest notes was posted on Monday night. You can found that round-up right here.

NBA Increasingly Willing To Delay Start Of 2020/21 Season

While some other top basketball leagues around the world are setting deadlines to decide the fate of their 2019/20 seasons, the NBA is increasingly willing to be patient as it considers if and when to resume its own season, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said this week during an appearance on SportsCenter (video link).

Previous reports have indicated that the NBA would prefer not to have the current season run beyond August or early September. However, Wojnarowski suggests that the league’s timeline is becoming more flexible.

“More than ever, I think this is a league that is really willing to push the calendar on this season,” Wojnarowski told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt. “I had reported (previously) that the league wanted to have the Finals wrapped up ideally by Labor Day weekend. They’re more willing than ever to delay the start of next season.”

As Wojnarowski explains, one key factor influencing the NBA’s thinking is the fact that it could be a while before teams can host games with fans in attendance. If clubs are still required to play behind closed doors in the fall, there would be less incentive for the league to push to start next season at its usual time. In that scenario, delaying opening night could increase the odds of being able to play more games next season in front of fans.

“If they were going to start at the normal time, mid-to-late October, it’s hard to imagine that there would be fans in the stands,” Woj said. “And so I think as much time as they can buy for themselves, the league is willing to do that right now. They’re trying to look at everything. This isn’t just, ‘Let’s figure out the next couple months and this season.’ This is a two-, three-, four-year look moving forward.”

Based on Wojnarowski’s report, it sounds as if the idea of finishing the current season in the fall and starting the 2020/21 campaign in December – or maybe even later – isn’t out of the question.

We’re still a ways off from getting a real sense of what a reshaped NBA schedule might look like for the next couple years, but Woj’s report echoes a point we’ve heard repeatedly since the league suspended its season seven weeks ago — the NBA is willing to think outside the box and consider a wide variety of possible scenarios as it weighs all its options.