Notes On NBA’s Potential Return To Play

The two-hour conference call this afternoon that included the league’s Board of Governors and commissioner Adam Silver featured plenty of discussion and debate about what form the resumption of the NBA season should take, including the financial implications of various proposals, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). Unsurprisingly, there was ultimately no consensus among team owners, per Woj.

As Wojnarowski details, the league and the NBPA will continue to talk about potential scenarios for the NBA’s return. However, there’s an expectation that within the next week or so, Silver and the NBA will ask teams to vote on a specific proposal.

According to Woj, most teams are pushing ideas that reflect their own interests, but there’s a sense they’d get behind Silver – whether enthusiastically or reluctantly – if he and the NBPA agree on a plan and want to move forward with it (Twitter links).

Here’s more on the potential resumption of the 2019/20 season:

  • After Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer provided some of the results of the GM survey conducted by the NBA last week, Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links) reports a few more. According to Charania, most GMs don’t want the season to extend beyond October 1, and 60% voted in favor of a 72-game regular season. Charania adds that the non-playoff teams were “split” on resuming the season.
  • Tim Bontemps of ESPN also has some details on those GM survey results, noting that general managers support the idea of adding more inactive spots to team rosters and making two-way players available for the postseason.
  • In a lengthy column, David Aldridge of The Athletic explores several aspects of a potential NBA return, including how COVID-19 testing would work in Orlando, what player agents are hearing from their clients, and why there’s confidence that Walt Disney World is the best choice to host the league. “I’m fairly certain that Disney is going to work,” one source told Aldridge. “Vegas had some of the logistical things we needed but didn’t have the environment that could enhance our health protocols. Vegas scared me to death. Florida worried me a little bit because of the state opening up so early, but having a venue that can basically be closed off, I do think we can check off the venue issue off our list. I think we’ve got that down.”
  • Mark Medina of USA Today digs into the some of the logistics on how, specifically, it will work if the NBA resumes its seasons at Walt Disney World in Orlando. Medina shares some details – and some speculation – on where teams would play, how they’d practice, and where they’d stay while in the Disney “bubble.”
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