What We Learned On Thursday About NBA’s Plans
Thursday represented perhaps the most eventful day of NBA news since the league suspended its season back on March 11. The NBA’s Board of Governors formally approved the return-to-play plan put forth by commissioner Adam Silver, as the league took a major first step toward getting back on the court this season.
While that 29-1 vote in favor of Silver’s 22-team plan was the big headline of the day, it was just one of many significant updates we got from the NBA and the reporters that cover the league. Since there was a lot of information to take in, we wanted to round up all the key headlines in one place — we’ve done so below.
Here are some of Thursday’s biggest stories:
The ball is now in the NBPA’s court:
The NBA and its teams have given the green light to the league’s return-to-play plan, but the National Basketball Players Association hasn’t technically done so yet.
The players’ union reportedly scheduled a call on Friday with team player representatives, and there’s an expectation that they’ll sign off on the plan. After all, Silver and NBPA president Chris Paul have stayed in close contact throughout the process and are believed to be on the same page.
However, giving a tentative go-ahead to the broad strokes of the NBA’s proposal doesn’t mean that the NBPA will be on board with every single detail. Many changes, especially those applying to the offseason and the 2020/21 season, will need to be collectively bargained before they can be officially finalized.
More light was shed on the NBA’s new summer schedule:
In addition to getting confirmation from the NBA that the league is aiming to begin regular season games on July 31, we were able to fill in some of the gaps between now and then, based on reports from Shams Charania of The Athletic and others.
Not all of these dates are set in stone, but here’s a rough timeline on what the next several weeks may look like:
- June 15: Players located internationally return to their team’s market.
- June 21: All players report to their team’s market.
- June 22: Coronavirus testing begins.
- June 30: Training camps begin.
- July 7: Players travel to Orlando.
- July 8-30: Quarantine period, camps, and possibly exhibition games?
Once the season resumes on July 31, it’s expected to take 16 days for each team to play eight games, so by mid-August, we could be looking at one or two potential play-in tournaments, with the postseason to follow.
The NBA has officially rescheduled its draft:
Originally scheduled for June 25, the 2020 NBA draft is now tentatively penciled in for October 15. That means it could take place just three days after the NBA Finals conclude.
We’re still waiting to see if the league will be able to conduct some form of revamped combine for many of this year’s top prospects. For now, we know that NCAA early entrants will have to withdraw from the draft by August 3 or 10 days after the combine (whichever comes first) in order to maintain their college eligibility.
Any draft combine the NBA puts together seems unlikely to be completed by July 24, so for now we’re assuming that August 3 will be the withdrawal deadline for early entrants.
We’ve got a new draft lottery date and details:
The 2020 draft lottery, which was initially supposed to happen in Chicago on May 19, is now tentatively scheduled for August 25.
While it’s not clear exactly what form the lottery will take, the NBA provided more details today on what the seeding and odds will look like. According to the league, the eight teams not invited to Orlando are locked into the top eight spots in the lottery. The 9-14 seeds will be filled out by the rest of the teams that don’t ultimately make the playoffs, sorted by their records as of March 11.
In other words, even if the Wizards go 0-8 and finish with a worse winning percentage than a couple teams left out of the return to play, they’ll have the ninth-best lottery odds. The same is true if they go on a hot streak and pass a couple top-22 teams in the standings in Orlando — unless they make the postseason, they’ll still be No. 9 in the lottery standings.
Here’s what the lottery odds will look like for the eight teams not invited to Orlando:
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GSW | 14 | 13.4 | 12.7 | 12 | 47.9 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| CLE | 14 | 13.4 | 12.7 | 12 | 27.8 | 20 | – | – | – | – | – | – |
| MIN | 14 | 13.4 | 12.7 | 12 | 14.8 | 26 | 7.1 | – | – | – | – | – |
| ATL | 12.5 | 12.2 | 11.9 | 11.5 | 7.2 | 25.7 | 16.8 | 2.2 | – | – | – | – |
| DET | 10.5 | 10.5 | 10.6 | 10.5 | 2.2 | 19.6 | 26.7 | 8.8 | 0.6 | – | – | – |
| NYK | 9 | 9.2 | 9.4 | 9.6 | – | 8.6 | 29.6 | 20.6 | 3.8 | 0.2 | – | – |
| CHI | 7.5 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 8.5 | – | – | 19.7 | 34.1 | 12.9 | 1.3 | >0 | – |
| CHA | 6 | 6.3 | 6.7 | 7.2 | – | – | – | 34.5 | 32.1 | 6.7 | 0.4 | >0 |
The tentative odds for the rest of the teams can be found here, though they’re dependent on the Grizzlies, Magic, and Nets not surrendering their playoff spots.
As for the rest of the first round draft order, that won’t be based on March 11 records — teams’ performances in the eight “seeding games” in July and August will also be taken into consideration. For instance, the Heat (41-24) are currently projected to have the No. 23 pick, but if they go 1-7 when play resumes, they’ll almost certainly move up in the draft order.
The NBA is planning on a very short offseason:
In one of the more surprising announcements of the day, the league indicated it’s targeting November 10 for the opening of next season’s training camps and December 1 for opening night of the 2020/21 campaign.
While teams not involved in the NBA’s return will welcome the opportunity to get back on the floor at that point, those dates may not be popular among playoff teams, who would have an extremely compressed offseason. The 2019/20 season could run as late as October 12 (with free agency to follow just six days later on October 18), which would result in an offseason of less than a month for a couple teams.
Comments made by NBPA executive director Michele Roberts suggest she was surprised by the December 1 target date, and it’s worth noting that it will require approval from the players’ union. Of all the dates and details the NBA has announced so far, this is one I could see changing — a December 25 opening day just seems to make a lot of sense.
On the other hand, a December 1 start could give the NBA a chance to finish the 2020/21 season before the Olympics get underway on July 23, 2021 — avoiding any overlap with the Tokyo games could be important for some players.
There still aren’t a ton of details on the NBA’s health and safety protocols for the summer:
Even as we received a ton of new information today on dates and formats, there were few updates about the most important issue facing the NBA this summer — how does the league plan to keep its players safe and healthy amid the coronavirus pandemic?
A report confirmed that individuals are expected to be tested for COVID-19 daily within the Orlando bubble, and commissioner Adam Silver confirmed that the league doesn’t want a single positive test to prevent that player’s team from continuing to participate. But we already strongly suspected both of things.
Silver’s most noteworthy comment during his Thursday TNT appearance was his suggestion that certain older coaches may not be permitted on the sidelines due to their increased risk if they were to contract COVID-19. However, he has already walked back that stance to some extent. Either way, we’ll need more details on the NBA’s health and safety protocols soon.
For more details on the NBA’s return-to-play plan, check out our full breakdown here.
Photos courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Restart Notes: Scheduling, NBPA, Testing, TV Deals
Although the National Basketball Players Association is expected to approve the NBA’s return-to-play plan, a long list of financial, competitive, and scheduling details need to be negotiated for the 2020/21 season, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (via Twitter). As Wojnarowski details, most of the new dates shared and/or confirmed today – such as August 25 for the draft lottery and October 15 for the draft – are still considered tentative for the time being.
Meanwhile, Wojnarowski passed along several more “preliminary expectations” on how the schedule will work this summer in Orlando. According to Woj (via Twitter), there will be a 16-day regular season, with five or six games played each day. Each team is expected to play one back-to-back set within its eight regular season games, while the NBA Finals will feature games every other day.
Here’s more on the NBA’s restart:
- NBPA executive director Michele Roberts admitted she was caught off guard by the NBA’s aggressive turnaround plan between this season and next, writes Wojnarowski. The league is tentative targeting November 10 for opening training camps for next season, with December 1 tentatively penciled in to be opening night. The NBA Finals may not end until October 12, meaning a couple teams could get less than a month off. “I was surprised to see it,” Roberts told ESPN. As Woj notes, the NBPA will have to sign off on changes to the league’s calendar, so those dates aren’t set in stone yet.
- Tim Bontemps and Brian Windhorst of ESPN have published a helpful primer on the NBA’s return, sharing details on where games will actually be played at Disney (The Arena, HP Field House, and Visa Athletic Center) and how often the league plans to test individuals inside the bubble for COVID-19 (daily, per ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne).
- In a wide-ranging look at the NBA’s restart, Sam Amick of The Athletic cites sources who say that the eight games teams will play before the postseason this summer will all count toward those clubs’ regional sports network TV deals. That’s significant from a financial perspective — Amick notes that the Lakers make approximately $1.5MM per game from their deal with Spectrum SportsNet, while even the lower-end deals net about $200K per game.
Knicks Set To Begin Head Coaching Search
Now that the Knicks‘ season is officially over, the team is set to launch its search for a permanent head coach, according to Marc Stein of The New York Times and ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links).
Wojnarowski reiterates a point we’ve heard multiple times within the last week or two: Tom Thibodeau will be the frontrunner out of the gate to land the job. However, former Nets coach Kenny Atkinson and current Knicks interim head coach Mike Miller are also expected to be interviewed.
As we detailed earlier today, Mike Woodson, who previously coached the Knicks from 2012-14 and interviewed for the job again in 2018, is among the candidates the team plans to interview too. Thibodeau, Atkinson, and Woodson have all been represented by Creative Artists Agency, giving them a connection to new Knicks president of basketball operations – and former CAA co-head – Leon Rose.
The Knicks are unlikely to be the only bottom-eight team to begin addressing offseason business – such as a head coaching search – now that their season is over. The Bulls, for instance, are one of the eight clubs that won’t be involved in the NBA’s restart, and there have been rumblings for weeks that Jim Boylen is very much on the hot seat.
No other head coaches on the league’s bottom eight teams are obvious candidates to be replaced this summer, but if any of those clubs want to make other changes to their coaching staffs or front offices, there’s no longer a reason to postpone that process.
NBA G League Cancels Rest Of Season
4:42pm: The G League has made it official, issuing a press release to announce the cancellation of the season.
“While canceling the remainder of our season weighs heavily on us, we recognize that it is the most appropriate action to take for our league,” NBAGL president Shareef Abdur-Rahim said in a statement. “I extend my sincere gratitude to NBA G League players and coaches for giving their all to their teams and fans this season. And to our fans, I thank you and look forward to resuming play for the 2020-21 season.”
According to Charania (Twitter link), the G League paid out its players for the final 17 days of the season and extended their health benefits. Adam Johnson first reported in March that that would be the case.
4:11pm: Although the NBA intends to restart its 2019/20 season this summer, the NBA G League won’t resume along with it. Shams Charania of The Athletic reports (via Twitter) that the G League is canceling the rest of its ’19/20 campaign.
Like the NBA, the G League suspended its season on March 11, shortly after Rudy Gobert‘s positive test for COVID-19. The NBAGL’s regular season had been scheduled to end on March 28, with the postseason to follow. With the remainder of the season canceled, the Wisconsin Herd (33-10), Salt Lake City Stars (30-12), and the rest of the league’s top teams won’t get an opportunity to compete for the 2020 title.
The decision doesn’t come as a surprise — because it’s a developmental league that doesn’t have any huge television deals to worry about, there was little financial motivation for the G League to jump through the necessary hoops to finish its 2019/20 season.
Presumably, two-way players on the 22 teams that will be part of the NBA’s return this summer will travel to Orlando with their respective clubs now that there’s no chance of them being assigned to the G League.
While it’s unclear when the 2020/21 G League season will get underway, it’s a safe bet that training camps and opening night will be pushed back to coincide with the NBA’s late start.
NCAA Sets New Early Entrant Withdrawal Deadline
After indefinitely postponing its June 3 withdrawal deadline for early entrants, the NCAA announced today that it has established a new deadline. Early entrants will have until either August 3 or 10 days after the NBA draft combine (whichever comes first) to withdraw their names while maintaining their college eligibility.
“This provides the utmost flexibility to student-athletes testing the waters to make the most informed decision about their future during this uncertain time,” NCAA senior VP for basketball Dan Gavitt said in a statement. “And by deciding before classes start for the fall semester, it also encourages student-athletes who choose to return to school to be fully engaged in their academic pursuits and the tremendous experience and opportunity to play college basketball.”
[RELATED: 2020 NBA Draft Early Entrants List]
The NBA announced today that it has rescheduled its 2020 draft lottery for August 25. Typically, the combine takes place shortly after the lottery, but it’s not clear if or when it will happen this year. The coronavirus pandemic has made it virtually impossible for the league to hold a traditional combine, which would feature workouts, scrimmages, interviews, and medical tests.
Since it’s extremely unlikely that a combine will be held next month, it seems safe to assume that August 3 will end up being the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline. Most players are unlikely to wait that long to make their decisions, however, as college programs work toward setting their rosters for the 2020/21 season.
As Jonathan Givony of ESPN observes (via Twitter), the NCAA’s decision isn’t great news for players that want the opportunity to potentially participate in an August or September combine. Many players could end up keeping their names in the draft despite being unlikely to be selected, Givony notes.
While the NCAA’s withdrawal deadline for early entrants will be August 3 at the latest, I’d expect the NBA’s to land on October 5. Traditionally, it falls 10 days before the draft, and the 2020 draft has been rescheduled to October 15.
The NBA’s withdrawal deadline typically applies to international players who don’t have to worry about losing NCAA eligibility. However, again, I wouldn’t expect many of those international players to wait until the fall to make their decisions, since most European leagues remain on track to start their 2020/21 seasons at that time.
Buffalo guard Jayvon Graves and Croatian forward Darko Bajo are among the latest early entrants to pull out of this year’s draft, according to tweets from Jeff Goodman of Stadium and agent Misko Raznatovic, respectively.
Restart Notes: Blazers, Camps, 2020/21 Schedule
The Trail Blazers prevented Adam Silver‘s proposal to the NBA’s Board of Governors today from receiving unanimous approval, registering the lone dissenting vote on the 22-team plan.
[RELATED: NBA’s Board of Governors approves 22-team return-to-play plan by 29-1 margin]
As Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN explains (via Twitter), the Trail Blazers are “eager” to resume the season, but voted against the plan because they felt their were more “competitive and innovative” ideas on the table. The team’s “no” vote also reflected some feedback ownership received from players, Woj adds (via Twitter).
As Woj notes, it sounds like one of the Blazers’ concerns was related to the league’s decision on how lottery odds will be calculated. Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports tweets that the franchise also preferred a 20-team format instead of the 22-team one the league chose.
While Portland still has a chance to make the postseason in the approved format, it will be challenging. Even if the Blazers move ahead of the Kings and Pelicans – and stay ahead of the Spurs and Suns – they’ll need to keep pace with the Grizzlies and then likely beat Memphis twice in a row to earn the West’s No. 8 seed.
Here are a few more odds and ends related to the NBA’s restart plans:
- Within his report on the NBA’s return, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski cites sources who say that teams are expected to begin training in Orlando between July 9-11. Shams Charania of The Athletic reported earlier today that teams are expected to travel to Orlando on July 7, so if both dates are accurate, it sounds like there will be no quarantine period upon arriving. The league reportedly plans to have teams start regular coronavirus testing on June 22.
- Even as the NBA moves forward with its plans for resuming the season, Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today (Twitter link) hears that the league is prepared for the possibility that its plans could be impacted by changes in the COVID-19 situation.
- Along those lines, one coach who was on a recent call with the NBA tells Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca (Twitter link) that Adam Silver has said he’s not afraid to pull the plug on the league’s return altogether if it’s deemed unsafe.
- According to Frank Isola of SiriusXM NBA Radio (Twitter link), the NBA is believed to be targeting a mid-July Finals for 2021. That timeline would potentially compress next season’s NBA calendar to some extent but would free players up to participate in the Olympics, which were postponed to July 23 – August 8, 2021.
NBA Confirms 22-Team Plan, Announces Lottery Details
The NBA has officially announced that its Board of Governors voted in favor of commissioner Adam Silver‘s recommendation to resume the season this summer with 22 teams in attendance, issuing a press release to confirm the news and offering several more details.
“The Board’s approval of the restart format is a necessary step toward resuming the NBA season,” said Silver said in a statement. “While the COVID-19 pandemic presents formidable challenges, we are hopeful of finishing the season in a safe and responsible manner based on strict protocols now being finalized with public health officials and medical experts. We also recognize that as we prepare to resume play, our society is reeling from recent tragedies of racial violence and injustice, and we will continue to work closely with our teams and players to use our collective resources and influence to address these issues in very real and concrete ways.”
Here are some of the details announced or confirmed by the league in today’s release:
- All of the dates we’ve heard within the last week, including a tentative start date of July 31, a draft date of October 15, and a 2020/21 start date of December 1, are accurate.
- As expected, once the playoffs begin, they’ll follow a traditional format — each series will be a best-of-seven, and the Eastern and Western Conference will be kept separate until the Finals.
- The draft lottery – rescheduled for August 25 – will be made up of the eight teams not involved in the league’s restart and the six teams that don’t make the postseason. Those teams’ lottery seeds and odds will be based on their records through March 11. So even if the Trail Blazers go 2-6 when play resumes and the Suns go 6-2, passing them in the standings, Phoenix will still have better lottery odds if neither team makes the playoffs.
- Note: Here’s what the odds will look like if the Grizzlies, Magic, and Nets hang onto their playoff spots.
- The rest of the draft order will be based on the 16 playoff teams’ combined records across regular season games and “seeding games,” which is what the league is calling the eight games being played this summer. For instance, the Heat (41-24) are currently projected to draft 23rd, but if they go 1-7 when play resumes, they’ll likely move up in the draft.
Additionally, while the NBA didn’t formally confirm these dates, Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter links) says the league informed the Board of Governors of the following dates on today’s call:
- June 15: Players located internationally return to their team’s market.
- June 21: All players report to their team’s market.
- June 22: Coronavirus testing begins.
- June 30: Training camps begin.
- July 7: Players travel to Orlando.
It’s still not exactly clear what the schedule will look like between July 7-31. There may be some sort of quarantine period for players. Camps figured to be resumed, and Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press reports (via Twitter) that some exhibition games are expected to take place.
NBPA Schedules Friday Call To Approve Return-To-Play Plan
1:49pm: Now that the Board of Governors has voted in favor of the league’s return-to-play plan, the players’ union is next up. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that the NBPA’s team player representatives have a call set for Friday to approve the league’s plan for resuming the season.
11:03am: While the NBA’s Board of Governors is reportedly on the verge of approving Adam Silver‘s recommended plan for resuming the 2019/20 season, that’s just one important hurdle for the league to clear as it solidifies that plan.
The National Basketball Players Association will also need to formally approve any return-to-play plan, and Marc Stein of The New York Times tweets that the union has scheduled a Friday virtual meeting for its members to discuss the proposal.
Silver and the NBA have been working closely with NBPA president Chris Paul and the players’ union throughout the planning process, and the commissioner is believed to have already taken into account many of the players’ concerns. As such, I wouldn’t expect things to get contentious between the NBA and NBPA — it sounds like there’s a good chance the union will approve Silver’s proposal without significant pushback.
Still, players will want to receive assurances that the NBA is doing as much as it can to keep players healthy and safe amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. A source tell Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press (Twitter link) that the league and the union are still working on a “lengthy” medical protocols document. It will be shared with teams once those discussions are completed, Reynolds adds.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN (Insider link) details, there will also be a number of other issues that the NBA and NBPA will need to collective bargain in order to formally move forward.
Besides navigating major financial issues like player salary reductions and the salary cap going forward, the two sides will have to move player option decision deadlines, salary guarantee dates, expiration dates for trade exceptions, and several other deadlines tied to free agency and the offseason, Marks writes. Additionally, decisions will have to be made on the possible expansion of rosters, lifting the current transaction moratorium, and the draft.
NBA Plans On October 18 Free Agency, Shortened Offseason
In addition to rescheduling the 2020 draft to October 15, the NBA also informed the Board of Governors today that it’s targeting October 18 for the start of free agency, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter).
Assuming that date – and others that have been reported this week – are accurate, the 2020 free agent period – which will headlined by the likes of Anthony Davis and Brandon Ingram, among others – could begin just six days after the NBA Finals end. That would represent the start of an extremely abridged 2020 offseason.
As Charania details, the NBA is tentatively targeting November 10 for the opening of 2020/21 training camps and December 1 for next season’s opening night.
Typically, there’s more than a three-month gap between the end of the NBA Finals and the start of training camps, and approximately a four-month gap between the end of the Finals and the start of next season. Based on Charania’s report, that timeline would shrink drastically this year, with teams in the Finals potentially getting less than a month off before reporting to camp for the new season.
It’s worth noting that while the NBA’s plan received Board of Governors approval today, the National Basketball Players Association hasn’t signed off on every aspect of it, so that shortened offseason may receive some push-back from players.
There had been speculation that the NBA might target Christmas Day for the start of the ’20/21 campaign, perhaps even pushing opening night into the new year. I wouldn’t assume that outcome is entirely off the table — getting fans back into arenas will be a major priority next season as the NBA looks to recoup lost revenue, so the league’s plans will likely hinge in part on whether or not local governments have loosened or lifted restrictions on mass gatherings.
NBA’s Board Of Governors Approves 22-Team Return-To-Play Plan
The NBA’s Board of Governors has formally approved the league’s 22-team plan to resume the 2019/20 season, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
Team owners voted 29-to-1 in favor of commissioner Adam Silver‘s proposal, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). The Trail Blazers were the lone dissenting vote, tweets Charania.
The plan will reportedly see 22 teams return to action beginning on July 31 with an eight-game regular season schedule to finish the season. From there, the No. 8 seed in each conference may be decided via play-in tournaments and the postseason would follow, ending no later than October 12. All games are expected to be played at Walt Disney World in Florida near Orlando, at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex.
The Hornets, Bulls, Knicks, Pistons, Hawks, Cavaliers, Timberwolves, and Warriors won’t be part of the NBA’s restart — their seasons are over.
We covered the NBA’s plan – based on what we know so far – in greater detail right here, so be sure to check out that breakdown for much more info.
While approval from the NBA’s Board of Governors is a major step, there are still details to sort out between the league and the National Basketball Players Association. The NBPA has a virtual meeting scheduled for Friday to discuss the plan, as we relayed earlier today.
Based on reports in recent weeks, it sounds as if Silver and the NBA have been in constant contact with NBPA president Chris Paul and the players’ union and have kept their concerns in mind as they developed their plan. As such, there’s an expectation that negotiations between the two sides on specific details related to player salaries, coronavirus testing, and other important issues shouldn’t get too contentious.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.