As the NBA considers how and when to resume its 2019/20 season, commissioner Adam Silver and his team have been “making contingency plans for every imaginable scenario,” writes Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer. Ideally, the NBA would like to complete as much of its regular season and postseason as possible, but if necessary, the league is prepared to cancel some or all of the remaining regular season games, and potentially even truncate the playoff schedule.
While Silver and the league office are considering just about every possibility, the idea of a postseason play-in tournament is considered highly unlikely, sources tell O’Connor. It’s an option the NBA has considered for this summer or for future seasons, but O’Connor suggests it isn’t feasible to introduce it at this point, likening it to a fantasy basketball league changing its scoring format a week before the playoffs start.
O’Connor’s article is jam-packed with details on scenarios being weighed by the NBA. Although no concrete decisions are being made yet, here are some of the most interesting tidbits passed along by The Ringer’s top basketball reporter:
- Although the NBA is prioritizing playing as much of the remainder of the ’19/20 campaign as possible, some people around the league believe it’s unlikely that bottom-feeders like the Warriors, Timberwolves, Cavaliers, and Pistons will play again this season. Those teams are already looking ahead to 2020/21 and there’s a belief that if the NBA opts for a “bubble city” approach, it might not make sense to bring all 30 teams into that bubble.
- Some teams believe that none of the current non-playoff teams will end up resuming their seasons, with one source telling O’Connor, “The first game when we get back will probably be a playoff game.”
- In terms of an actual location for the “bubble,” O’Connor suggests Walt Disney World in Florida seems to have the edge over Las Vegas because it’s a private property with several thousand hotel rooms available. At Disney, the league could theoretically designate certain areas of the park for players and staffers to watch movies or eat together, according to O’Connor, who adds that players could have even more freedom at Disney than in other cities, where stay-at-home orders may still be in effect.
- League sources tell O’Connor that there’s an increasing belief among NBA front offices that the 2020/21 season could end up starting in January. The later next season starts, the more likely it is that fans will be allowed back into arenas, which is an important consideration for the league. One Western exec told The Ringer that it’s “pretty brutal” to the NBA’s financial model if there’s no revenue coming in from ticket sales or in-game purchases (suites, concessions, etc.).
- According to O’Connor, sources say the NBA is hoping that players, coaches, and staffers will all be back in their respective teams’ cities by early-to-mid-June as the league prepares for a potential training camp.
- O’Connor’s story includes several more interesting details on the NBA’s discussions, and is worth checking out in full.
Going to Walmart or Costco is far more dangerous than playing basketball in an empty arena.
Absolutely, the future of professional sports is very fragile right now, simply because of fear
Luke, great article. I love the site.
Looks like we’re almost at announcement time
Agree that players would actually have more freedom at Disney World than they might in their own home towns. I think LA has as many restrictions as any area; there may not be any home games played there in 20/21.
Player complaints should not carry that much weight. Some are not going to show, while claiming they want to play; get used to that. But “normal” is out of the equation.
All teams should have at least 70 RS games (even if a few are called forfeits because the team decided not to come together). This is for year-end statistics, the sake of sport, or just seeing what happens when they do show up!
Rest assured the Cavs will want to play these games. Whether out-of-town elitists wants to see them is another issue and not an important one. OConnor wrote that some teams would decline to avoid injury, but why then include the Cavs in the list?– they are not going to be one of those teams; they think they have momentum to consolidate.