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.