NBA Commissioner Adam Silver led a Board of Governor meeting on Friday afternoon on the possible resumption of the 2019-20 season. No formal decisions were made, but several options were discussed and it’s becoming increasingly evident that the league is nearing a more definitive announcement.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said that while the owners aren’t fully on the same page, they’ll all basically trust Silver to make a final decision that’s best for the NBA and its players:
As hard as owners and teams are pushing for proposals rooted in some level of self-interest, there's still a sense they'll give Silver the latitude to implement the plan that he lands on with the NBPA. Most expect that'll come inside the next week.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 29, 2020
These are the times when I remind myself how lucky the NBA is to have such solid and reliable leadership. As one of the most progressive and collaborative leagues in the world, it’s been unsurprising to see how well they’ve handled this entire process thus far (*quickly glares at MLB*).
Anyway, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Silver also told those on the call a clear target date for the first time – July 31st. Prior to this, mid-July had been thrown around as the most popular timetable, with a specific mention of July 15th. We also heard there was a possibility for an August restart as well. Now, with these words apparently coming straight from Silver’s fancy mouth, this is the most definitive date yet. Not to mention, this basically acts as the firmest confirmation we’ve gotten that the season will return.
Again, how it will return though is still very much up for grabs. Silver might get the thumbs-up to make the final decision, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t going to continue to talk it over with everyone. Charania reported the following as the four options legitimately on the table:
Sources: The NBA discussed four competition scenarios for restart with Board of Governors today:
– 16 teams: Directly to playoffs
– 20: Group/stage play
– 22: Games to determine seeding, play-in tournament for final seed(s)
– 30: 72-game regular season, with play-in tourney— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 29, 2020
Honestly, a 30-team plan feels like a fever dream at this point. I understand why it’s still on the table, but I have to imagine the league will err on the side of caution and take fewer teams. In fact, Hornets owner Michael Jordan (lol that’s funny to write) spoke up to say the league should do exactly that.
Hornets owner Michael Jordan advocated on the call for player safety, and not simply having players return for meaningless games, sources said. Given the NBA is prioritizing health and safety first and foremost, 30 team return is unlikely. https://t.co/03pAvpDPi7
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) May 29, 2020
The 30-team plan would likely be the only one to incorporate the Chicago Bulls. Currently 11th in the Eastern Conference and 24th-overall, they wouldn’t fit in any of the other proposals unless the 22-team play-in tournament took the 9, 10, and 11 seeds from each conference.
I can’t imagine the NBA opts for that method though, as the teams out of the playoff picture in the Eastern Conference are pretty significantly behind the 8th seed. Also, ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne says the league is considering only teams that are within six spots of the playoffs, which would include only the Washington Wizards (5.5) from the Eastern Conference and then the Trail Blazers, Pelicans, Kings, Spurs, and Suns in the Western Conference.
Among the four plans discussed on the Board of Governors call today was one in which teams that are within six games of a playoff spot would be invited to compete in regular season games, then a play-in tourney for the final playoff spots, sources told ESPN.
— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) May 29, 2020
No matter the choice, I’d expect some kind of jump to the playoffs, whether it be directly or via a play-in tournament. If one thing is for sure though, with a July 31st start date, the NBA still has a good amount of time on their hands to figure out some logistics.
Oh, by the way, we should 100 percent plan for next season to start in December.