The NBA and its Players’ Association are hard at work trying to iron out details for the 2020-21 season.
Rumors suggest the league is hoping to get players on board for a Dec. 22 start date with training camps commencing Dec. 1. However, that is a pretty quick turnaround for teams that took part in and made deep runs in the playoffs. And it appears some players aren’t thrilled with that plan.
And of course, the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic still looms.
Another NBA bubble taking place in Orlando at Disney World likely will be avoided at all costs, but still, the league doesn’t want to deal with the rescheduling limbo that the NFL and Major League Baseball was forced into by the hands of positive tests.
That’s why it’s reportedly considering releasing the schedule in separate parts, without an All-Star break, to give it some leeway should those issues arise.
“The NBA is considering releasing the schedule in halves to increase flexibility, allowing for postponements that are likely inevitable with coronavirus outbreaks,” ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski and Zach Lowe on Wednesday reported.
“The NBA doubts an All-Star Game and All-Star Weekend — set for Indianapolis in February — make sense and may use an extended midseason break to offer rest for players, or to make up games that might be lost thanks to the virus.”
The idea of starting the new season on Martin Luther King Jr. Day has been floated around as well, but the NBA isn’t as keen on that as it would push the end of the season deeper into the summer and overlap with the Tokyo Summer Olympics.
Not to mention, it would delay getting the league back on track with normal calendar.
The NBA and NBPA have set an Oct. 30 deadline for themselves to finish negotiations, so we’ll see then how it all plays out.
