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The NBA is doing everything in its power, not only to preserve this season, but to ensure that the next season runs smoothly despite the coronavirus pandemic that currently has all sports on hold. An idea that has gained some steam lately, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, is moving the start of next season, not only to give this season more time to wrap up, but to increase the odds that fans will return to the arena. sometime next season.
So when would the 2020-21 season start? Nothing has been finalized yet, but according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, it could be as late as Christmas. The NBA has long used Christmas as a key date for regular season matchups, and due to the 2011 lockdown, the 2011-12 season actually started at Christmas.
What Commissioner Adam Silver apparently has on his side are smart ideas from the minds of smart people. The CEO of San Antonio Spurs, R.C. Buford and Toronto Raptors president Masai Ujiri were brought back to the competition committee even though their charges had ended; Celtics coach Brad Stevens could be responsible for creating a detailed schedule to restart training camps.
But even with that experience on your side, there will inevitably be some sort of pushback. Take reports that reveal that the NBA will allow teams in states with loosened quarantine restrictions to return to their facilities, for example. Woj reports that after they came out, the league’s general managers “spent Saturday and Sunday on the phone with each other and with the league, trying to understand the purpose, timing, security issues, and team alternatives outside the selected markets. “
And that’s just a plan to start the transition back to normal. It’s not hard to imagine more rejection when the NBA tries to secure an estimated 15,000 COVID-19 tests for the league to use from restart to the end of the resumed season, or when the league finally decides which venue (s) to keep the rest. of the suspended season.
For a commissioner who has generally been announced for his responses to adversity, whatever Silver decides to do will surely be his most scrutinized move to date.
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