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By Field Level Media-Reuters
After a call from the Board of Governors with Commissioner Adam Silver on Tuesday, the NBA is “increasingly positive about the league’s momentum” to resume the 2019-20 season, reported ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
(REUTERS / Tingshu Wang / File Photo)
According to the report, owners and executives were encouraged about the league’s steps to return safely amid the coronavirus pandemic and about positive talks with the National Association of Basketball Players.
The report added that Silver emphasized that for a return to occur, all parties must agree that a single positive test for COVID-19 will not derail the season.
If a positive test “turns us off, we probably shouldn’t be following this path,” Silver said, according to Wojnarowski.
The report added that it is not yet clear at what point numerous positive tests would affect the schedule.
Wojnarowski also reported that the format for the comeback game remains unknown, in terms of the regular season or playoff structure.
The NBA is also reportedly continuing to investigate the possibility of holding all games at neutral sites, with Orlando and Las Vegas as the top candidates, in what Silver called a “campus vibe.”
Both Wojnarowski and Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the NBA aims to decide within two to four weeks whether to restart the season.
A potential obstacle to the proposed restart is that the league does not believe that “rapid response tests” will be available within a month.
The previous Tuesday, the NBPA informally surveyed the players to assess their position at the restart of the season, Wojnarowski reported.
NBPA regional representatives began asking players to answer a “yes or no” question about their desire to return to the court during the coronavirus pandemic, sources told Wojnarowski.
Some teams were asked the question in group texts, according to the report, and the names of the players and their individual responses will be kept confidential.
However, in a statement to The Athletic, the NBPA said it “does not participate and has not authorized any formal surveys of its players.”
NBPA Executive Director Michele Roberts, members of the executive committee, including President Chris Paul and other players, held a conference call Friday with Silver to discuss various issues related to the resumption of the game, primarily health and finances. .
Yahoo Sports’ Chris Haynes reported that Paul had a private conference call with superstars from across the league on Tuesday, and they all wanted to resume the season at some point.
According to the report, LeBron James, Anthony Davis, Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard and Russell Westbrook were all on the call, and “all parties agreed to bring adequate security measures to court” once that’s possible.
The NBA suspended the regular season on March 11 after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19.
Tags: Adam Silver, Adrian Wojnarowski, coronavirus, COVID-19, ESPN, nCov, new coronavirus
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