[ad_1]
LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers will start the NBA regular season in just over six weeks. … [+]
The NBA’s board of governors, made up of property representatives, and the players’ association officially agreed to begin the 2020-21 regular season on Dec. 22, according to Shams Charania of the Athletic. The agreement was reached a day before the league had the option to terminate the collective agreement.
The 72-game regular season will be played at local stadiums. It was previously speculated that the finals would conclude on July 22 at the latest, the day before the Tokyo Olympics begin. We haven’t seen a trade since February, but the league’s moratorium on transactions will be lifted before the draft and moves will be allowed for all 30 teams.
After the November 18 draft, free agency will begin shortly after before training camps open on December 1. There will be three preseason games before the pre-Christmas kickoff. The schedule has yet to be released, but games are likely to be played in series like baseball rather than individually to limit travel, with long road trips rather than short staggered trips.
The coronavirus pandemic triggered the force majeure clause, which meant that either party could have notified 45 days in advance that the collective agreement was ending. It would have meant that everything was back in trade, including the 50-50 split in basketball-related revenue (BRI). ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, as shown above, reports that the financial terms of a revised collective agreement will be negotiated next week.
Charania reports that the salary cap is expected to be $ 109 million with 2% annual growth until the end of what will become the modified collective agreement.
With a 66-game regular season last year and all 30 teams losing ticket sales and local and national television revenue, BRI fell 10% to $ 8.3 billion in 2019-2020. According to an ESPN report, 40% of BRI could be lost next season without fans. To account for loss and potential loss of income, 17-18% of players’ salaries for the next two years will be deposited in escrow. by Charania, instead of the normal 10%.
To at least get some entry receipts, the league will try to get some fans in the suites and on the court next season, according to Charania.
Certain teams and players objected to starting the regular season before January, especially after teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets played in September and October in the NBA bubble. But delaying the start of the season could reportedly cost the league a billion dollars on top of all the lost revenue from a season ago. Bottom line: the NBA has a draft in two weeks. We’ll be talking about NBA free agency and the Thanksgiving trades and regular season games will be back before Christmas.
Certainly there will be roadblocks and positive cases and team facilities will be closed with games that will be played outside the bubble and teams will travel, as has happened with the NFL and MLB. On the Zach Lowe’s podcast Thursday, ESPN’s Bobby Marks said there would likely be a continuation of the substitute player rule when someone on an active roster contracts COVID-19, and perhaps an MLB-like taxi squad if there is an outbreak. on the whole team. Charania reported Thursday night that the league and the players’ association are still working on a health and safety protocol for the upcoming season.
[ad_2]
