[ad_1]
The National Basketball Players Association voted on Thursday (Friday Manila time) to support the idea of starting the next season on December 22, the date the league has been targeting in its conversations about how and when to get teams back. on the court for a planned 72-game season.
Voting, conducted by the NBPA board, which has a player representative from each team charged with speaking on behalf of their teammates, is just another part of a long process. Among the main issues yet to be determined: how much escrow will be taken from player salaries due to the shorter-than-usual season, and how the league and players will navigate tryouts and other health and safety issues in midst of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
All of that has to be sorted out before plans for next season really become official.
“Additional details remain to be negotiated and the NBPA is confident that the parties will reach an agreement on these remaining relevant issues for next season,” the union said in a statement.
Continue reading below ↓
Recommended Videos
Conversations between the NBA and the NBPA on those and other topics continue, although there is an obvious urgency to get things done. The NBA draft is scheduled for November 18, and the plan presented to players, and now approved by team representatives, calls for training camps to begin on December 1.
Free agency would almost certainly have to be wedged between the draft and the start of those camps, the league year would have to open, trades would have to become permissible again, and some players would have to have deadlines when they will have to. do what. accept or reject options for the next season.
SEE ALSO
The NBA wanted the December 22 start date to be a mid-January notion for many reasons, most notably revenue. A 72-game season, according to league estimates, would allow for $ 500 million more in revenue than a season of no more than 60 games, the mid-January option, would have provided.
The start of Dec. 22 also means that the NBA’s traditional Christmas game schedule will be possible, something the league and its streaming partners wanted. The season is also expected to conclude before the start of the Tokyo Olympics next summer, which means that participation by NBA players in those games is still possible.
___
Twist fans unite in the Spin Viber Community! Join the growing community now and complete the experience subscribe to the Spin Chatbot.
