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THE ANGELS: The National Basketball Players Association has informally surveyed players to gauge their appetite for resuming a season halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, US media reported Tuesday (Wednesday in Manila).
ESPN was among multiple media outlets reporting that the players’ union had started asking players to answer a “yes or no” question about whether the season should resume.
The Los Angeles Times cited unidentified players who said they were asked by text message, and one player said he believes that approximately 70% of players want to end a season that stopped on March 11.
“But 30% is a large number,” the player told the newspaper. “And what do you say to someone who says, ‘You know what, I just don’t feel safe? “It’s hard to argue that. But there are reasons to argue that because I know the NBA would be one of the safest places to be. That thing would be strict, clean, protocol, all of that.”
The survey is reportedly being handled by regional union representatives, and the questions raised by each may differ slightly.
The NBPA told The Athletic that “it was not participating and has not authorized any formal survey 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 league commissioner Adam Silver to discuss various issues related to a possible restart of the game. , including health and financial problems.
Yahoo Sports reported that Oklahoma City star Paul held a private conference call with superstars from across the league on Tuesday, and they all wanted to resume the season at some point.
Yahoo reported that Lakers stars LeBron James and Anthony Davis, as well as Kevin Durant, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kawhi Leonard, Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard and Russell Westbrook were all on the call, and “all parties agreed to take the court with adequate security. ” measures “when that is possible.
Silver has discussed multiple scenarios to resume the game, including playing in one or two centers and playing without fans.
The commissioner said last week that the 30 club owners are committed to resuming play, and the league is leaning toward a minimum of three weeks of training camp before a restart.
The league was heading into the final weeks of the regular season when play stopped. Under normal circumstances, the playoffs would now be in full swing on their way to the NBA Finals in June.
