[ad_1]
It looks like new Sacramento Kings general manager Monte McNair will have to wait until next year to see his team in action.
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver discussed the league’s plans to advance during a interview with CNN, and said, “your best guess” is that the next regular season won’t start until 2021.
Silver adds that the NBA’s goal is to achieve a standard 82-game season. The commissioner said the league’s original plan to start the regular season in December felt “a little early for me,” and with the new information coming to light about the coronavirus, he thinks pushing the start of the new year is the best choice.
It was interesting to hear that Silver hopes to have fans when next season begins, but added that it is a fluid situation. He said the NBA is keeping an eye on how the other professional sports leagues are proceeding to allow fans to enter their arenas and stadiums. The final decision will be made later this year.
“But there is still a lot we need to learn in terms of rapid tests, for example,” Silver said. “Would that be a means for fans to enter our buildings? Will there be other protections? “
The NBA has already pushed back the 2020 draft to November 18, giving the league and the NBPA plenty of time to calculate the salary cap and luxury tax figures for the 2020-21 season. The economic fallout from the pandemic has robbed the league of roughly 40% of its revenue with no fans in the building.
The Kings played their last game on August 13 against the Los Angeles Lakers, so they would be facing a break of approximately five months. Sacramento has the 12th pick in the 2020 NBA Draft, and with the league planning to begin free agency shortly after that, we should still get plenty of news from the Kings before the start of next season.
When do you think the next season will start? Do you think fans will be able to attend the games when the league resumes play?
In some links:
Point guard De’Aaron Fox is clearly the Kings’ best player, but will the new regime give him a maximum contract? The Athletic’s Jason Jones delves into one of the biggest decisions McNair will make this offseason.
During McNair’s time with him Houston rockets, analytics played an important role in head office decision making. The Sac Bee looks at how McNair will proceed with the roster reshuffle over the next few seasons.
