After bubble, what’s next for league?
Nothing sure right now after champ crowned
Lake Buena Vista, Fla. The season’s first big development came with the Los Angeles Lakers on a long road trip, in a place with very restrictive rules. The season’s last big development came with the Lakers on a longer road trip, in a place with very restrictive rules.
From China to Disney, this was an NBA season like none other — and quite probably like none ever again.
The NBA offseason has officially started, the bubble at Walt Disney World is closed and the Lakers have their 17th championship. Nobody knows everything that will happen over the coming weeks as far as how rosters and coaching staffs will be reshaped. As a bonus this year, nobody knows when anything will happen, either.
But while a difficult season is over, the difficulties the league and players face are not. The coronavirus pandemic is still raging. The players fight against racial inequality and their quest for social justice, which were top priorities of this NBA restart, continue. And while nobody knows when the next NBA game is, the Lakers’ Lebron James began looking forward during the trophy ceremony celebrating his fourth title.
“We all want to see better days,” James said. “And when we leave here, we’ve got to continue to push that … continue to push for everything that’s the opposite of love. If we can continue to do that, America will be a much better place.”
The priority, for the past seven months, was getting through the pandemic safely and salvaging the season. That happened; a champion was crowned, a bubble was built and nobody tested positive for three months inside that NBA campus in large part because of extremely tight regulations surrounding conduct and safety. Now comes a quick pivot toward figuring out all things related to money for next season such as the salary cap and luxury tax lines, as well as when teams can resume play — and where.
“These issues are a bit complicated and difficult in many cases,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said. “But there’s no reason to believe that with our counterparts at the (National Basketball) Players Association that we won’t be able to work through them.”