No consensus yet on NBA's return to play

The NBA Board of Governors met again without a consensus opinion emerging on how many teams should be back on the floor for the planned late-July resumption of the pandemic-interrupted season, three people familiar with details of the call said Friday.

The people, speaking on condition of anonymity to The Associated Press because no details of the call were publicly released, said Commissioner Adam Silver is still collecting information on multiple options ranging from 16 to 30 teams returning to action when the season begins again at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex near Orlando, Florida.

One person said the idea of bringing back 20 teams — possibly a few more, but not all 30 — continues to resonate as the most likely scenario, as of now. Another plan discussed Friday, the person said, would bring any team within six games of a playoff spot back for the resumption of the season, a scenario where bassed on the current standings 13 teams from the Western Conference and nine from the Eastern Conference would return.

Silver, who has been closely working with the National Basketball Players Association, has not revealed when or how a formal decision will ultimately be made.

But given the league's known hope to be back on the court by the end of July, Silver's decision would likely have to come very soon. Not all team practice facilities have reopened for voluntary workouts, meaning there could be some players who haven't done any on-court work since the league suspended the season on March 11 in response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The New York Knicks and Washington Wizards opened their facilities Friday for the first time since the shutdown started.