NBA not ready to finalize proposals
The NBA is unlikely to make a decision on how it will resume its season after holding its Board of Governors meeting on Friday, a person familiar with the league’s thinking told USA TODAY Sports. The person was granted anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss internal matters publicly.
During Friday’s meeting, the NBA plans to elicit feedback and debate on varying proposals to resume the season at ESPN’S Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando. The NBA will also hold a meeting on Thursday with the league’s 30 general managers less than a week after sending them a survey on how to resume the season.
On Wednesday, the NBA and its players union also had talks on various ideas, including how to allow limited family members at the league’s quarantined site. The NBA also sent a memo all 30 teams, which USA TODAY Sports obtained, to remind them that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will exempt “certain professional athletic support staff, team and league leadership, spouses and dependents from current government travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 outbreak.” The memo added, “certain professional athletes and staff who are currently outside the U.S. in countries on the travel restriction list will be allowed to re-enter the U.S.”
On Friday, the NBA hopes to have clarity on what one person considered “the best of bad options.” The league will host games without fans, require repeated testing for COVID-19 and adhere to social distancing guidelines that various health officials have advised.
The NBA has not ruled out any proposals, but some possibilities have emerged. The NBA could have all 30 teams resume the regular season to determine playoff seeding. The league could host a play-in tournament, both to exempt lottery-bound teams from traveling and allow play
off bubble teams a chance to secure a postseason spot. The NBA could jump right into the playoffs, either in a traditional or reseeded format. The NBA could have teams practice on site or train at their respective practice facilities before arriving to Orlando.
The league has not established how much time it needs to finalize logistics following Friday’s meeting. But in a statement released last week, NBA spokesman Mike Bass said the league has had “exploratory conversations” with Disney about “restarting the 2019-20 season in late July.”