NBA sets date to resume season
Officials announce July 31 target, with several scenarios on table.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver and league officials have told the Board of Governors that a July 31 target date has been set for the season to resume.
The news was first reported by Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic.
NBA leaders discussed four return-toplay scenarios during their board call on Friday. Each scenario features a different number of teams involved.
A board of governors vote is being set for Thursday and the expectation is that owners will approve Silver’s recommendation to resume the season in Orlando, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The NBA previously announced it is in talks with Disney about resuming play at ESPN Wide World of Sports at Disney World. The league is working with the
National Basketball Players Association and medical advisers to develop plans for housing, testing and other issues related to the return to play.
According to Charania, the four scenarios discussed were:
16 teams: The season goes directly to the playoffs.
20 teams: Teams would be placed into groups.
22 teams: Games are played to determine seeding, with a play-in tournament to settle the final seeds.
30 teams: Complete a 72-game regular season followed by a play-in tournament
Wojnarowski reports teams are expecting the proposal be a format for 20 or 22 teams.
The most popular format is a 20-team return, according to Tim Reynolds of the
tournament.
“Soccer’s back — it’s just so nice to be able to say that,” Riley said. “Just to be able to say that soccer is back and give the fans that excitement. … I think everyone is really excited to see their favorite players and their teams play. I’m just so excited to be able to be out there with the girls working toward something instead of just training on my own.”
Despite the private commitment of some players to attend the Challenge Cup, Skinner said others are on the fence. These players are awaiting further details about travel, accommodations and health protocol before making their decisions.
In the meantime, the Pride are working to ease player concerns.
The club will pay for a charter flight to Utah for the entire team’s travel party, which would include staff, children and caregivers in addition to players. Dr. Daryl Osbahr — the Orlando Health sports medicine chief and a leader on the NWSL medical task force — has been available to answer Pride player questions.
Skinner said there will be more conversations among the league, clubs and players. He is also maintaining contact with players’ national teams. In the next week, he hopes to determine a rough count of which players feel comfortable competing in the tournament.
“There’s no pressure placed on our players to play,” Skinner said. “They have to be mentally right to go into a game rather than just physically right. If a player ever said to me that they didn’t feel safe and they didn’t feel like they wanted to play, it’s their decision to make. I’m not going to force any player to play.”
Ahead of the Challenge Cup, one hurdle for the Pride will be achieving roster compliance.
The Pride roster currently fields six international players — Marta, Erin McLeod, Emslie, Alanna Kennedy, van Egmond and Moore. The NWSL only allows four international roster spots per team. Although the club was previously working to secure green cards for players such as Kennedy, the pandemic halted the process.
This may not be an issue for the Pride if three players currently out of the country aren’t able to return to the U.S. in time for the tournament. Emslie and Moore both are in the United Kingdom while Kennedy remains in Australia.
But if all of the players successfully return to the U.S., Skinner said he’ll need to readjust the roster.
When deciding who to take to Utah, Skinner noted fitness will be an important factor. Players were quarantined for two months before returning to individual training sessions, and the team will only have three weeks of full team training before heading to Utah.
Skinner said he will also select those who can float between multiple positions to add versatility.
Regardless of which players attend the tournament, Skinner’s squad will face the challenge of building chemistry from scratch during a short turnaround.
Despite inexperience with one another, Skinner noted that Orlando fields a wide array of players with experience in similar tournaments at the international level. Thirteen of the Pride players available for the tournament have competed in a FIFA World Cup or Olympics.
Without enough time to mold the team into a single style of play, Skinner said he’ll build his tactical approach around individual players’ skillsets, relying on veterans to provide on-field leadership.
“We can’t mold it around what we want specifically, but we can play to their strengths and I think that’s really important from a coaching staff,” Skinner said. “We have to get that right, balancing between understanding the ideal way we want to play versus [the] strengths of our team.”
With the return of veterans such as striker Sydney Leroux and defender Toni Pressley, Skinner said the team will look and play differently than last season — even with limited time to prepare for the tournament.
He noted players are quickly bonding during the team’s small group training sessions. For instance, Leroux took rookie Taylor Kornieck under her wing, coaching her through drills and giving her advice about her mentality. Skinner said Sonnett and Riley also brought a new energy, mixing buoyant enthusiasm with grounded experience.
The sessions left Skinner feeling confident in his players’ energy after the Pride struggled through last season, finishing in last place in the NWSL.
“It already feels like a different team,” Skinner said. “It really feels like a change, like a breath of fresh air. The focus will be very much on continuing that.”