Quick start to season will impact team
League eyes Dec. 22 return despite recent finish
It’s been more than seven months since the Warriors played their last game of the 2019-20 season, and after patiently waiting out the NBA postseason that ended just two weeks ago, they should be preparing for a sprint of an offseason.
On a call with the league’s board of governors last week, the NBA’s decision-makers discussed the possibility of starting a 72-game, 2020-21 season on Dec. 22, Warriors majority owner Joe Lacob confirmed with the Bay Area News Group.
Moving that quickly to start next season would force an abbreviated offseason, with free agency and training camp starting shortly after the Nov. 18 draft.
Such a decision — which would have to be approved by the National Basketball Players Association — would help the league return to its normal calendar, with a champion being crowned in June and a summer offseason.
Starting in December and trimming 10 games from the schedule would also allow the NBA to complete its season prior to the Tokyo Olympics, which is scheduled for July 2021.
Opening the season in December would include some compromises. A s the coronavirus continues to rage across the country, the NBA would at least temporarily have to ditch commissioner Adam Silver’s previously stated goal of playing a full, 82-game schedule with fans in arenas.
Starting the season this year would force teams to sacrifice revenue associated with having fans in stands, such as ticket, merchandise and concession sales. Due to the cancellation of seven home games, the Warriors lost about $50 million when the season was shut down on March 11, according to Lacob. The state’s recent decision to allow fans at outdoor stadiums does not apply to Chase Center.
The league reportedly fell $1.5 billion short of its original revenue projections for last season, but a December start that would include the league’s signature Christmas Day showcase could help create $500 million in revenue, according to ESPN. That influx of revenue and maintaining the league’s schedule could be enough to motivate the league and its players to resume the season earlier than expected.
A mong eight of the NBA’s teams that did not resume the season in the Disney World bubble, the Warriors could embrace playing basketball sooner rather than later. It’s been more than 230 days since Golden State’s last game, compared to little more than two weeks for the NBA champion Lakers. Because of the long layoff, Warriors coaches and players are concerned about the lack of chemistry the team could have when it takes the court.
If the league punts on a normal preseason, teams that participated in the bubble are more likely to have an advantage to start the season. For example, the Warriors could spend the first two weeks sorting out lineups and building continuity, while the Lakers would be fresh off of a championship. Any stumble to start the season would be exacerbated by having 10 fewer games.
However, teams like the Lakers could have their offseason — typically a time for recovery — cut in half, from four to two months. It’s possible, then, that contenders that played into September and October could be fatigued by the postseason. Meanwhile, the Warriors will have their off-time doubled and could be fresh when the regular season is wrapping up in April.
That disparity in rest would never have been greater. Stephen Curry’s last game was March 5, while LeBron James last played Oct. 11. If K lay Thompson plays opening night, it would mark 558 days since his last game after tearing his ACL in Game 6 of the 2019 NBA Finals.
Of course, as they aim to vault from a leagueworst record of 15- 50 to the playoffs, the Warriors will have to scramble to improve their roster in what is a pivotal offseason. Starting training camp in early December would condense their time to make decisions regarding the No. 2 pick in the draft, $17.2 million trade exception, midlevel exception and final spots on the roster into a two-week window.
The league is racing to finalize plans for next season, which will surely have many more ripple effects. Fortunately for the Warriors, they’ve had more than seven months to prepare for these decisions.