Since the 2019-20 NBA season was suspended due to the coronavirus, there have been multiple contingency plans in hopes of resuming it at some point.
For the past week, the league reportedly has discussed playing some regular season games with a potentially ‘truncated’ playoffs in a centralized location.
And the only location that is under ‘serious consideration’ is Las Vegas now.
However, it appears the league is ‘angling’ to cancel the season, according to Brian Windhorst of ESPN as transcribed by Paul Kasabian of Bleacher Report:
“The talks between the players union and the league this week, I’ve talked to both sides of this issue, and it is clear that the NBA is angling to set up a deal that enables them to shut the season down.”
Although the league has some time to make a final decision, there is a ‘significant amount’ of pessimism right now, according to Windhorst:
“Now they don’t have to do that yet, and the way they’re negotiating they’re leaving themselves an option either way, but they’re not having talks about how to restart the league, they’re having financial talks about what would happen if the season shuts down, and I think there is a significant amount of pessimism right now.”
While owners and players want to finish out the season, health and safety are the only priorities as the world tries to navigate through this pandemic.
As it currently stands, it appears the league has until late May or early June to make a decision as it could negatively impact the 2020-21 season as well.
For the Los Angeles Lakers, they are symptom-free now after completing a 14-day quarantine when two players tested positive for the coronavirus.
As the players try to stay in shape, head coach Frank Vogel is scouting potential 2020 NBA playoff opponents in hopes of the season resuming.