Reports: NBA Commissioner Adam Silver Says NBA In No Rush To Set League’s Return Date
May 8, 2020, 5:52 PM | Updated: 5:52 pm
NBA commissioner Adam Silver (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
(Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
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SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – NBA commissioner Adam Silver told players that the league is in no rush to set a date on a potential restart of the 2019-20 season, according to multiple reports.
Silver reportedly held a call with NBA Players Association membership on Friday, May 8.
The commissioner provided an update on the league’s current status amid the coronavirus pandemic.
ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that Silver told the NBAPA that “the NBA doesn’t have to make a decision on re-starting the season in May, nor does it have to decide right away in June.”
Sources: On call with players today, Adam Silver told NBPA membership: 1) "It would be safer to be in a single location, or two locations, to start." 2) That the NBA doesn't have to make a decision on re-starting in season in May, nor does it have to decide right away in June.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 8, 2020
The commissioner also reportedly told players that “it would be safer” for the league to play games “in a single location or two” if the season were to restart.
Multiple reports have suggested that the NBA is looking at Las Vegas or Disney World in Florida as potential locations to finish the season.
Sources: Silver told players that he still hoped that the playoffs would include a 7-game series in every round. He told players that those series could move faster without the need for travel, staying in a single site. Orlando and Vegas still tops.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 8, 2020
Silver also told players that he hoped that the playoffs would include a seven-game series in each round, according to Wojnarowski.
Sources: Silver told players that he still hoped that the playoffs would include a 7-game series in every round. He told players that those series could move faster without the need for travel, staying in a single site. Orlando and Vegas still tops.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 8, 2020
Another item addressed by Silver in the call was the “possibility of no fans in arenas next year without a vaccine,” according to an ESPN source.
With fans in buildings constituting 40 percent of league revenue, the NBA is working on creative ways on TV to deliver the games to audiences, Silver told players. Silver started to prepare players for possibility of no fans in arenas next year without a vaccine, sources said.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 8, 2020
The NBA first halted play of the 2019-20 season after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for COVID-19 on March 11.
