- NBA season 2020/21 could start in December, sources say.
- Multiple reasons for this scenario.
- NBA Draft lottery and Draft combine postponed, expected to see the same with the NBA Draft.
NBA commissioner Adam Silver and the NBA board of governors met this Friday to discuss the current situation and make some decisions that consider the future of the league. Apart from discussing the delay of the next season’s start, they rescheduled the NBA Draft lottery and the draft combine.
No Next Season Before December
The sources are suggesting that discussion about the delay of the next season is mostly because of the fact that the teams want to have the audience present. That is why delaying might be the best possible solution at this moment. For now, the rumors are saying that the 2021 season might start in December.
The longer period between now and the start of the upcoming campaign, the better the chances are for the fans to get back in the stands. Still, this isn’t the guarantee that something like that could happen.
“If you start in December, that doesn’t mean the people are coming back in December, but maybe they’re back by March,” one member of the board of governors revealed after the meeting.
However, it also allows the NBA to have more space for determining what to do with the current season. If, for example, there isn’t the pressure of finishing this championship until winter, that would open up a possibility for having a full season with all 82 games played, and without a shortened playoffs.
Just to remind you, there were some ideas of having a one-game elimination tournament in the playoffs, similar to the one NCAA uses. The finals were supposed to be in the best-of-three series, and that would be played on neutral ground. This would bring substantial financial losses to the league, teams, and, eventually, all the players and employees. Because of it, all the teams are looking for a way to prolong the start of the next season and give more time to this one to end appropriately.
What also needs to be bear in mind, is that the Olympics are scheduled for summer 2021, which means that there would be further adjustments to the calendar. All in all, it is a pretty unpleasant situation for the league.
NBA Draft Lottery and Draft Combined Postponed
Both of the above-mentioned events were supposed to take place this month in Chicago, but because of the overall situation produced by the COVID-19 pandemics, it will be rescheduled. For now, there aren’t any indications of what would be the new date.
In order to have the lottery done, the regular part of the season needs to end, but right now, that option is nowhere near to happening. NBA Draft is set for June 25th, and so far, nobody mentioned anything official about delaying that too, but it seems that such a scenario is inevitable.
The discussions about the future steps of the league will continue as the situation progresses.
