“It is clear that the NBA is angling to set up a deal that enables them to shut the season down,” ESPN insider Brian Windhorst said Friday on “SportsCenter.”

“They don’t have to do that yet. The way they’re negotiating, they’re leaving an option either way. But they’re not having talks about how to restart the league. They’re having financial talks [regarding player salaries] about what would happen if the season shuts down. I think there’s a significant amount of pessimism.”

There was talk of restarting the season in Las Vegas and using UNLV’s campus as a way to create what would amount to a bubble of people who have tested negative for the virus.

But the Chinese Basketball Association tried a similar idea to no avail. The virus did not go away.

SEE ALSO

NBA must answer six questions after suspending season
Plus, there are many complications involved with the bubble plan. Everyone, from players to coaches to trainers, camera operators and equipment managers, would need to be tested. Would players be able to bring their families? Would the bubble be secure?

“I think there was optimism about progress a week ago,” Windhorst said. “Some things that have happened this week have turned it south about what could happen.”

Professional sports leagues all over the world have suspended operations during the outbreak of the virus. The NBA, NHL, NFL and MLB have not decided whether to cancel their respective seasons.

https://nypost.com/2020/04/04/nba-suddenly-angling-to-cancel-season-due-to-coronavirus/

It's just reality. No way are people going to be able to congregate, travel, train, practice as NBA players do with their normal work routine.

The NBA isn't "angling". They are doing their best in the current situation.

Schools aren't "angling" to keep themselves closed.

GustavBahler wrote:This season? We will be lucky if there is a next season. My guess would be an abbreviated season starting in the spring of 2021. With fans back in the stands TBD.

That makes sense. I could then see them attempt to start future seasons in December after the abbreviated season ends. It makes a lot of economic sense to start a 82 game season in December and end it in July/August because they would avoid most of football as a competitor.

Nalod wrote:There is a big economic incentive to get some form of playoff done. Players already lost about a quarter of there salary for this year.
Put them in a bubble would require on site testing nearly everyday. Just need one JR Smith bone head move and the whole thing falls a part. Thats a lot of pressure to put even on one guy. Guy on a team tests positive the team forfeits?
League already hurting from loss of china revenue. Im kind of proud the way the NBA stood behind Morey and freedom of speach. could have caved and fire him. We let players express themselves, so can GM's.
As for how to get fans back in the seats? Thats gonna be a whole other conversation. Lets just say anti vacinators won't be happy with the reality.

O

wargames wrote:If they cancel the whole season the Knicks got a 1st round Clippers pick for 12 games of Marcus Morris......

i don't think everything would be as simple as leave-as-is and go from there.

There will probably be significant changes to everything associated with the draft process

smackeddog wrote:At this point, I'm starting to wonder if we'll even get next season started before the end of the year (don't see any more games or playoffs or tournaments for this season.).

Yes. Feel like it'll be a stretch to just START a new season by Xmas.

There is just no way large gathering of people on a large scale basis across the country will be feasible by September. You do some easy projections and you can see it.

Everyone says the peak is over the next 2 weeks? That's just the peak in the hot spot areas like NYC, New Orleans, Michigan, LA. How long will the peak last? Weeks. Weeks before it comes down and we don't know how fast that will be. Other places will peak in May and June, that's just inevitability, which means they won't tail off until the summer (early summer? mid summer? end of summer? who knows). Remember, it took us a MONTH to get to the peak. How long is the other side of curve?

Maybe things start to lighten up at end of summer, which means the stupid people will start spreading it again and second wave will mildly hit in fall. USA is not prep'ed for massive testing and requirement of mask wearing and thermal checking that is going on in SKorea and other places. Because as a a nation we are stupid.

So, this is going to last until Fall/Winter.

Anyone gonna be WILLING to pay money to go into a tightly defined stadium to sit next to a potential virus breathing game watcher? Good luck with that

Rant over.

franco12 wrote:just read this about MLB:

All games in Phoenix - no fans in the stands - players completely quarantined for 4 months or so.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29004498/mlb-union-focused-plan-allow-season-start-early-arizona

Baseball sucks so much on TV and is the best main stream sport live.

nyvector16 wrote:The one thing that is blocking a return to normalcy, including sports game’s, is a general availability of test kits. Until mass testing is available and people can get this test delivered to their house so they can know whether self-quarantine is required... we will not return to even basic games without fans.

Lack of testing is messing up the economy, because without testing.. there is no recovery...
A vaccine is like 18+ months away...

100%

I do wonder if the NBA and other sports are angling to get games back, even in empty'ish stadiums, for the TV rights $ to kick in some way.