It’s been just a week since the NBA went on indefinite hiatus, but the state of the world has changed so dramatically in that time that it’s nearly become unrecognizable. Around the globe, both state-mandated and self-imposed quarantine protocols have relegated citizens to the confines of their homes and have shut down businesses and public places.
Very low on the list of priorities is when, or if, pro sports leagues might be able to resume their season in progress, but nonetheless, the NBA is enormous business with major financial implications that branch out into multiple sectors, so it’s no surprise that the league offices have been exploring their various options for moving forward.
Among those options are resuming and extending the current season, scrapping the regular season and starting right in on the playoffs, or if worse comes to worse, cancelling the season altogether. Commissioner Adam Silver addressed some of these possibilities in an interview with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols on Wednesday, hinting at the idea of a potential one-off, All-Star-type fundraising event that would feature players who have tested negative and been isolated.
I asked Adam Silver how he'd determine if the NBA season could resume, and if so, what it would look like – he told me the league is considering three different options for going forward, including a possible one-off event for charity. Said Silver: "all suggestions welcome." pic.twitter.com/rX7D5oJvup
— Rachel Nichols (@Rachel__Nichols) March 19, 2020
Silver also discussed the idea of a complete overhaul in the NBA calendar, should the league resume and extend through the summer or early fall, which could subsequently spur an idea that’s been floated before about starting the season on or around Christmas.
.@Rachel__Nichols asked if this could result in NBA calendar being permanently shifted, such as season starting on Christmas.
Adam Silver: “Possibly. Those are things we’re always talking about.”
— Tim MacMahon (@espn_macmahon) March 18, 2020
Regardless, Silver wasn’t ready to shut the door on the season entirely, saying he remains reluctant to start any discussions about how things like the MVP race would pan if the season were to be cancelled entirely.
Adam Silver on records and MVP voting if the season were canceled: “I’m not there yet. We’ll figure it out. I hope I’m not just in denial, but I’m just not there yet.
— David Gardner (@byDavidGardner) March 18, 2020
Uncertainty abounds, and it’s likely we won’t have much clarity about any of this until after the mandatory eight-week social distancing protocols have come and gone and we have time to reassess. For now, everything remains on hold. Silver also addressed questions about teams getting access to testing, and noted he understood the concerns but that the league was following health officials’ recommendations, noting NBA players fall into the “super-spreader” category and in Oklahoma, it was at the request of state health officials the Utah Jazz team was tested.
Adam Silver defends NBA players getting tested for coronavirus because Rudy Gobert's positive test helped prevent more infections by shutting down league and helped shed a light to seriousness of the illness especially to young people. pic.twitter.com/FqERHWpYeR
— Gifdsports (@gifdsports) March 18, 2020
