The latest updates on the NBA’s coronavirus shutdown

The latest updates on the NBA’s coronavirus shutdown

The latest updates on the NBA’s coronavirus shutdown
NBA

The latest updates on the NBA’s coronavirus shutdown

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After the spread of Covid-19 caused the NBA to suspend its 2019-20 season, the league is working on if and how it can play out its remaining regular-season games and postseason.

As of March 20, anything is on the table. The world outside of sports isn’t even sure when it will return to some state of normalcy. On Monday, the White House suggested everyday life as we knew it might not return until July or August. The CDC has recommended gatherings of fewer than 50 people for the next eight weeks.

The NBA could return in the summer. Maybe the fall. Maybe it cancels the regular season and skips to the playoffs. Maybe the season is canned entirely. It’s too early to tell. But the league and its team’s owners are working towards making the best decisions they can with the whole world watching, after the NBA dragged its feet handling of the virus, putting thousands at risk by allowing fans at arenas until a player tested positive.

Here’s how the 2019-20 season has been discussed. Everything is listed chronologically as the situation remains fluid, and old ideas may be revisited. Nothing is final.

March 19: The NBA shuts down practicing in arena facilities
Starting on March 20, all NBA teams have to close their arena’s practice and training facilities for players and staff until further notice, per ESPN’s Tim Bontemps. Players are also not allowed to use non-team facilities, meaning they have to work out from home.

March 18: Adam Silver is optimistic the NBA can play some portion of the season
In an interview with Rachel Nichols, Silver said, “I’m optimistic by nature, and I want to believe that we’re going to be able to salvage at least some portions of this season. I would say we have done new and creative things in the past, we experimented with this year’s All-Star Game with a unique ending. We’ve talked about play-in tournaments for going into the playoffs. There may be other things we can do with the format.”

“I have heard from a lot of our players, it’s only been, it’s actually been less than a week, they’re going stir crazy, they want to play, they want to compete. Players, as you know, I mean, unlike a lot of us in our positions we can just go back to what we were doing, but every player is fighting something that’s unwinnable, and that’s the aging process. So a lost year or lost portion of a season in their careers is very different from other people, so we’re gonna try by every means we can to play basketball again, but I say that the safety and health of our players is first, and our fans, which is why I don’t want to speculate more on that.

”That will be the condition upon which we can play: When public health officials give us the OK.”

March 17: NBA warns NCAA players they may have to make draft decisions without a showcase
Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, 2020 NBA draftees may have to decide their future without knowing if there’d be a combine or chance to audition. This would make an incredibly stressful situation for underclassmen.

March 17: The NBA considers cutting the season, shortening playoffs
Per Wojnarowski, the NBA has considered playing “only several more regular-season games and shortening early playoff series from best-of-seven to best-of-five, but everything remains fluid.”

March 15: NBA believes June is its best-case return to play, chance season gets canceled entirely
After the CDC recommended that no events of more than 50 people be held for the next eight weeks, Wojnarowski reported that “owners and executives increasingly believe a best case scenario is a mid-to-late June return to play — with no fans.” Wojnarowski also, for the first time, reported the fear that losing the entire season was a possibility.

Wojnarowski said the league was looking into scheduling arenas through August. Teams were directed to tell the league potential dates they could host games at smaller venues like practice facilities.

The league was also preparing to receive financial projections of shutting down the season, playing with no fans in the arena and playing with fans for the playoffs. Those financial losses will be reflected next season.

March 15: NBA extends its ban on practices
The NBA withheld players from practicing together when the season shut down, and on March 15, it extended that rule indefinitely, per Bontemps. Players were allowed to workout individually at team facilities. The league recommended a specific coach be assigned to a specific player to minimize exposure, players be assigned one to a basket, and only one player weight-lift at a time. The league also recommended teams do temperature checks on anyone entering the facility. Any temperature above 100.4 degrees was considered a fever.

Once players cleared their self-quarantine guidelines after being exposed to Covid-19, players were also allowed to travel outside their market city as long as they remain in North America, though they were recommended not to.

March 15: NBA believes June is its best-case return to play, chance season gets canceled entirely
After the CDC recommended that no events of more than 50 people be held for the next eight weeks, Wojnarowski reported “owners and executives increasingly believe a best case scenario is a mid-to-late June return to play — with no fans.” Wojnarowski also, for the first time, reported that the fear that losing the entire season was a possibility.

Wojnarowski also said the league was looking into scheduling arenas through August. Teams were directed to tell the league potential dates it they could host games at smaller venues like practice facilities.

The league was also preparing to receive financial projections of shutting down the season, playing with no fans in the arena and playing with fans for the playoffs. Those financial losses will be reflected next season.

March 15: NBA extended its ban on practices
The NBA withheld players from practicing together when the season shut down, and on March 15, it extended that rule indefinitely, per Bontemps. Players were allowed to workout individually at team facilities. The league recommended a specific coach be assigned to a specific player to minimize exposure, players be assigned one to a basket, and only one player weight-lift at a time. The league also recommended teams do temperature checks on anyone entering the facility. Any temperature above 100.4 degrees was considered a fever.

Once players cleared their self-quarantine guidelines after being exposed to Covid-19, players were also allowed to travel outside their market city as long as they remain in North America, though they were recommended not to.

March 13: The NBPA warns players of a provision that could take away portions of their salary
Tucked away into the league’s and players’ collective bargaining agreement lies a provision owners can use to not pay a remaining portion of a player’s contract. The “force majeure event clause” could cause players to lose 1/92.6 of their salary for every game missed because of a force majeure event (pandemic, natural disasters, war etc.)

As of March 13, per ESPN’s Wojnarowski, there weren’t any talks of the league triggering that provision, “because there remains hope that the season can be resumed with completion of a postseason that could be pushed back into midsummer.”

March 12: Adam Silver announces the league will be suspended for 30 days
A day after Rudy Gobert tested positive for Covid-19 and the season was suspended, the league’s commissioner said the NBA would re-evaluate when to return to play in 30 days. In a letter to fans, Silver wrote “This hiatus will last at least 30 days and we intend to resume the season, if and when it becomes safe for all concerned.”