In a time of bad news, the two great insiders of the NBA, Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania, have excited the fans of the league with a piece of information: the league would be considering starting the season 20-21 around Christmas, with a possible date on the horizon: December 22.
Go ahead, this is a possibility not yet confirmed. On the 30th there is an important meeting with the players’ union in which this option could be given the green light, which would mean returning to a ‘normal’ calendar and playing a reduced calendar, of about 72 games.
What does this date imply? At first, it seems a resignation to start the NBA competition with an audience in the stands. At least with large crowds. The complicated evolution of the virus would have made the league rethink this option, which given the difficulty of finding a solution, would have opted for the opposite way, anticipating the start as much as possible so as not to lose its pulse.
More keys: a league of 72 games starting in December may allow ‘save’ the presence of players in the Olympic Games, although it leaves another key date in question: the All-Star, whose stoppage would be in the air due to the complexity of the calendar.
Another key to be decided is the calendar format. We would speak of a league without a bubble, in which, according to Woj, they will seek to minimize travel and organize small tours of the different teams to accommodate the schedule for travel.
What is left to decide? In the air there are still many things. First, if this date were confirmed, two other key dates would have to be adapted and confirmed: the draft and free agency. For both, it will also be very important to know how is the salary limit finally, very important when it comes to coordinating renewals and free agent signings in a very unusual postseason. For now, the draft is scheduled to take place virtually from ESPN studios in Bristol, Connecticut on November 18.
In short, economically the NBA bet seems to go through a start to the competition as soon as possible, returning to a calendar that allows the summer to be released for the players. Now, from the meeting with the players, the countdown should be activated for the start of the league.
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