National Basketball Association (NBA) commissioner Adam Silver has informed the league’s Board of Governors that he is eyeing July 31 as a possible date for the games to return. This proposal will be voted by the board in a meeting tomorrow.
Included in the proposal is to have an expanded post season with either 20 or 22 teams. It will be presumably favorable to the team owners. Previous reports said majority of the owners favor heading straight to the playoffs with the current standings, but this might change.
League insiders said the proposal could be aiming to maximize the exposure of basketball’s next marquee player, this season’s top pick Zion Williamson of the New Orleans Pelicans. The team is currently 10th in the standings of the Western Conference. But if the league will follow the original format of 16 teams for the playoffs, the Pelicans are out of the contest. Reading between the lines, the proposal is more of a plan to slowly recover huge revenue losses by expanding to 20 or 22 teams in the playoffs.
Of course, having Zion and the Pelicans when the league restarts will be a big boost. Because the 9th to 12th teams are only a game and a half between them in the standings, Portland, Sacramento and San Antonio could also be in as well. The Eastern Conference just might have Charlotte and Chicago joining the playoffs cast.
For economic reasons, owners of small-market teams, meanwhile, want the season to resume with 30 teams. Being idle for 9 months (March to December) would be counter-productive for these lower-tiered teams as they need games to develop their young players, they need to seek sponsorship, they need to promote, and they need to sell tickets. Budget wise, it won’t be easy for teams to jump right into games after a long layoff.
Details on the proposals are yet to be completed and finalized. Hopefully by Saturday, we should know where things will be going./PN
