In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, virtually every sporting event has been canceled without a concrete date for play to resume. Every major professional sports organization has either suspended play or delayed the start of its season after Utah Jazz center Rudy Gobert tested positive for the coronavirus just before the tip-off of the March 11 game between the Jazz and the Oklahoma City Thunder.
In the days leading up to Gobert’s diagnosis, the National Basketball Association (NBA) had been talking about taking measures to help mitigate the spread of the coronavirus, including potentially playing games without any fans. However, now that players have been diagnosed with the disease, the league had no choice but to postpone all games indefinitely.
As of right now, league owners want NBA Commissioner Adam Silver to reevaluate his decision to suspend play in 30 days, but personally I don’t think the current situation will change anytime soon. The biggest obstacle for play to resume is the fact that multiple players have been diagnosed with the coronavirus. Until all players and essential staff are declared healthy, there is no chance of basketball returning.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommend that no events with more than 50 people take place for the next two months, and I think all of the hysteria surrounding the coronavirus outbreak will cause the NBA to adhere to this recommendation.
Even still, there are logistical problems that have to be addressed while the NBA season is put on hold. For one thing, there is the issue of players being paid. Under the NBA’s current Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA), players lose a portion of their salary for every game that is missed as a result of a major event, like a pandemic. For this reason, there is major financial pressure from players for the remainder of the season to be made up at a later date. Furthermore, there are thousands of people who work at the arenas where games are played that need to be taken care of, and it is admirable that players like Kevin Love and Zion Williamson are taking it upon themselves to help these workers out.
In addition to financial uncertainty, it will be interesting to see how the offseason will play out, especially with regard to the 2020 draft. With the cancellation of the NCAA tournament, college prospects lose the chance to showcase their talent on college basketball’s biggest stage. As a result, it will be incredibly difficult for NBA scouts and executives to make the best pick when their organization is on the clock on draft night.
Similarly, assuming the draft will not be delayed, there are many questions that are usually answered after the end of the season, especially with respect to draft order and lottery picks. Also, if the NBA regular season is going to be resumed and finished over the summer, will anything change with the NBA Summer League?
Ultimately, I do fully expect the NBA season to resume and finish in some fashion. According to Adrian Wojnarowski, ESPN senior NBA insider, the league is looking into possible arena dates all the way through August.
As of right now, it is difficult for anyone to predict when the season will resume, and what games will look like when play resumes, especially if games are played without fans. Regardless, I know fans everywhere can’t wait for basketball to be back.
