No definite date has been set but hopes are high that the NBA could soon resume the games following the virtual conference between league officials and team owners. The meet addressed the most pressing issues anticipated in case the season is restarted, and chief of them is how to deal with the COVID-19 infection.
The virus outbreak is yet to be contained so the online call aimed to answer the question of what to do if NBA personnel and players were to catch coronavirus when the games resumed. According to NBA commissioner Adam Silver, the meat of the discussion is all about safety and health concerns.
And foremost of the exchanges, which also include representatives of the NBPA, is to formulate protocols designed to minimize health risks when the games started playing again.
In a report, ESPN said all parties appeared positive on all the topics covered during the conference call, in which the NBA as a whole is now optimistic about the likelihood that the games will be played again the soonest.
"Participants ... left the virtual meeting feeling increasingly positive about the league's momentum toward a resumption of play this season," said the report.
Most importantly, Silver said league stakeholders appeared comfortable on the idea that testing positive on COVID-19 should not automatically lead to the league being forced to shut down again.
Per the same report, the position taken by Silver was if a positive test will lead again to the games getting suspended anew, "we probably shouldn't go down this path."
In the weeks to come, the NBA will set a threshold, like how many infections during the resumption of the games will constitute a league shut down, before the planned season restart is given the final approval. ESPN said more questions and concerns will be addressed by the league, in close coordination with the NBPA, before a decision on the matter will be made.
As things stand now, it remains uncertain how exactly the league will operate in the season reason restart with the threat of coronavirus still around. There are tentative measures that the NBA will likely follow such as the holding of the games in centralized locations with Florida and Nevada emerging as the preferred hosts.
Yahoo Sports said the NBA is yet to commit if the remaining games for the regular season will still be played. But the possibility is there that the league will jump straight to the postseasons, which could mean that not all the 30 teams will be called back to action.
Silver has indicated that since there are so many factors to be looked on before a final decision can be made, it could take a maximum of four weeks for the question of season restart is resolved. So it should be late June for the green light to be announced and the games could be played again starting in July.
