As we begin the month of April, the NBA continues to sit in a holding pattern as their season is not complete, yet there is no clear view as to when, or if, they might be able to return to the court this season. Still, the hope remains high that some sort of postseason can still take place when the coronavirus pandemic calms down. Let’s take a look at some of the news from around the league.
Gobert, Mitchell Smart Cleared Of Coronavirus Symptoms
Less than three weeks after being diagnosed with the coronavirus, which marked the immediate shutdown of the league, Rudy Gobert has been cleared after spending time in quarantine.
Donovan Mitchell and Marcus Smart have also been cleared after being diagnosed, and the Los Angeles Lakers have reported that all players are symptom-free after spending time in quarantine.
This is all good news for these individual players and organizations, but there are certainly still concerns that players, staff or management could still be tested positive as the coronavirus continues to circulate around the nation.
Dolan Tests Positive
Speaking of management that could test positive, within the last week, New York Knicks’ owner James Dolan tested positive for the coronavirus. In a statement from the team, Dolan was not experiencing major symptoms and has continued to work, albeit in isolation.
While hope remains high for a continuation of the season, positive tests like these continuing to pop up continues to put a damper on the chances.
When Will The Season Return?
This is the million-dollar question for not only the NBA but all major sports across the nation. There have been some, including Dallas Mavericks’ owner Mark Cuban, who have suggested that it could push deep into summer (possibly even July or August with the 2020-21 season and the NBA draft being pushed back as well), while others have hope that it could start even sooner.
We do know that it likely won’t be, at the very earliest, until May as the president has extended the stay-at-home recommendations until the end of April. Furthermore, there are logistics that have to be figured out, including how much time to ramp back up activity, how many games to play, and who will get to watch them.
In regards to the last point, one idea being floated around appears to be playing at one single site. This would reduce the necessity for traveling, and the league could have a lot more control over the arena, who is allowed in and can work to move through games quickly. In this scenario, fans would not be able to attend to minimize the risk of infection.
Furthermore, according to Mark Berman of the New York Post, there is discussion of a 16-team playoff and a five- to seven-game finish to the regular season.
Obviously, there are a lot of hurdles that still need to be cleared, but it appears that the league is doing everything to ensure that the basketball season still finishes this year.
