One source indicated an early start to training camps and next season will favor teams with stable rostersNBAE/GETTY IMAGES
The "likely opening day for NBA training camps" will be Dec. 1 if the "league's plan to set Dec. 22 as opening night of the 2020-21 season is approved by the union," according to the N.Y. Times' Marc Stein (TWITTER.com, 10/26). In N.Y., Marc Berman cites sources as saying that the NBA eyeing Dec. 22 to start the season is a "strong reaction to the horrendous TV ratings for the late-summer restart/October Finals." The move is the "clearest admission that stuffing fans inside indoor arenas before the playoffs has become unrealistic considering this month’s coronavirus spike." An NBA source said, “It’s interesting [Adam] Silver talked behind the scenes about waiting until a March time frame if it meant getting a vaccine. That’s until the finance committee showed him the numbers.’’ An NBA exec said, “It’s a pure cash play for Christmas ratings.’’ Meanwhile, Berman notes a proposed early start does "no favors to teams like the Knicks who haven’t played since March 11." A source said, “This is going to favor teams with stable rosters" (N.Y. POST, 10/27).
PLUS-MINUS: In DC, Ben Golliver writes reopening in December "would be a tough ask for players on top playoff teams, especially those who competed in the Finals." Last season, 132 days passed between the last game of the Finals and the first game of the '19-20 campaign. Golliver notes "not every team would feel the squeeze evenly." Still, there are "obvious financial benefits to an earlier start." Christmas is "typically the regular season’s biggest showcase, and returning the playoffs to April, May and June would be far preferable to the August, September and October slate." A December restart "could boost revenue" by $500M compared with a post-Christmas restart (WASHINGTON POST, 10/27).
VETERANS COULD SIT GAMES: In California, Kyle Goon notes Lakers F Danny Green "openly suggested that some players," including LeBron James, "might resort to load management in the early part of the season should the NBA start in December." Green speculated that "many of the Lakers veterans would likely not be in favor of the early start." Green said of James: “To have that quick of a restart, I wouldn’t expect to see him there. I wouldn’t expect to see him the first month of the season. … I just don’t expect guys to want to be there, or show up willingly.” But Goon notes part of the rush is the NBA's "desire to get back on its regular schedule, which it believes will help the low television ratings that were cut into by competing with football and postseason baseball" (ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER, 10/27). Green: "Some guys have been out of the bubble for a while. Some teams haven’t played in a year. The majority of the league could be okay with the restart, save for Miami and us because we were the last two teams.” Green also said regional bubbles “have been a discussion” if all arenas cannot be open (“The Ringer NBA Show,” 10/26).
NEW CANDIDATE TO HOST RAPTORS? In K.C. Blair Kerkhoff writes the city "may not be so ludicrous" as a temporary home for the Raptors. K.C. has an "NBA-ready arena in T-Mobile Center, a new Lowes downtown luxury hotel and a proven hunger for games." NBA exhibitions have played to "big crowds in the building once known as Sprint Center." As such, K.C. "would be a welcoming guest host" (K.C. STAR, 10/27).
