NBA Season Start Date a Point of Contention for Teams, Players
NBA general managers and presidents on Wednesday to discuss a 72 game season which would begin in December.
However, this goal looks increasingly unlikely. For a start, commissioner Adam Silver’s main concern is getting fans back into NBA arenas.
In September he said that his ‘best guess’ as to when this could happen would mean a January start date.
The players are pushing for a January start date as well, according to reports. January 18 has been proposed by the players, which would mean free agency begins on December 1.
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The motivation behind starting the season before Christmas is the financial differential. Per The Athletic, NBA stands to make $500 million more with a December start compared to January.
However, the players feel so strongly about having a longer break that some may sit out the first months of the season.
Lakers star Danny Green said the veterans in Los Angeles will almost certainly miss out in order to prepare properly.
“If I had to guess, because we have a lot of vets on our team, it’s not like we have a lot of young guys or rookies … to have that quick of a restart, I wouldn’t expect to see [LeBron] there. I wouldn’t expect to see him probably for the first month of the season. He’ll probably be working out with us … but I just don’t expect guys to want to be there, or show up willingly.
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“I think at this moment, and it might be different in two weeks when guys are like, ‘All right, I’m gonna get back in the gym, start working out.’ When we get back in the gym, it’s not right to basketball. It’s, ‘All right, let me start getting into shape’—lifting a little bit, start running around a little bit. Then I’ll pick up a ball.”
