When the 2019-20 NBA season concluded with
the Los Angeles Lakers defeating the Miami Heat 106-93 in Game 6 of the 2020
NBA Finals on Oct. 11, finishing the league’s restart in Orlando, FL the big
question was when would the 2020-21 season begin? Through consistent
communication and negotiations on the linguistics on how to have a season in
the midst of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Global Pandemic between the NBA and the
National Basketball Players’ Association (NBPA), the 2020-21 season will take
place right before Christmas Day.
The process of getting to the point where
the upcoming NBA season, which will begin three weeks from this Tuesday, the
NBA and NBPA agreed to extend the deadline for opting out of the current
Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) by one week until Nov. 6. At that date,
both sides would continue hammering out specific issues that needed reconciled before
the start of the season.
This represented the fourth extension of
the opt-out deadline since the start of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic in
the middle of March.
If either side choose to opt out by the
date of Nov. 6, the CBA would be terminated on Dec. 14, “unless the parties
agree otherwise,” the NBA said.
To put into context the kind of pickle the
NBA was put in when the COVID-19 put almost a 4 ½ month hold to this past season
back on Mar. 11, according to an Oct. 23 report from The Associated Press, the
NBA missed its revenue projection for the 2019-20 campaign by $1.5 billion by not
just the hiatus, but also by not having fans in attendance for the games played
at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando during the restart, and the
decision by Chinese state television to ban televising NBA games there for a
year following a political dispute.
The NBA and the NBPA were able to reach an
agreement in principle on Nov. 9, first with the NBPA representatives voting in
support of the notion of starting the upcoming season on Dec. 22. Five days
later, the NBA Board of Governors unanimously approved adjustments to certain
provisions of the current CBA that were impacted by the Coronavirus Pandemic.
This meant the confirmation of the NBA
Draft, which took place virtually on Nov. 18 on ESPN. That the start of free
agent negotiations could begin two days after the draft, which happened two
days following the draft on Nov. 20 at 6 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (EST). Two
days after that, players that were a free agent, either restricted or
unrestricted were able to sign contracts with teams beginning that Sunday
afternoon, Nov. 22 at 12:01 p.m.
There were still some aspects of the
2020-21 season that needed to be hammered out in the CBA. On Nov. 10, those
remaining details were set and a deal was struck on the rules on how to proceed
this upcoming season 2020-21 season, that will start on Dec. 22.
Among those details was the salary cap, which will remain at the same levels as last season with each of the 30 team’s salary cap remaining at $109.14 million, with the tax level being kept at $132,627,000. A team’s tax payment will be reduced in proportion to any (BRI) decreases
There will be a new system used for the
insurance that both parties keep their agreement upon the splitting of
basketball-related income (BRI). If by any chance that player compensation
exceeded said players’ designated share in any season, necessary salary
reduction beyond the standard 10 percent escrow would be spread out that season
and potentially the next two seasons after that, and subject to a max salary
reduction in any season of 20 percent.
In subsequent seasons of the CBA, the
Salary Cap and Tax Level will increase by a minimum of three percent and a
maximum of 10 percent over the previous seasons, starting with the 2021-22 NBA
campaign, where the salary cap will be between $112.4 million and $120.1
million.
The 75th regular season of the
NBA will begin on Tuesday, Nov. 22, with each of the 30 teams playing a 72-game
schedule that will have them playing 42 games versus squads from their
conference and 30 games versus out of conference opponents.
“We came to the decision in pretty much
the same way we came to the decision that we could play safely in the bubble,”
NBA Commissioner Silver said to ESPN’s Malika Andrews on ESPN’s Pre-Draft show
on Nov. 18 about the NBA being able to have the 2020-21 season not in a carefully
constructed bubble. “We have a group of doctors and scientists that we work
with. And then we were of course work directly with the players, and the
players association, and it’s a joint determination, balancing a lot of
factors.”
The 2020-21 schedule will be released in
two parts. The first half will be released at the start of training camp, which
will be on Dec. 1, with the second half schedule being released during the
latter part of the first half. The full regular season and broadcast schedules
will be released at a future date.
The 2020-21 NBA season will start with
preseason games going from Dec. 11-19. The unofficial first half of the 2020-21
regular season will go from Dec. 22-Mar. 4, 2021; The All-Star break will be
from Mar. 5-10, 20201. The second half of the upcoming season will be from Mar.
11-May 16, 2021.
On May 18-21, 2021, a Play-In Tournament,
which is set for only the 2020-21 season, for who claims the final two spots in
the Eastern Conference and Western Conference. The team’s that are in the 7th
and 10th place squads in the East and West will square off against
one another with the winner receiving the No. 7 spot in the postseason and the
loser of that contest playing the winner of the No. 9 and No. 10 matchup. The
winner of that tilt will earn the No. 8 and final playoff spot.
For the reigning NBA champion Lakers and
the team they took down to win their 17th NBA title in franchise
history, tied with the archrival Boston Celtics for the most in NBA history,
this will be the shortest offseason in NBA history—being separated by seven
weeks of the end of the 2020 NBA Finals and the planned aforementioned Dec. 1
start of training camp.
For the eight squads that did not make the
NBA’s restart in Orlando this summer, with neither the Atlanta Hawks, Chicago
Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, Charlotte Hornets, Detroit Pistons, and New York
Knicks from the East, and the Golden State Warriors and Minnesota Timberwolves
from the West, it would have been close to nine months since the league as
mentioned went on hiatus on Mar. 11 because of the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Power forward/center Meyers Leonard, who
just re-signed with the Heat on a two-year contract worth about $20 million and
who served as the player representative for the defending Eastern Conference
champion Miami Heat said he had his concerns about getting all the logistic
matters done in time for opening night.
“Without knowing all the ins and outs,
Dec. 22nd, from a money standpoint, you play more games, you play
your Christmas games, it probably makes sense,” Leonard, who resumed his
offseason training following an arranged 4,000-mile tour-bus trip by Coors
Light from Miami, FL to Los Angeles, CA with his wife that made main stops
along the way said. “But there’s a lot of logistical things that I know cannot
be easy. And the discussions that are being had are very dynamic and very
difficult conversations.”
Among those issues include the health and
safety protocols that will have to be implemented without everyone being in one
secure place that did not require any kind of travel.
Ahead of training camps opening in the
early part of this coming week, the NBA compiled a comprehensive health and
safety protocol of 134 pages that it sent to all its 30 teams.
It is one similar that was put together to
govern everything the players, coaches, and support staffs of the 22 teams that
came to Orlando this summer.
Like that first document, the league has
in place that players and staff get tested daily, which began this weekend in
advance of training camps opening at the start of this week.
It has constructed a system of rules for
what will happen if someone does test positive for the Coronavirus, where there
are two potential paths to return that consists of a “time based” resolution,
and a “test-based” resolution.
The “time-based” resolution is where the
infected individual would need to either have gone 10 days since the date of
their first positive test or the onset of any symptoms, if they had any; gone
at least 24 hours since their fever went away without using any medications;
and other symptoms have improved, while specifically nothing that losses of
taste or smell alone are not expected to prevent someone from leaving
isolation.
The “test-based” resolution, the infected
person must return at least two consecutive negative PCR tests from samples
taken at least 24 hours apart.
Whether the “time-based” or “test-based”
resolution is used, any player determined to have a new positive case from
testing—whether they are symptomatic or asymptomatic—will not be permitted from
participation in any training for at least 10 days from either a positive test
or the resolution of symptoms, if they have any.
After that minimum 10-day period, that
player then must spend two days working out by themselves, not interacting with
anyone or participating in any team activities; wear a mask at all times when
in their team’s facility—whether they are working out or not—and must
participate in a cardiac screening. So, any player that test positive for
COVID-19 will have to miss a minimum of 12 days before they can return to the
hardwood.
Any player that had a severe case of the
Coronavirus, or who was hospitalized at any point, will have to be under observation
for at least three full days before being cleared to return to play.
If a player test positive for COVID-19,
teams must go through a variety of steps, including reporting the positive test
to local authorities. All close contacts must be contact traced. Any and all
spaces controlled by the team or its arena where the person who tested positive
had been seen their last negative test must be cleaned and disinfected. That
player who tested positive for the Coronavirus then must have housing set up so
they can be isolated.
In a normal NBA season, teams would not be
allowed to pay for housing for their players, as it is seen as a way to
circumvent the league’s salary cap. With this unique situation though, the NBA
has waived that to allow their teams to be able to pay for isolation housing
for any player that test positive for COVID-19.
When it comes to the possibility of
suspending the upcoming season—just like the NBA stated back in March—the
league did not state what would trigger such a major decision. Instead, all it
said was, “The occurrence of independent cases or a small or otherwise expected
number of COVID-19 cases will not require a decision to suspend or cancel the
2020-21 season.”
“There’s going to be people testing
positive,” Leonard said. “I don’t know about left and right, but it’s going to
happen. And then what happens? It’s a tough time we’re all dealing with. The
disease is very strange. It’s going to be interesting to see how the league
rolls with the punches, so to speak.”
That document also said it is designed to
“promote prevention and mitigation strategies to reduce exposure to and
transmission of, the Coronavirus,” but it is likely some players ands staff
will contract the virus.
In a tweet from Charania on Saturday
@ShamsCharania, the NBA like it did in the restart will establish as anonymous
hotline to report any one potential violators of the safety protocols during
in-market play during the upcoming season.
The league also has imposed a 45 person
limit for any team’s travel party, that includes up to 17 players, with the
protocol stating, “as when in their team’s market, members of the traveling
party shall remain obligated to minimize risks to manage their health and
enhance that of all individuals involved in the 2020-21 season.”
The NBA also said that further information
regarding how travel parties will be permitted to operate when they do go on
the road will be provided at a later date.
One thing the NBA and the NBPA did do to
welcome the 2020 NBA Draft class and their families into the next chapter of their
basketball journey is Commissioner Silver and NBPA leader Michelle Roberts
participated in a welcome session on Nov. 17.
That moment made Commissioner Silver
realize being a parent himself now that he feels disappointed not just for the
draftees but for their families who waited for such a long time for this
crowning moment in the lives of these young men to be the select 60 to be
drafted into the best basketball league in the world.
“So, I promised them all that once things
get back to normal, we’re going to have a huge ball for them of some kind, you
know? Maybe around the Summer League in Las Vegas,” Commissioner Silver said. “We
owe them a big party. So, well find a way to do that.”
“Remember, for our best players, you know,
think how many years our top players have been in the league. So, they’ll be
around for a long time. So, even if we have to do more formal in person
training in a year from now or two years from now, we’ll still do it.”
If one thing that the professional sports
world has shown is the ability to adapt and provide a necessary escape and at
times important words on how we can get through this COVID-19 Pandemic, that has
had a grip on our world since the middle of March. No sport has proven that
they can do that better than the National Basketball Association. The hope is
now that they can do the same thing again for this entire upcoming 2020-21
season, even with the known obstacles that will for sure take place.
Information and quotations are courtesy of
10/30/2020 www.nba.com story, “NBA, NBPA Agree
To Extend CBA Opt-Out Deadline,” by Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press; 11/20/2020 www.nba.com
story, “It’s Done: The NBA Comes Back on Dec. 22, A 72-Game Schedule,” by Tim
Reynolds of “The Associated Press;” 11/5/2020 www.nba.com
story, “NBA Reps Approve Plan To Start Season on Dec. 22,” by Tim Reynolds of
The Associated Press; 11/10/2020 www.nba.com
story, “NBA Board of Governors Approves Dec. 22 Start For 2020-21 Season;”
11/10/2020 www.nba.com story, “NBA, NBPA Agree
on 2020-21 Season Start and Adjustments To CBA;” 11/10/2020 3 p.m. “NBA: The
Jump” on ESPN with Rachel Nichols, Amin Elhassan, and Richard Jefferson;
11/14/2020 ESPN news crawl; 11/18/2020 7:30 p.m. “2020 NBA Draft,” presented by
State Farm with Rece Davis, Jay Williams, Mike Schmitz, Jay Bilas, Adrian
Wojnarowski, and Malika Andrews; 11/20/2020 ESPN news crawl; 11/28/2020 www.espn.com story, “NBA Outlines COVID-19
Safety Protocols In 134-Page Guide,” by Tim Bontemps; and 11/28/2020 www.nba.com story, “NBA Establishes Health and
Safety Protocol for 2020-21 Season,” by Steve Aschburner.
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