The NBA reckons the 2020/21 season starting in January and, by extension, competing with the Summer Olympics could cause “significant financial turmoil,” per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Many NBA players are said to be looking for a mid-January start as opposed to the league’s proposed December 22 start. However, kicking the campaign off at the beginning of next year would see it run into July’s Olympics.
According to Woj:
“After pushing back a deadline until next Friday that would allow for the NBA to serve notice on termination of the collective bargaining agreement in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the league and the National Basketball Players Association are running short on time to agree on starting the NBA’s season before Christmas.
“And without assurances that the pandemic will allow for fans in arenas this season — and projections that their absence could cost the league more than $4 billion in lost revenue — the NBA fears delaying the start of the 2020-21 season until January could cost the league an additional $500 million to $1 billion in revenue losses next season and beyond, sources said.”
Negotiations between the league and NBPA are set to continue into the weekend and next week.
