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NBA coach believes a lockout could happen in 2021

Photo: nbcsports.com

As some NBA players raise concerns and questions about resuming the season in Orlando, one coach thinks there will be major implications if they don’t play.

“I think there’s going to be a renegotiation of the CBA, there will be a lockout [in 2020-21] and you’re going to see something similar to what’s happening right now in baseball,” a Western Conference coach said per Tim Bontemps of ESPN. “You’ll see a very different NBA going forward if, in fact, we don’t play.”

Major League Baseball has not been able to start their shortened season due to an ongoing financial dispute between owners and players.

If the NBA ends up not playing the rest of this season, it would result in big economic problems.

Executives project about $1.2 billion in lost player salary, per Bontemps.

Basketball-related income would also drop $1 billion to $2 billion, leading to a salary-cap reduction of $25 million to $30 million for 2020-21, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks.

This would change free agency, as little money would be available for players.

The NBA has discussed a possible condensed 2020-2021 season in order to keep as close to the usual timeline of an 82-game season.

The start of next season is tentatively scheduled to begin on Dec. 1, only about seven weeks after a possible Game 7 of the NBA Finals on Oct. 13, but that start date has been called “unlikely.”

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