NBA 'increasingly positive' about restart
Following a Board of Governors call with commissioner Adam Silver on Tuesday, the NBA is "increasingly positive about the league's momentum" towards resuming the 2019-20 season, ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported.
Owners and executives were encouraged about the league's steps towards returning safely amid the Covid-19 pandemic and about positive conversations with the National Basketball Players Association, said Wojnarowski.
The report added that Silver emphasised that in order for a return to occur, all parties would need to accept that a single positive test for Covid-19 would not derail the season.
If a positive test would "shut us down, we probably shouldn't go down this path," Silver added.
The report added that it remains unclear at what point numerous positive tests would impact the schedule.
Wojnarowski also reported that the format for the return play remains unknown, in terms of regular-season or play-off structure.
The NBA also reportedly continues to vet the possibility of holding all games in neutral sites, with Orlando and Las Vegas the leading candidates, in what Silver referred to as a "campus environment".
Wojnarowski and The Athletic's Shams Charania reported that the NBA aims to decide within two to four weeks whether to restart the season. - AFP
Get The New Paper on your phone with the free TNP app. Download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store now