NBA sets October dates for Finals and Draft

Jun 22, 2020 06:00 am

The NBA has settled upon key dates for the upcoming resumption of its coronavirus-halted 2019/20 season, including an October NBA Finals and NBA Draft, according to multiple reports on Saturday.

ESPN and The Athletic said a league memo to clubs set Aug 25 for the Draft Lottery, Oct 16 for the Draft and Oct 18 for the start of free agency, although no signings can start until Oct 23. A potential seventh game of the best-of-seven NBA Finals would be played on Oct 13.

The dates would not become official until the NBA and its players union reach a deal on changes to the collective bargaining agreement related to returning from the March shutdown due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

The NBA plans a July 30 restart at the Walt Disney World sports complex near Orlando, Florida. Any player refusing to play in the games would lose about 1.1 per cent of his salary for each missed game to a limit of 14 games.

Players have until Wednesday to notify clubs they will compete in the restart. - AFP