NBA commissioner Adam Silver’s remarks earlier this week could be left open to interpretation on whether a decision to cancel the season is growing closer because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Silver said nothing will be announced in April, which seemed to leave open the possibility of the NBA nixing the season on May 1.
However, a Players Association memo to players and their agents sent out Thursday night indicated more time may be given to evaluate whether the season will resume. The Post has reported that even if the regular season goes on, it would likely just be a minuscule five-to-seven game schedule with a shortened one-site, 16-team playoff tournament.
Silver also revealed in his remarks to TNT’s Ernie Johnson that last weekend’s commissioners’ conference call with President Trump felt like something of “a pep talk’’ — with the commander in chief underlining how important the major sports leagues are to society.
According to the union memo obtained by The Post:
“There is no timetable for future decisions and no ‘drop-dead date’ for any final determination. When the time is right and it is safe to do so, rest assured, the NBPA will participate fully in any plan as to how the 2019-20 season could be completed and we will keep you apprised of any such plans. The health and safety of players and participants will, of course, be paramount in any decisions.’’
The memo also stated though the players received their full paycheck on April 15th, the union is having “ongoing discussions of the force majeure clause in the CBA.’’ That clause can deduct a percentage of a players’ salary this season if cancelled due to a pandemic.
In addition, agents were informed in the memo on the strict rules regarding the NBA pre-draft process. There is not expected to be a Draft Combine and officially live private player workouts/interviews are banned. Even video workouts after April 6th are a no go.
The memo states: “NBA teams are prohibited from watching, requesting or borrowing video live or recorded of a draft eligible player taking part in a workout after April 6. NBA teams may conduct at any time via telephone or video conference interviews or other evaluations of draft-eligible players that do not require physical activity.”
The memo states the interviews for each player can’t be longer than a combined two hours per week.
