Andy Larsen: Jazz announce their intentions to have 1,500 fans in the lower bowl only of Jazz games at Vivint Arena this season. “The Jazz believe this is a responsible way to start the season from a public health and safety standpoint,” Jazz President Jim Olson said.
More on 2020-21 Season Plans
Eric Nehm: The Bucks just announced that their games in the 2020-21 season will be held without fans until further notice in accordance with state and local guidelines. Full release here: pic.twitter.com/LrPJqlJ9q0
Marc Stein: NBA teams have been notified that no more than 50 people at one time will be allowed in practice facilities this season, @NYTSports has learned The full range of health and safety protocols for the coming season, sources say, are still being finalized by the league and union
Chris Mannix: In what reinforces why the Raptors won't play in Canada, at least to start the season: Toronto is going into a 28-day lockdown, effective Monday. COVID-19 infections have been on the rise.
Ryan Wolstat: Masai Ujiri on Raptors heading to Tampa: "Ultimately, the current public health situation facing Canadians, combined with the urgent need to determine where we will play means that we will begin our 2020-21 season in Tampa, Florida."
Josh Lewenberg: Statement from Raptors president Masai Ujiri: pic.twitter.com/SuZWVxD3HL
San Francisco’s Department of Public Health rejected the Warriors’ ambitious plan to bring back more than 9,000 spectators to games during the upcoming NBA season, while pledging to work with the team to host fans at Chase Center once the coronavirus pandemic eases.
Warriors officials hatched their plan — which included coronavirus testing for all spectators ahead of games — over the past eight months. The protocols would have been the first of their kind and could have marked a new phase in the return of spectators to sports in the U.S. But local officials told The Chronicle last week that they were wary of the idea, especially as the state experiences its fastest increase of cases since the pandemic began.
Kellan Olson: NBA announced the structure and format to the upcoming season, including the play-in tournament with the 7-10 seeds being official. Suns will have 3 games against each team in the West (42 games) and 2 games against each team in the East (30 games).
Fred Katz: NBA announces dates for the upcoming season: • Dec. 11-19: Preseason • Dec. 22-March 4: First Half of reg season • March 5-10: All-Star break • March 11-16: Second Half of reg season • May 18-21: Play-In Tournament • May 22 – July 22: Playoffs
Sean Cunningham: Unique feature with the NBA schedule this season, as it will be released in two segments. The first half of the season schedule released around the start of training camp, while the second is released during the latter part of the first half portion of the schedule.
Ian Begley: NBA announces details for 2020-21 scheduling;
Where is training camp, and where are we playing this season? “I don’t know what to tell [my client]” said an agent for one Raptors player. “He’s pretty particular about his living arrangements and likes to have all that stuff figured out well in advance but right now the team isn’t saying anything and so we just have to wait. I’m going to hire a realtor in Tampa tomorrow just in case.”
Based on multiple sources it seems like an arrangement where the Raptors play their games in Tampa at Amalie Arena (home of the Tampa Bay Lightning) and train in the community nearby – the University of South Florida has hosted NBA teams for training camps in the past, as an example – is the leading option if the Raptors can’t get the necessary exemptions from quarantine requirements to travel freely across the border. But even late last week Fort Lauderdale and Nashville were mentioned as options to agents asking about where their clients might be headed.
Several agents representing Raptors players contacted by Sportsnet said they’ve received little to no insight from the team about where their clients may be headed in the short- or long-term. “It’s a little surprising,” said one. “You would think they would say, ‘We really want to be in Toronto but just in case, familiarize yourself with Tampa – or wherever – just in case.”
Shams Charania: As of now, the NBA is expecting 5-to-10 teams to host an amount of fans in their arenas to start the 2020-21 season, sources tell @The Athletic @Stadium.
Joe Vardon: NBA preseason games are expected to begin Dec. 11 at the earliest. It also looks like ‘team’ camps will start Dec. 5. The first few days are supposed to be individual workouts. And the league is expected to release at least a portion of its game schedule in two weeks.
The league knows when it will hold the draft (Wednesday), start free agency (Nov. 20), open camps (Dec. 1) and begin the regular season (Dec. 22). The salary cap and luxury-tax lines for the season have been set. Outside of that, little is known at this point about how things will work this season, which has led to frustration around the league. "I'd love to be able to tell you something, but I don't know anything," one Western Conference executive told ESPN. "I find out everything from the media."
Canada's deputy chief of public health says the Toronto Raptors have presented a good plan to play at home this coming NBA season, but concerns remain over enforcing strict health protocols and travel over the border with the United States.
Dr. Howard Njoo said the Raptors presented a plan with good health protocols and have learned from the NBA's "bubble" experiment, when the league finished the 2019-20 season at an isolated campus near Orlando, Fla. But Njoo said the NBA will not be using the hub city concept for the upcoming season, and that it would be "tough on everyone involved" to observe the same health measures over a months-long NBA season during which teams are not isolated together.
Chris Paul, the president of the National Basketball Players Association and guard for the Oklahoma City Thunder, spoke Thursday at a Time100 event and said the league and the union are continuing to work through countless details that have to be settled before the new season begins with training camps next month and the start of games on Dec. 22.
“There’s still a lot of questions that have to be answered,” Paul said. “But we’re working on it. Nothing is perfect and everything that you see … we’re sort of learning everything on the fly. The only thing that’s in control right now is that virus. We’re working hard to try to make sure that not only our players are happy but our fans are happy.”
Marc Stein: Talks are ongoing, sources say, to grant players on two-way contracts more than 45 days in the NBA to make them far more available to their NBA teams With such a short offseason (for some teams) and more of a coronavirus threat, teams naturally want the added roster flexibility
It’s official: The NBA is coming back Dec. 22. The NBA’s board of governors unanimously approved Tuesday the financial terms and other parameters that were negotiated between the league and its players. Those talks were completed late Monday night, when the league and National Basketball Players Association announced they are in agreement on a revised collective bargaining agreement for this coming season — setting the stage for a frenzied few weeks before games resume.
Sources also said that, in an attempt to ease the tax burdens of teams that had been planning on the salary cap and luxury tax continuing to steadily rise, the NBA will reduce the luxury tax bill for teams at the end of the 2021 season by the percentage amount that the league's basketball-related income (BRI) declines from initial projections.
Owners and players worked out a deal approved Monday night on when to start the season, its length, and other details. Teams are expected to be limited to 25 to 50 percent of suite capacity (driven by local market health safety rules), and there could be some fans sitting courtside (but further from the hardwood than normal), and some lower bowl seating, too, according to The Athletic’s Shams Charania.
The loss of five home games for every club translates into an average of $13.5 million per team in lost revenue from just fans, or $405 million collectively for all 30 clubs, according to new calculations from Chicago-based sports business intelligence firm Team Marketing Report.
Ian Begley: NBA says its Board of Governors unanimously approved the CBA changes previously agreed to by the league and the NBPA: pic.twitter.com/TpHpKXFAZf
Andy Larsen: Jazz just sent out this statement from team president Jim Olson. pic.twitter.com/j93VfDRJKT
Brandon Rahbar: Thunder will have fans in The Peake this season. No word yet on if they’ll have a coach in The Peake this season.
In case playing games at home isn’t possible to start the season, the Raptors have looked into several potential contingency locations – including Newark, Nashville and Tampa Bay, among others. However, they don’t have a locked and loaded Plan B. They believe it’s too early to give up on their very clear Plan A – hosting teams north of the border.
Adrian Wojnarowski: The NBA and NBPA have reached agreement on an amended CBA, sources tell @Tim Bontemps and me. Free agency begins at 6 PM on Nov. 20, with signings allowed at 12:01 PM on Nov. 22.
Tim Bontemps: The salary cap ($109.1 million) and luxury tax ($132.7 million) will remain the same next season. In future seasons, the cap and tax will increase by a minimum of 3 percent — and a maximum of 10 percent, sources said.
Tim Bontemps: Besides the salary cap & luxury tax remaining the same this season as they were in 2019-20, there will be a reduction in the luxury tax bill for teams at the end of the season based off the percentage BRI decreased from initial projections during the 2020-21 season, sources said.
Tim Bontemps: The two sides have agreed to keep the typical 10 percent escrow from player salaries, with any further reductions being spread out across that season and the following two seasons. No single season will ever have a greater reduction than 20 percent, sources said.
Paul Garcia: Agreement in principle between the NBA and NBAPA
League officials are confident that the reduced number of games and adjustments to reduce travel will aid teams. Such adjustments, although not finalized, would include more instances of teams playing the same opponent twice in the same city, as well as instances when teams would play more games against teams in nearby markets. (For example, more teams visiting Los Angeles would play the Lakers and Clippers on the same trip.) One other instance that could reduce travel is limiting one-game road trips.
League officials also noted that a shorter offseason is typical during years in which there is an Olympics or other international offseason, which is to say they believe the timeline players are facing now isn't unusual.
Multiple officials also said they expected the two teams that just played in the Finals to potentially rest their stars and others early on while treating the first month of games as a sort of extended training camp and preseason. The Lakers and Miami Heat would be the only teams to experience a season turnaround of just 71 days, whereas the traditional offseason since the 1983-84 season lasts 141 days for Finals franchises.
Tim Reynolds: Been asked twice privately today about whether media will be allowed in for NBA games when they restart in December, so I'll answer it openly it here: The answer is yes. Not sure why anyone thinks otherwise. As of now, we'll be in arenas. Somehow. Somewhere.
Health officials around the NBA have expressed concern for how to prepare players for a potential 72-game regular season with a training camp that starts on Dec. 1, less than a month away -- especially for the teams that haven't played games since March and the two conference champions. "It's going to be especially challenging to not only get ready to play Dec. 22 or whatever but to maintain that for a period of four or five months," said one head athletic trainer of a Western Conference team, who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity. "This is going to be another period of unchartered territory. As unchartered as the [Orlando] bubble was [this summer], this is the bubble times three or four or five [because we're] trying to extend it to that period of time with a minimal ramp-up."
"I'd be more worried about travel, because we saw in the bubble, not having travel really helped guys recover," said one official intimately involved with player health. "So I don't know if it's actually the amount of games (72), but it's just the fact that you're getting to 2 a.m. in the morning and you're traveling now -- that becomes a bigger issue."
In terms of conditioning, several health officials said they were hopeful that teams would be able to return to game-shape in a three-week ramp-up, particularly if they followed the same blueprints as when they had a similar timeline before the Orlando bubble. But they also pointed out that they would have to build up a stronger base of conditioning and strength to last for the 72-game slate, especially and in order to stave off soft-tissue injuries that de-conditioned players tend to suffer, such as hamstring strains.
Jared Dudley: This is true for the teams that made it to the 2nd round and beyond.. Teams will have to be careful with the ramp up in training camp and the first 4/6 weeks of the season... NBA should look out for those teams schedule wise early in the yr.
The Toronto Raptors recently visited Nashville and are considering calling the city home next season because of Canadian travel restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, a source familiar with the situation told The Tennessean. The source requested anonymity because there has been no public announcement.
A decision about where the Raptors will play could come within the next week or two, though the source said the preferred priority is keeping the team in Toronto. The Raptors began discussions with Bridgestone about three weeks ago. The arena is well equipped for basketball and hosts the SEC basketball tournament.
NBA Central: Looks like LeBron isn’t a fan of the 71 day offseason pic.twitter.com/B0uwGqQBXE
Adrian Wojnarowski: Among NBPA player reps on tonight’s call, there was some curiosity about starting free agency prior to Nov. 18 Draft, sources tell ESPN. For a few reasons, it isn’t possible under these circumstances. However, it is an idea that's had some support among teams in ordinary times.
Adrian Wojnarowski: First, there won't be finalized deal between NBA/NBPA until just prior to draft. Teams would be managing FA and draft simultaneously. Also, switching order starts new salary cap year earlier, offering some teams edge in draft-related trades that otherwise wouldn't be possible.
Tim Reynolds: To be clear, this vote tonight doesn't mean Opening Night is absolutely Dec. 22. But it does clearly suggest that the NBPA is on board, which obviously helps matters a great deal. Still have to work out those little things: Money, escrow, COVID protocols, etc.
The NBA will play a 72-game season, with training camps opening on Dec. 1, the regular season ending on May 16 and the Finals finishing no later than July 22, sources said. The NBA will play in markets, reduce their travel by 25 percent, and significantly reduce cross-country travel especially early in the season, sources said.
Several star players on Thursday night’s call, such as NBPA President Chris Paul and Rockets All-Star Russell Westbrook, stated that they want to view the official health and safety measures prior to fully committing to the season, sources said. Westbrook cited the importance of players’ health and safety upon any season opening, sources said.
The N.B.A.’s goal is to complete the 2020-21 season before the Tokyo Olympics, which are scheduled from July 23 to Aug. 8 in 2021. That would allow the league to avoid direct competition with the Olympics and set up the 2021-22 season to return to the N.B.A.’s usual October-through-June pattern. The plan is strongly preferred by the league’s primary media partners, Disney and Turner, following a summer and fall of dismal N.B.A. ratings in a crowded sports landscape, according to a person briefed on the matter who was not authorized to discuss it publicly.
Besides, some league officials would say, eight teams haven’t played since March and more than half the league was done playing by Sept. 1. “Good to see the light right now,” Hawks guard Trae Young, one of the players who hasn’t played since March, tweeted.
Shams Charania: Sources The NBA and NBPA are discussing a minimum of 2 percent annual growth in the salary cap and luxury tax for the duration of the collective bargaining agreement. Cap is expected to be $109M this offseason.
Frank Madden: For some context, if cap goes up only 2% for 21/22 then it would put a Giannis supermax value at around $226m/5 years (same if he signs this offseason or next). Other teams could offer a projected $144/4 years if he hit FA in ‘21. A year ago the projections were $254m/$161m.
Shams Charania: The National Basketball Players Association has voted to tentatively approve NBA’s proposal for the 2020-21 campaign starting on Dec. 22 and playing 72-game season, sources tell @The Athletic @Stadium. NBA set to tip off Christmas week.
Adrian Wojnarowski: The NBPA player rep vote has completed, approving a December 22 start/72-game regular season, source tells ESPN. Next up: NBA/NBPA finishes financial terms on amended CBA, which will take into next week. Expect trade moratorium to be lifted shortly prior to Nov. 18 Draft.
Tim Reynolds: There's no agreement on the money - yet - but the NBA's player representatives have decided to back the notion of a Dec. 22 start to the season, AP is told. Talks between the union and league will continue on matters like escrow/COVID testing/etc.
Marc Stein: NBA team player representatives remain on course to huddle virtually later tonight to vote on the league's proposal to start the 2020-21 season on Dec. 22 ... with training camps opening Dec. 1 Two sources briefed on the latest describe union approval of that plan a "formality"
Shams Charania: Sources: The NBA aims to have arena suites open to fans at 25-to-50 percent capacity for 2020-21 season tipoff, based on local regulations. An amount of fans — under protocols such as masks, social distancing and coronavirus testing — is a goal to start season.
Shams Charania: The coronavirus pandemic has made life fluid, and a clinical vaccine will play a role in this too. NBA's goal is some amount of fans to start the season, depending on each market's restrictions. Courtside fans, for instance, would be about 10-to-12 feet away, sources said.
Omari Sanfoka II: Asked Weaver about the season potentially starting in December: "We can play tomorrow, we can play Christmas, whenever … we're chomping at the bit to get back going. Whenever they tell us we can get back out there, we'll be ready to go."
The initially proposed January start died because neither the players nor the board of governors were comfortable sacrificing the additional four weeks of revenue. The Warriors are good with this. Really good. They’ve already had eight months to read or work out, to binge on their favorite TV shows or connect with family and friends, so they’ve always liked the December start.
“I've taken advantage of the time, really, but I'm also ready to go,” coach Steve Kerr said over the weekend. “I can't wait to start practice. We all kind of feel that way. When I say, ‘we all,’ I mean ‘organizationally.’ I'm sure the Lakers and the Heat aren't really ready to start camp yet. But we are ... we’re ready to roll.”
Keith Smith: One item that hasn't been talked about much: What happens with the NBA G-League in 2020-21? Multiple teams have that same question. One team told me they were told "We'll get the NBA season figured out and then we'll get into the G-League. It's on a long list of to-do items."
Bobby Marks: Here is what an 18% escrow would look like for some of the top earners: Steph Curry ➡️$43M to $35.3M 🔽$7.4M LeBron James ➡️$39.2M to $32.2M 🔽$7.0M Kawhi Leonard ➡️$34.4M to $28.2M 🔽$6.2M Total player escrow projects from $720M to $800M
The National Basketball Players Association is planning to take a formal vote of the team player representatives late Thursday, and sources told ESPN everything is progressing toward an agreement on a pre-Christmas start to the season. The NBPA is holding team conference calls this week, including several on Wednesday, that detail discussions with the league on a salary escrow for players in the range of 18% for the next two years, sources told ESPN.
Sources say the team representatives are expected to approve the agreement The league and players are still negotiating that escrow figure, sources said.
The NBA has pushed back a deadline to Friday that keeps open the option of terminating the collective bargaining agreement, which would essentially blow up the league's financial structure that allows for a 50/50 split of basketball-related income under the provisions of the CBA. Because of the pandemic triggering a force majeure clause in the CBA, both sides have the option of serving notice of 45 days on terminating the agreement, sources said.
Tim Reynolds: Very small sample size, but three NBA players reached by AP this afternoon said they believe opening night for the 2020-21 season will be Dec. 22 -- as has been suggested now for the last several days. None of the three expressed a problem with that.
Bobby Marks: Escrow withholding does not impact a cap charge and the amount sent out in a trade (or how it impacts the luxury tax, cap space or hard cap). A $20M player is still $20M.
