Mark Tatum Rumors

Tatum added, perhaps most poignantly, that there’s “a lot of momentum” toward adding a midseason tournament — which would likely occur before Christmas, the current unofficial start to the NBA season. The logistics Tatum is referring to — shortening the season from 82 games, getting it agreed to with the players’ union — hasn’t been determined. But it has been a frequent enough topic on the calls general managers are having with the league office. “There are a few old-school types who might fight against it, but it feels like it’ll be in place by the next TV deal,” a general manager told Yahoo Sports.

Having some level of midseason tournament is a carrot the league will hold up in its current TV negotiations. The existing deal expires after the 2023-24 season, with the traditional rights holders and streaming networks all expected to make bids on carrying coverage into that next wave. Like most recent seasons, NBA headliners have missed chunks of games due to injury and injury management. It’s become more in focus in recent years, and adding a midseason tournament to it feels a bit counterintuitive to the goals of both making the regular season feel eventful and having the marquee players on the floor as much as possible.

Tatum doesn’t believe the ideals conflict. “One of the reasons that we want to create the in-season tournament is for the fans, for the players, so creating more opportunities for players to compete in the middle of a season to win something,” he said. “And in addition to the Larry O’Brien Trophy, our players, they want to compete, they want to win. I mean, they grew up competing, and they grew up playing, you know, for the love of the game and to be the best in the highest level.”