The NBA confirmed yesterday that talks are underway with Disney to restart the season this summer in Orlando, Fla.
League spokesman Mike Bass said the NBA and the National Basketball Players Association are “engaged in exploratory conversations” with The Walt Disney Company about a late-July restart at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex.
It would be a “single site for an NBA campus for games, practices and housing,” Bass said.
“Our priority continues to be the health and safety of all involved, and we are working with public health experts and government officials on a comprehensive set of guidelines to ensure that appropriate medical protocols and protections are in place,” Bass said.
The news of where and when comes amid a report of how the league plans to reopen. The Athletic reported yesterday that the league sent a survey to every general manager asking their opinion about how to restart the season. The survey went out Friday night, according to the report. The options, according to the report:
1. Restart with the regular season en route to playing between 72 and 76 games total before proceeding to playoffs. GMs were also asked to vote on the number of regular season games to be played. All teams had played between 63 and 67 when the league put a pause to the season March 11 due to the coronavirus pandemic.
2. Restart straight to a 16-team, best-of-seven playoff.
3. A “playoff plus” option of adding teams, either through a play-in tournament or replacing the first round with a group stage. GMs were given several options for the number of teams as well as the format.
4. How late in the year should the season go, with the range of options from Labor Day through Nov. 1.
The NBA Board of Governors is scheduled to hold a call on May 29, according to the report.
—Field Level Media
