Earlier on Friday, it was reported that the NBA told the Board of Governors that the league has July 31 as its target return date, and there were four competition scenarios discussed.
Well, NBA commissioner Adam Silver reportedly has narrowed things down to the scenarios that include 20 and 22 teams. Additionally, the league intends to play the season at Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports in Orlando.
According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Board of Governors will vote next Thursday on Silver’s proposals, and owners are “largely planning to pledge support” for the plan.
Owners are largely planning to pledge support for Silver's final recommedation on a plan, which teams expect to include invitations for 20-to-22 teams to resume the season, sources tell @ramonashelburne, @ZachLowe_NBA and me. https://t.co/8waxNm1Dpc
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) May 29, 2020
Wojnarowski and Ramona Shelburne provided more details in an ESPN.com article, saying that there’s “growing support” for the 22-team plan, and the plan would likely include play-in games to determine the final playoff seeds.
The NBA has been examining several plans for a return to play, but numerous members of the board of governors tell ESPN that there’s growing support for a plan to bring 22 teams to Disney’s ESPN Wide World of Sports in July.
This format would likely include regular-season and play-in games to compete for playoff berths in both the Eastern and Western Conferences, sources said.
The 22-team plan would include teams that are currently within six games of the final playoff spots in each conference, sources said.
So, the 22-team scenario seems like the most likely plan at this point, but the article notes that the 20-team plan is still under consideration as well. It appears that only the 30-team plan is being ruled out.
The NBA has yet to endorse a plan, and only one of the four ideas presented on Friday’s board of governors call is no longer believed to be a legitimate consideration: bringing back all 30 teams, sources said.
We’ll surely know more about the details over the next week, but the NBA seems well on their way to having a 2019-20 season restart plan officially done soon.
About Matt Clapp
Matt is an editor/writer at Awful Announcing and The Comeback.
He can be reached by email at mclapp@awfulannouncing.com.