The 2019-20 NBA season was previously expected to resume on July 31, but ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports that the league now hopes to start the season one day earlier on July 30.
The NBA is targeting a slightly earlier date for the restart of the season in Orlando, sources tell ESPN: July 30.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 11, 2020
Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium recently provided key tentative NBA postseason dates, with the NBA Finals scheduled to begin Sept. 30 and end by Oct. 12. It’s unclear if moving up the season one day will change anything with those dates, but we should assume the postseason plan remains the same.
Additionally, Charania reports that the NBA is planning to allow team rosters of up to 17 players for the rest of the season. Charania notes that the previous estimate was a 15-player roster limit.
Sources: The NBA is planning to allow teams to bring up to 17 players per roster (including two-ways) into the resumed season. Previous estimate was 15-player limit.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 11, 2020
Players who have signed an NBA/G League deal this year or a previous year are expected to be available to sign in restarted season — making Jamal Crawford or JR Smith eligible, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium. https://t.co/v6Ntr4pb2t
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 11, 2020
It makes sense to go with bigger rosters in this very weird situation that will feature 22 teams playing in an Orlando bubble.
For example, if multiple injuries — or COVID-19 cases — were to happen for a team, it’s more difficult to find replacements. The remainder of the G League season has been canceled (as are most organized leagues), and finding access to gyms — in order to stay in proper basketball shape — is difficult for many people during the pandemic. And organizing travel plans isn’t nearly as simple as it was pre-pandemic.
So, the league might as well just let teams have larger rosters to work with immediately, and that could save everyone a lot of trouble.
