The NBA is not the EuroLeague.
Not even close.
Still, the Association had to take heed on the EuroLeague and EuroCup opting to terminate the season without a winner in the wake of the coronavirus.
Too many moving parts to be concerned about, according to their statement, and serious concerns with a three-week training camp 2.0 resulting in too many injuries.
So, it’s straight to the offseason, with the hopes of an entirely new campaign to be rolled out for late September.
As for a 2019-20 EuroLeague champion? Simply an asterisk.
That asterisk may just stay undefeated, also wearing the crown for the NBA by mid-July.
The latest on trying to finish this season remains complicated. Over the weekend, ESPN reported that the NBA was locking down Disney’s Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando, Florida, as a destination “bubble’’ for the season to resume.
The complex there has better accommodations on its “campus’’ than Las Vegas — another finalist — multiple courts, and an ability to lockdown if something were to go wrong.
Friday could be decision day, as ESPN also reported that the NBA has a board of governors meeting called, where details are expected to be hammered out.
The hope would be to get something up and running before July comes to an end, somehow deciding a winner for this season.
So what does that exactly mean for the Bulls?
That’s where it gets interesting.
First of all, it’s very likely that the NBA calendar will be altered, whether they get games in this summer or not. It’s been kicked around multiple times over the years to stay out of the way of the NFL, but expect the NBA to move the start of the 2020-21 season back, with training camp being bumped from late September to early December, and Christmas Day signifying the tip-off of a new season.
As for what next month will entail? They could pick up right where they left off from the regular season, but that means 30 teams in the “bubble’’ rather than just 16 playoff teams, which calls for more tests and more moving parts to watch.
However, the Bulls restarting up would allow executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas to put eyes on coach Jim Boylen and the coaching staff — as small a sample size as it could be — and make sure the right decision on Boylen’s future was being made.
The Sun-Times has reported that Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley have already had detailed discussions with players and retained personnel, and were getting enough mixed feedback of what’s gone on the last year that they were leaning toward starting with a new coach.
Ownership and former VP of basketball operations John Paxson have given support for Boylen, but a source reiterated that COO Michael Reinsdorf was by no means influencing the front office’s decision on the coach and would allow Boylen’s dismissal if Karnisovas wants to go that way. No questions asked.
As for what could save Boylen? A Hail Mary.
His best chance would be if the NBA decided on a league-wide play-in tournament, and the Bulls actually got hot and made a deep, unexpected run. However, considering the team’s .317 winning percentage under Boylen — fair or unfair — the likelihood of that becoming reality is very small.
Either way, just like the rest of the NBA, the Bulls new-look front office is waiting for a decision to be reached so they can get back to the official business of basketball and have a better idea of how to handle the expected coaching change.
Asterisk or no asterisk.
