The NBA is tentatively scheduled to resume the regular season in a bubble environment in Orlando at the end of July, but players seem to be split over several key issues, and a few high-profile stars are calling for the season to be called off.
Nets star Kyrie Irving has emerged as a leading voice against a return to basketball, reportedly telling his fellow players on a conference call on Friday that he’s willing to give up everything in order to focus on social reform. On that same call, other players voiced concerns over health issues as the coronavirus pandemic still poses a threat.
In a statement given to CNN, Lakers center Dwight Howard stood behind Irving, and called for “no basketball till we get things resolved.”
“I agree with Kyrie. Basketball, or entertainment period, isn’t needed at this moment, and will only be a distraction. Sure it might not distract us the players, but we have resources at hand majority of our community don’t have. And the smallest distraction for them, can start a trickle down effect that may never stop. Especially the way the climate is now. I would love nothing more than to win my very first NBA Championship. But the unity of My People would be an even bigger Championship, that’s just [too] beautiful to pass up. What better time than now for us to be focusing on our families.
…. No Basketball till we get things resolved.”
The situation for players is extremely complicated this summer, and the stakes couldn’t be higher. As Austin Rivers pointed out in a public response to Irving, there are drastic financial ramifications of not playing, both this season and beyond, as owners could potentially throw out the current CBA and negotiate a new one that would likely leave players with less revenue.
