The NBA was the first to stop its games, but do not expect for the league to be the first one back.
The momentum for sports to return gathers slowly but the NBA's come back, even in front of zero fans, remains safely in the planning stage.
As some NBA practice facilities re-open so players can come back to shoot, workout and train, this is not a league wide reality. Much of it depends on the particular cities' restrictions, or in the case of the Dallas Mavericks, the feelings of the owner.
If you are one who pines for the return of the NBA, keep watching Netflix. Even if the NBA sets a return date today, it's going to be a while.
In a recent conversation with former Euless Trinity, University of Texas and current Indiana Pacers forward Myles Turner, he offered nothing but pragmatism about the return, and the priority, of the game.
"You need at least a month," he said. "The NBA is such a rhythm-based game. I mean, we played damn near the whole season out."
On Friday, NBA commissioner Adam Silver held a conference call with players, NBA Player's Association president Chris Paul and league executive director Michele Roberts. According to ESPN's detailed report of the call, the league's desire is to finish the season in some capacity.
When the NBA season was postponed on March 11, Turner and the Pacers had 17 games remaining on their schedule. That's about the average for the 29 other teams.
The league is considering a variety of scenarios to return, including the possibility of playing in front of no fans. Silver said they may play out the season in one, or two, select cities. So far, Las Vegas and Orlando are the locations that have been floated.
Nothing has been announced. It appears as if nothing is imminent until more testing is available, and completed.
"You can't just expect to go back and play playoff basketball. That's why you need at least a month," Turner said. "You have to get used to your teammates again. You have to go back over plays and establish some sort of fluidity."
Assuming the NBA does return, it's hard to envision it will include anything left of the regular season games. The Golden State Warriors were the only team to be mathematically eliminated before play was suspended, although four of the 14 teams that would have missed the playoffs still had only a faint chance to leapfrog over other teams and make the postseason.
None of the players on those respective rosters will be invested to "leave it all out on the court."
However the league comes back, a more plausible scenario is that it directly moves to some type of adjusted playoff bracket. This would casue the playoffs to run deep into the summer, giving the league the chance to delay its entire calendar year back, and start the 2020-21 season on Christmas.
That's fine, but for a guy like Turner, he's not counting days either way. His father, David, contracted the coronavirus and was hospitalized for nearly a week at Texas Health HEB before returning home safely.
"I'm indifferent about (the league returning). After seeing how this all affected my family, and my dad, if the season is canceled I understand," Turner said. "As a competitor, I want to play. My life also means more than a couple of basketball games.
"Of course I'd love to see it resume, but not to the extent for a life being at risk. There are a few scenarios they are trying to produce that can be viewed as an outcome of a season, and if they do that that's fine. I just want it to be safe."
Turner flew back to DFW a few days after the season was suspended. He immediately went out and bought himself gym equipment so he could work out at home. He also staying loose with yoga. "I got all the weights I needed," he said. "I got a squat rack, and a bench. I have access to a private court. I have a great setup."
When the NBA does return, Turner will be as ready as anyone can be in this bizarre set of circumstances. But even when the league does open for business, at least according to one NBA player they're going to need at least a month before tip-off.
