As the world tries to grapple with the outbreak of a global pandemic, the National Basketball Players Association is echoing the league’s leadership while hoping that there will still be a season that ends with a 2020 NBA Champion.
In an interview with USA TODAY’s Mark Medina, NBPA executive director Michele Roberts said that player’s union and the league’s leadership have yet to talk about any doomsday provisions that would cost players money because they still are holding out hope that they can finish the regular season and crown a champion.
Medina: So do I understand directly, the conversations with the league have been more about how to salvage the season and then you will wait until later about addressing the clauses?
Roberts: “That’s right on the money. We want to play games and we want to do it in a way that’s safe. …It’s very difficult to say by ‘X date,’ we’re going to resume the games. That would be foolish. But we’re not throwing in the towel.”
So now the player’s leadership has spoken as well as NBA commissioner Adam Silver. Whether that happens will likely depend on whether social distancing protocols are being followed and the virus curve can flatten out.
