There appears to be growing pessimism around the league amongst players that the 2019-20 NBA season won’t resume.
The hope is that the 2019-20 NBA season will return at some point this summer, however considering that much has not changed since the league implemented a hiatus can’t be encouraging.
There’s still not any type of timetable in place and from all indications, as they should be, Adam Silver and the league are going to keep the player’s health as the No. 1 priority in outlining a potential return to basketball.
The good news is that it appears Silver won’t hesitate to push back the off-season and potentially the start to next year.
While there have been reports that there is growing optimism that the league will return at some point (and in some fashion), I’m not so sure about that. And I can’t help but think what the players might be projecting.
However, over the last several days, perhaps we’re getting a bit of an explanation of how some of the players around the league feel about whether the season will continue or not at some point over the next couple of months.
Here’s what Joe Ingles told Tony Jones about how it feels watching the days go by without the NBA returning:
Joe Ingles on the season resuming: "It feels like every week that we go along, it feels like less and less of a chance"
— Tony Jones (@Tjonesonthenba) April 24, 2020
Fred VanVleet isn’t so sure that we’re going to finish the remainder of the season, either. And suggests that many other players don’t think so either.
"[via Guardian]“I think everybody is just preparing for the worst-case scenario, the season being canceled,” Van Vleet said in a conference call Wednesday. “We have to do what we have to do to try to shoulder the hit as best we can for us as players and owners and the league, while also working to try to resume as best we can.”"
Chris Paul gives light and it’s clear what the league is currently up against.
"[via Guardian]“This is a situation where no one knows,” Paul said. “The virus is actually in complete control.”"
From all indications, it feels like the players are preparing for there not to be a reminder of the 2019-20 NBA season. Hopefully, their instincts are wrong here and we’ll get to play out the rest of the season. At the very least, the playoffs.